Issue link: https://digital.nexsitepublishing.com/i/1309033
NOVEMBER 2020 WWW.PNWR.ORG 37 From there it was on to the North Cascades Highway, through Marblemount with a quick picnic lunch at a nice roadside park in Newhalem, albeit with cars, masks, and socially distanced picnic tables. Back on the road again we enjoyed a nice 35-mile drive to the Washington Pass observation site and there had a chance to get out and stretch our legs, while enjoying a spectacular view of the Methow Valley and beyond. This time of year is one of our favorites for long drives through the mountains to see all of the fall colors and hopefully get those last few days of sunshine in! The North Cascades Highway is a favorite route for heading to Eastern Washington and was the perfect road for a fall drive. Going past yellow and orange-leaved trees dotted amongst the evergreens as you head up the Cascades, then opening up to the golds and yellows of the Methow Valley as you head down the back- side of Washington Pass doesn't get much better as a get-out-of- town route. On the road again, the group made our way to the town of Winthrop before continuing to our overnight spot at Sun Mountain Lodge. Two cars from our group had dropped off at Mazama for their overnight, the rest continued to Winthrop and decided to stop and check out the town. If you've never been to Winthrop, it's something you need put on your to-do list. It is a small western- style town that's great to walk around and visit the various shops. This is a popular route for other car and motorcycle clubs as well, so there's always an interesting procession of 'toys' to look at while you wander the town. After taking in Winthrop we gassed up in preparation for the next day and headed up to Sun Mountain Lodge for a waiting dinner reservation and settling in for the evening. This is another destination to check out if you have never been there. The lodge and rooms are very nice, and the views of the valley are amazing. While waiting for our table reservation we were in line with another PNWR couple and made introductions, as we were in different groups during the drive out. We struck up a great conversation with Mark and Gloria Crowell about wine, which quickly turned into the decision to split a nice bottle together while the sommelier took us all on a brief tour of lodge's wine cellar. Dinner in the restaurant, again socially distanced, was very good, as was breakfast the next morning. With a restful night's sleep we were ready to head out the next day and met up with our Day-2 group outside of the lodge after breakfast. This day we were assigned to Group-1 and thus were the first out of the gate. The leaders for our group were Curtis and Samantha, who know the area well and it wasn't long before we were up to cruising speed. The morning weather was perfect as we made our way through sunlit golden hillsides, running out long winding roads that went on forever and seemed to have no one on them but our group. Our route took us to Conconully State Park for a quick break. Then it was back on the road for a nice run out to Brewster and a stop in Pateros at a local country market for home baked scones, fresh fruit and jams. From there our group headed to Alta Lake State Park for lunch and continued from there. However, for us the touring part of the day ended early due to obligations back at home. We said our goodbyes to newfound friends and headed home via Highway-2, talking about what a fantastic weekend we experienced and all of the great people we had met. This was our first PNWR tour and as for first impressions, we will definitely be signing up for future ones! The weekend was perfect in terms of logistics, the roads chosen, leaders and sweeps, local attractions, food, and lodging amenities. If there were any ways to improve this trip, it wasn't obvious to us. The one exception might be not having to accommodate Covid-19 and social distancing. It would have been nice to meet as a group and get to know more of those who attended. Still, we were grateful for this opportunity, so we'll just have to wait for the socializing part. All the PNWR members we were fortunate to cross paths with were great, especially in these socially distanced times. That said, it is also about the cars, as we spent most of the drive home talking about whether we should think about a Cayman-S in the future.