It’s always interesting when you go somewhere new and the preconceived notions one has. I knew Glacier would be mountainous however, I am assuming, since we didn’t actually get to see any! We came out of the mountain terrain in Coeur d’Alene and a figured that we would be soon back into the mountains after Spokane. Much to my surprise it felt like we were back in Saskatchewan! Rolling fields of crops and flat as far as one can see. Well that’s surprising.
Soon the rolling fields turned into desert. We were back into the hills but not like I was expecting. We were climbing and descending steep canyons. There was not much for vegetation except small shrubbery scattered here and there. Also lots of windmills, which we got to see close up at one of the roadside rest stops. They are so much bigger than one would expect. Really neat! We stopped at a scenic viewpoint over looking the Columbia River and there was a sign that said “Watch for Rattlesnakes”. Now that was really surprising!
Shortly after the scenery changed again, similar to what we see in the fruit belt of B.C. Lots of crops including, Timothy hay, alfalfa, wheat, potatoes, sweet corn, peas, apples, grapes. After Yakima we saw lots of fruit stands beside the road. Mostly they were selling apples, but there was asparagus and cherries as well. We pressed on though. Time was ticking and we wanted to make it to Mt. Rainer.
By the time we made it to Mt. Rainer National Park is was getting late. We pulled into the first campgrounds, Ohanapecosh. Mostly local people, but there was still room for us. We got a great spot right beside the Ohanapecosh River nestled into the old growth forest. Just beautiful! The Ohanapecosh River is fed from the east glacier side of Mt. Rainer but it particularly special due to the fact that it stays amazingly clear. Most glacier fed rivers tend to be milky due to glacial silt (rock flour), but Ohanapecosh remains clear. I purchased a Copper River salmon in Spokane, so that is what we had for supper. Off to bed so we can be ready for another big day of exploring!
