Best Road Trip I've Taken in my Life

It is too bad that Roadtrippers as of writing this does not have any of the attractions that Concrete has to offer listed. We stopped there over night and head a great visit with a friend and had some amazing homemade apple pie. We visited Shannon Lake at night and it was spectacular under a canopy of stars. We also visited the Baker Dam and did an evening hike through an ancient forest full of old growth trees. The next morning we went to a small town swap meet full of old tools and tackle boxes. And then drove under the famous Concrete High School whose center of the building is built over a road. It is also featured in the movie, "This Boy's Life," starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It is a lovely town.

A North Cascades ranger recommended a short trail at the Rockport State Park that contains the oldest and largest trees of the park. It was beautiful and it was great to walk in such an ancient forest, amongst the majestic old growth. I would highly recommend it! The park also has ADA-accessible hiking trails.

We took a driving break from highway 20 to stretch our legs at Cascadian Farms. We ordered some Affogato and ice cream and walked around their gardens. It was a great little place to stop and recoup.

Diablo Lake and it's brilliant turquoise color is breathtakingly beautiful. If you are in the North Cascades it is not to be missed. If you are not up to hiking there is a fantastic scenic viewpoint just off highway 20, east of the lake.

I do not think you can call yourself a true Pacific NorthWesterner until you have taken this drive. It truly showcases the beauty of what it means to live here. The views are stunning! Not to mention, there are numerous state parks, interpretive centers, waterfalls and trailheads along the way. You could probably spend weeks if not months just travelling this short stretch of highway if you stopped at every location. We drove though in a day which was way too short, but it gave us a taste of what we would like to do next time. A few of the highlights were the Gorge, Ross Lake and to top it off Diablo Lake which sparkles the colour of jade.

The town of Winthrop, Washington is a themed town, similar to Leavenworth, but instead of being a Bavarian village it is themed after the American old West. I honestly had no idea this place existed, let alone has been a theme town since the 1970s when the highway was built. Every building in the town (in some cases both inside and out) is themed to resemble the old west. It somewhat resembles a disney version of an a cowboy movie but real people live and work here. I can only imagine the town meetings when the community made the decision to all become tourist cowboys and open a saloon and replace sidewalks with wooden boardwalks. What is not to love?

We stopped by for a quick flight of cider at the Methow Valley Ciderhouse on our way to Idaho. I can not comment on their food selection (which seemed a fairly minimal) but the cider was delicious. The staff was super chatty and they were setting up for some live music. It was a friendly place to stop and have a drink and talk with the locals. Also, as a side note I found it a amusing that it is located in this old fashioned western town and one of the staff there was wearing a utility kilt.