A drive along the Columbia River on the east side of the Cascade Mountains in northern Washington may not sound like the vacation of your dreams. But it is one of life's simple pleasures if you do it when the apple trees are in bloom.
The area between Wenatchee and the resort town of Chelan is the world's apple growing capital. Orchards line both sides of U.S. 97 for miles.Catch it in late April when the orchards are in bloom and your thoughts will drift back to basics such as motherhood and apple pie.
The region is a world away from the hubbub of Seattle, which is west over the mountains from Wenatchee.
The drive along the Wenatchee side of the Cascades is part of a scenic loop. We happened to catch it the last week of April when the apple trees were in bloom.
With the exception of state Route 20 over the northern Cascades, which is closed in winter, every season has something to offer along the way.
The route follows the Columbia River and takes you through tiny towns reminiscent even now of Norman Rockwell's vision of America.
Then it crosses the mountains, skirting along the border of North Cascades National Park, and drops into the Skagit (rhymes with gadget) Valley north of Seattle.
It's a scenic, albeit more roundabout, way to get to Seattle than I-90.
And it's a more rugged route across the mountains than the ever-popular U.S. 2, which goes west from Wenatchee through the Bavarian-themed town of Leavenworth. That, by the way, is also part of the Cascade Loop.
We exited I-90 at George (there's a joke here somewhere), and headed to Wenatchee. The sagebrush landscape doesn't look like it would be an agrarian utopia. But once you're in the Wenatchee Valley, orchards undulate along the hillsides almost as far as you can see.
Two highways parallel the Columbia River. U.S. Alternate 97 is on the west side of the river. U.S. 97 is on the east side.
We arbitrarily followed U.S. 97, which took off from east Wenatchee. (If you cross the bridge over the Columbia into Wenatchee, you're already headed toward Alternate 97. If you want U.S. 97, don't cross the bridge.)
The guidebook, however, recommends Alternate 97.
Most of the orchards lie between Wenatchee and Lake Chelan (pronounced Sha-LAN). They range from family farms to corporate orchards.
Chelan is a resort town on the shore of Lake Chelan, which is 55 miles long, stretching into the heart of the Cascade Mountains.
The lake is one of the deepest in the country. The upper half is accessible only on foot, by plane or by boat.
The town of Stehekin at the lake's upper end has vacation homes, a handful of lodges and a few (about 60) year-round residents.
Lake Chelan Boat Company operates two boats that run between Chelan and Stehekin. The ride takes four hours, one-way, on the Lady of the Lake II. The roundtrip fare is $22 for adults. The Lady Express takes two hours to go from Chelan to Stehekin. The roundtrip fare is $41.
Accommodations are available in Chelan or in nearby Manson.
Spring is blossom time at Chelan. Fall is harvest time. From mid-September through mid-October you can buy just-picked fruit from roadside stands and tour fruit-packing plants.
From Chelan, we continued north on U.S. 97 and turned onto Route 153 at Pateros. The narrow two-lane road takes you through the beautiful Methow Valley and the tiny towns of Twisp, where you connect with Route 20, and Winthrop.
Winthrop remade itself into a wild-West town with wood-fronted buildings and it thrives as a tourist trap.
We followed Route 20 west over the North Cascades. The road is closed in winter. If you go early in the spring or late in the fall, call ahead to check road conditions.
The highway cuts through the heart of the North Cascades, skirting along the border of North Cascades National Park and passing numerous trail-heads and campgrounds.
On the west side it follows the Skagit River. In January, bald eagles gather along the river between Rockport and Marblemount to feed on salmon that return there to spawn. The event has become a tourist attraction.
The road descends to the Seattle side, emerging into the Skagit Valley at Burlington, north of Seattle, where you once again encounter the hubbub of civilization. And if you're there in April, you'll see the fields of tulips in bloom near Mount Vernon.
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Additional Information
If you go
Phone numbers: For information call the Cascade Loop Association, 509-662-3888; the Okanogan County Tourism Council, 800-225-6625, or the Port of Chelan County Tourism Action Group, 800-838-2324.
Places to stay: Chelan offers a variety of accommodations, from run-of-the-mill motels to lake-front resorts. Prices run the gamut, too. A room with two queen-size beds at the Chelan Country Lodge, a historic house on the main street turned into a small lodge, is $49. Rates at the lakeside Campbell's Resort during the apple blossom season begin at $64 for a room with a queen-size bed. Summer rates go up a notch and begin at $138.