Day-12: Into the Cascades & On To Sun Mountain

Monday, October 7, 2013

We're into waking up, or at least getting up around 7 AM. So once up, we had to decide on a plan of action for the day; well, maybe later.

It's A Salmon

First of all, we safely descended the 30+ steps from the loft to the ground. Coffee was brewing in the main lodge and with a cup in hand I proceeded to the creek to watch the salmon again in their endeavor to swim upstream; hey, the tree houses are a great place, why don't the salmon stop right there, what could possibly be better upstream?

By nine we were showered and presentable enough to head for breakfast and what a feast it was. Susan, the Tree House inn keeper and hostess had prepared a variety of foods for breakfast including:

• Ham & cheese scones (aka in the south, ham & cheese biscuits): These scones were way too good to forget or pass-up. Just the right amount of ham & cheese blended throughout the pastry of the scone (biscuit).
• Cranberry & orange bread pudding spritzed with vanilla bean flavoring: Though I am not a bread pudding fan, I can confirm that Sheila graded it A+.
• Boiled eggs: The chickens were busy to prepare this bowl, plenty of eggs to go aorund and maybe a few leftover for egg salad later in the day. What else can you say about a boiled egg, they were good especially the yolk; what other part of the egg would you expect me to eat.
• Fresh fruit plate: There was a variety of fresh fruits, mostly from local growers, well perhaps not the oranges. The apples topped the platter being sweet and crisp.
• Homemade granola and yogurt: A house blend of fruits, nuts and grains gently tossed and ready to serve solo or paired with the yogurt.
• Choice of beverages: Coffee, of course, juices and a wide variety of tea flavors.

Our Neighbor's Place

Peaking From The Tree House

As with many of the homey type lodges, breakfast can become a main event as people from all walks of life and places of life meet and share experiences, backgrounds and dreams. It's fair to say that we were the senior guests for the previous evening (remember the elevated abodes and ladders) though we were told that the age record for a guest was held by a woman well into her 90's asking for no special help but wanting to live for a night in the trees. We met people from Portland, Savannah and where else but Massachusetts. Seems that Susan, the inn keeper was from the Springfield/Westover AFB area. Of course with Sheila finding another Massachusetts connection, the conversation begin. Ninety minutes later, well fed and with the car packed we were ready to depart.

Thanks to Carrie for identifying the Tree House Point as a potential home for the night and many thanks to Susan and Damon along with the balance of the Tree House staff for making the overnight memorable in a very favorable way. Don't know when I last stayed in a tree house, but suspect it had been a long time. Would look forward to returning to experience another one of the lofty lodges amongst the trees.

Maxwells Spotted
Departing Carlsbad

Hummus At An Early Age

We heard this morning from MART Team Maxwell, that they were underway from Carlsbad en-route to Lake Tahoe. Sounds like life is good, they stopped en-route and had a tasting of pita chips and hummus (the two "m" kind) for lunch. Got to get that boy something hearty to eat otherwise, he'll just waste away.

Name Of The Town?
Concrete Of Course.

Well, back to planning. Once in the car, it didn't take us more than 15 or 20 minutes to set a course for the day, north then east. That general idea took us up along I-5 with a turn to the east bound for the Cascades.

Weather for the day turned out to be varied, moments of blue sky and sun followed by moments of intense rain. Did I mention the snow, well not just yet, read on.

The farm country en-route to Cascades National Park was scenic and lush. A variety of fruit orchards, farms and ranches bracketed the highway. 

We entered the national park and as expected encountered the "closed, nobody home" signs. In this case we had to move a sign just to get a good picture to confirm our presence at the park. The Cascades park brackets WA-20 winding through the ever-climbing hills ultimately topping out at about 5,400 feet. This is where the snow comment from above comes to play. I certainly can't call it blizzard conditions, actually it wasn't even a flurry but in any case, at the summit, the temperature had dropped into the low 30's and there were snow flakes, at least two, or at least flakes, standing out as if they had never seen the cold white stuff. 

By now we had confirmed a target for the evening, the Sun Mountain Lodge in Winthrop, Washington. We arrived there about 5 PM and soon realized that our room rate was helping pay for the 3-mile private road up a mountain to the lodge. That being said, they did have television with access to the Red Sox vs. Rays game so that's good enough. 

After scoping out our room, with a view and classical music playing in the background, we proceeded to the bar to watch the ball game and chat up other guests with obvious similar interests; for example the couple pulling for the Red Sox over the Rays. Another couple from Massachusetts you ask? Well not really, as a matter of fact, they had never been to Massachusetts and were currently residents of Alaska. So why the Red Sox as their team; seems that 50+ years ago when the guy was in little league, his first team was the "something" Red Sox in what was then his home state of Wyoming. Then there was the guy that only cared about the Dodgers and the couple (former Navy) that had money on the Falcons over the Jets, and the hostess that only picked Boston because her husband picked the Rays, etc.

There's a sizable group of travelers in the lodge, mostly of our age. We may be the MART but they are the 
"Roads Scholars", clever, not sure how smart.

By 8 PM we moved on to dinner, and a fine dinner it was. Best salmon I've had on this trip. Sheila had duck, couldn't confirm if its origin was Indiana but it was good just the same.

Cassiopeia

Back at our room I ventured onto the deck with the starlit sky and thought I had discovered a never before seen constellation. It looked like a smashed Cassiopeia, the "W" constellation. Strange thing though, an hour later it had not moved. Need to do some research.

By eleven, the day was about done. With the fire burning, listening to the music and ........................

Oh, I fell asleep for a moment there. Anyway, it's that time.