Back atcha from Kalispell, Montana,
gateway to Glacier National Park, which I plan to visit later this
morning. (But then, I've always been under Kalispell, my Hindu
goddess of choice).
Have travelled over 3,000 miles and
entered another time zone (in more than one sense) since I left
lovely Claremont, CA, exactly 3 weeks ago. Regrettably, I have
neither the time nor skill to describe adequately the Wonders of
Washington! My first time in the state, and I traversed its northern
span from Seattle to Spokane (two more different cities can hardly be
imagined) After leaving the lovely hospitality of Ro's home in
Courtenay, BC, and disembarking from the good ship Chelan at
Anacortes, I decided to head directly east and take the northern
route, Rt. 2, across the Cascades and was glad I did. The scenery
was incessantly impressive and beguiling, uniquely spectacular in
many very different ways, and the contrasts were extreme. Do not
miss taking this trip if you possible get a chance. If you can't see
the USA in your Chevrolet, at least drive across Washington in your
Prius. It's a pretty good microcosm of the whole. California is
perhaps more diversely spectacular, but it has the kind of nervous
energy of a child prodigy with ADD. Spectacular but exhausting.
Washington is a calm old colossus by comparison.
My first impression of WA, when I
entered it over a week ago, before the excellent diversion to BC, was
of a tranquil giant, peaceful and confident in its endless and
massive expansiveness. All vistas, whether of forests, mountains,
plains, farmland, went as far as the eye can see; I know that's not
particularly surprising, but the eye can see so much farther in
Washington. Perhaps the major difference between the two Washingtons
- the District of Columbia and the State of the Columbia - is exactly
that: their respective spans of vision.
I knew the Cascades were mountains, but
I did not realize that they rivaled the Alps!! They really do, and I
only wish I had taken the time to stop a dozen times and try to
photograph the incredible views. I did snap some shots through the
windshield as I went, and they are impressive enough, but not a
fraction of what I could have captured had I lingered a bit on the
precipices overlooking miles and miles and miles of the most
beautiful valleys, lakes, and snow-capped mountains imaginable, all
at distances that would make a 747 envious. Not to mention the many
roadside waterfalls that suddenly appear as one rounds a bend, much
to suddenly to snap a picture, let alone stop to enjoy. So it was
not surprising, after all, to learn that much of the area comprises a
National Park (North Cascades N.P.). Of course, besides the
beautifully designed and ample roadway, there's not a sign of human
intrusion anywhere in sight for seamless hours of travelling. But
then, like all good things, the lushly forested mountains end and
give rise (the wrong metaphor) to the dry but irrigated plains of
eastern Washington, with, first, its charmingly and scrupulously
cared-for series of orchards (cherry, pear, apple), followed by the
most beautifully endless expanses of flat to gently rolling farmland,
cultivated in low growing crops of every shade of green, with not a
farmhouse or sign of cultivation equipment in sight!! Not to mention
the awesomely expansive (that's the word for Washington!) Columbia
river, which at first seemed so wide and still, I thought must be a
huge and peaceful lake. Finally, spent the night in Wenatchee, one
of those sudden settlements that comes out of nowhere in the
uninhabited desert/farmland wilderness; a town with some history, at
the confluence of the Wenatchee and Columbia rivers. Next day was an
excursion up to the Grand Coulee Dam, of fabled New Deal glory and
Woody Guthrie anthem! The drive to the dam was unexpectedly awesome
(a word I could have used before but somehow neglected): passing
through and beside enormous rock formations that seemed from another
planet, both along the banks of the Columbia and along the roadside.
I wondered what kind of geological history they told. Later, I
learned exactly that they are the remnants of an amazing ice-age
flash flood, 12,000 years ago, that tore through the span of land
from western Montana to eastern Washington when a colossal ice damn,
miles high (!), burst and released its fury and in just 48 hours had
scoured the countryside for hundreds of miles, leaving only the
bedrock exposed, and depositing boulders the size of small mountains,
strewn about – the other worldly landscape I'd just driven through.
The canyons thus scoured between high outcropping of vertically
crystalized granite cliffs, are called “coulies” and the Dam was
built in the most expansive one of them all, the Grand Coulie!
There's a reason for everything, including weird earth formations and
weird place names.
Approaching the dam, I took a photo of
the peaceful, hardly moving river from the side approaching the
spillway, not suspecting in the slightest, what was just around the
bend. When I saw that spillway, one of the true wonders of human
engineering and construction, I was so flabbergasted I uttered a
comment that cannot be rendered here out of respect for the genteel
sensibilities of my readers. It's initials were HFS (first word was
“Holy”). But there were no words, even profane ones, that could
possibly describe this spectacle. Fortunately, my little camera did
capture it in video and audio, so eventually I can share that moment
with you. The visitor center provided some excellent, short movies
that documented the history of the dam – an early project
(beginning in 1933) of Roosevelt's intrepid recovery program (oh,
that Mr. Obama would have the courage!!) that provided employment for
thousands of brave and strong workers, electric power and irrigation
for the huge region of the Columbia River valley I'd spent the day
driving through. The largest human construction in the US, and at
the time, in the world. And one of the movies featured Woody's songs
(“Grand Coulee Dam” and “Roll on Columbia”) for much of the
sound track. Ever the video opportunist, I actually filmed the films
(!) and will post them on YouTube if they are not there already.
They are must-sees for their educational content: geological and
human history. “Roll on, Columbia” has been rolling on in my
head ever since. What a great song! Happy hundredth birthday,
Woody!!
Okay...on to see Glacier National Park,
one of my “bucket list” destinations ever since my first
cross-country trip in the early 60s when the route was a little to
the south through Yellowstone and Grand Tetons, but missed Glacier.
I will wish you warm regards from the
Glacier. (Just another of those magnificent contradictions that comprise life and living.)
Back to the trail.
Ben
