Friday, July 8, 2022
Our adventure in the North Cascades region of Washington continued today after a good night's sleep in the delightful Sun Mountain Lodge.
We woke up to this view
out of our bedroom's window
Looking to the left off of our
balcony with coffee in hand
Same balcony while looking
straight out
Then there was this SPECTACULAR
view to the right of the same balcony
This interesting moth hung out all
night on the outside of our entry door
Morning view of our building
The views from the main building
of the Lodge while sipping my
second cup of coffee
Pastoral and tranquil
The panorama of my view awaiting
our breakfast reservation time to arrive
The back entry area's fireplace
in the main Lodge building
It definitely set the mood for what the Sun Mountain Lodge is all about, both relaxation and outdoor activities communing with nature.
Our hearty breakfast in the Lodge's restaurant made for an excellent start to the day's touristy activities.
Laurie and her pet bison
Four wild boars
Reminder: The Los Angeles Rams
2022 season is just around the corner
The front entry to the Sun Mountain
Lodge's main building
Th view from the pool and hot tub
area that we used last night
Lots of well manicured shrubbery
just adds to the Lodge experience
One last view before wee started
our long drive back to Camano Island
 |
| Our first stop was back in the quaint village of Winthrop in the Methow Valley of Okanogan County |
If you recall, we slowly drove through Winthrop last night, today we stopped and explored.
Winthrop's official current population accounts for a mere 340 souls.
Founded in 1891 by Bostonian Guy Waring, it embraces its 19th-century frontier Western and mining traditions to the hilt.
The town is named after Theodore Winthrop who was the first postmaster to serve the community.
He must have been one heck of a mail sorter.
Let's explore colorful Winthrop a tad . . .
One just has to visit any
town's eclectic bakery
Hence the bakery's name
Bicycles are a big part of this
bakery's motif
Biking of all styles is a huge part of the Summer activities in the Winthrop area.
Well, maybe not this type of biking
A cool cruiser
Of course a tourist town like
Winthrop has murals
Lots of friendly signs can be
found in Winthrop as well
A mural that is a map too
Massage Envy in Winthrop?
The outside of this establishment
was eye catching
Lydia, oh Lydia . . .
The Methow River raging right
behind Winthrop's Main Street
Panning for pennies
Another eye-catching store front
I think that we ate here on a previous
pre-Covid pandemic visit years ago
Mark and Susie getting
into the town's frontier spirit
We were confused
That confusion got us a stern
warning from Winthrop's Marshal
Howdy, partner!
Where all of Winthrop's political
machinations take place
What a pleasant place to visit but it was time to get back to our return trip to Camano Island in earnest.
The again rugged, sweeping panoramas during our two hour drive along Washington's State Highway 20, The Scenic North Cascades Highway, were simply breathtaking.
This time we did not stop at any of the numerous vista points along the way but we were getting hungry again.
Mark and Susie said that there was only one choice for us in these parts . . .
The City of Concrete, Washington's
Welcome Sign is made out of,
what else, CONCRETE!
This booming Skagit County city has a population of 705 people.
Nice concrete silos in Concrete
But our reason for stopping in Concrete was their famed . . .
. . . 1950s style diner
It sounded like a bargain to us
Oh, I think that we'll be in
burger heaven soon
YES!
While the burgers were indeed GREAT, it was the Cascade Burgers' malts and shakes that really set this place apart with options for a whopping 30 different flavors.
I went with an Almond Joy shake while Laurie opted for the English Toffee one.
We were all happy with this surprising little gem of an eatery in the proverbial middle of nowhere that is staffed by three fun loving young ladies that only added to our dining experience.
Once back at the Johnson's vacation cabin on Camano Island, we all decided that a sunset walk on the beach was the right call after spending so much time sitting in a car the last two days.
It's a rocky beach
A walrus tusk?
Much more likely, a piece of drift wood that can be found all along the beach in front of the Johnson's cabin.
One of many man-made drift wood
huts found along this stretch of
beach that faces the Puget Sound
and Whidbey Island
Susie and Mark Johnson with their
precocious pet Millie
No, this is definitely not their vacation cabin.
A look back up from Madrona Beach
to where the Johnson's cabin
can be found if you look hard enough
Easily the best entry gate to any
Madrona Beach home that we
saw on our walk tonight
Enjoy yet another . . .
. . . GLORIOUS sunset!
Finally, some weekend events from the wonderful world of EuroBall . . .
The Group B Championship Game
of the 2022 U19 IFAF Tournament
is scheduled for Saturday in Bologna
It will be Team Finland vs. Team Italy for all of the marbles with the Third Place game between Great Britain and Spain serving as the preceding, warm-up contest.
There are lots of Varese Skorpions playing and coaching for Team Italy.
The World Flag Football Championship
Tournament starts on Sunday in
Birmingham, Alabama's venerable
Legion Field
There are eight different countries that earned their way into their respective tournaments on both the Men's and Women's side.
Team Italy has three Varese Skorpions on the Women's squad and one on the Men's team.
The first day of this four day competition will be Sunday, July 10th.
Another full slate of games in
the European League of Football
This is the BIG ONE as the ELF's
last two undefeated teams
butt heads Saturday in Spain
The Vienna Vikings were expected to be the class of the ELF in 2022 so their 5-0 record is no surprise.
The Barcelona Dragons, 3-7 in 2021 ELF action, are the surprise story so far of the 2022 ELF campaign in attaining their 5-0 status.
This should be an interesting one to be sure.
LIFE CONTINUES TO BE
GREAT!
Thank you again Mark, Susie and Laurie for making these last two days so special.
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