On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
PaulB
Welcome to stage 5 of “Washington’s Ultimate Road Trip,” the Cascade Loop. Today, you’ll be joining me on the road from Wenatchee to Winthrop, with a couple of side trips to explore the Entiat River Road and Lake Chelan. The main highway ran parallel to the Columbia River.
Note: You can see full-size versions of these photos here.
A view from the road, looking east across the Columbia River.
Just south of the town of Entiat. It looks like the local high school students have been spray-painting their graduation year on this bluff for decades.
A view of the Entiat River, paralleling the Entiat River Road.
A rather grim view of the aftermath of a forest fire, but note the green on the ground. This forest will rebuild.
Another view of the Entiat River.
Rock formation alongside the road.
A first look at Lake Chelan, with the town of Chelan nestled in the hills across the lake.
Another view of the lake.
Another view of the lake, taken from a bluff overlooking the road and the lake.
Back on the main highway again, heading north. Another view across the Columbia River.
eclare
Great photos! Looks like a fun road trip.
Dorothy A. Winsor
Pretty part of the country.
OzarkHillbilly
Somewhere, over the rainbow….
Nice pics, thanx.
stinger
All those blues and greens — so soothing. Thanks! Happy Fourth, everyone!
CaseyL
I made part of this trip 30+ years ago, out to Lake Chelan for a few days, with some old friends from the East Coast who used to come out to visit me every summer. It’s time I did it again!
PaulB
Thank you for the kind words. This was a somewhat frustrating part of the trip, as I was stuck behind a road-painting crew for far too long. Since they were painting the middle stripes, there was no way to get around them, and they were only going about 15-20 mph. Unfortunately, we weren’t near a good place to stop, so I couldn’t go shopping or hiking or eating lunch to give the crew time to finish.
Then, there was a state park by the lake that I wanted to visit, only Google Maps took me to the wrong location and proudly announced that I had arrived. I figured out what went wrong and made it to the park, only to find that that there was basically nothing there but a parking lot, some campsites, a few picnic tables, and some trees. My visit to the park lasted about 10 minutes.
All in all, I was happy to pull into Winthrop that afternoon and relax for the rest of the day. Winthrop is a charming town, and Lake Pearrygin State Park was definitely not a disappointment. Those photos will be up tomorrow, I believe.
munira
Lake Chelan is so beautiful. I’ve taken several boat trips down the lake in order to visit Holden Village (a Lutheran retreat center way up the mountain) where a friend was working for a few years.
pieceofpeace
The Entiat river looks small and fierce, especially in contrast to the mighty Columbia.
Love the PNW for its natural enjoyments.
Dan B
Lake Chelan is essentially an inland fjord. It’s 1 – 2 miles wide, 50+ miles long and 1,300 feet deep. The bottom of the lake is below sea level. The mountains at, or near, the head of the lake, are 9,000 feet tall, among the highest in Washington. Huge glaciers carved out the lake in the last ice ages. I’ve hiked on the lakeshore and on the high ridge on the northeast side of the lake. Seeing the moon set over glacier clad peaks on the far shore with fog from the Puget Sound lowlands spilling through the passes.
Chris T.
@Dan B:
Lake Whatcom (not “what.com”, pronounced WAT-com) is similar, though not nearly as large or deep. The surface elevation is a little over 300 ft and the deepest point is likewise below sea level.
I can see bits of the lake from my house, and the landscape and weather reminds me of New Zealand, which is why I like it so much.