Scenes from a foggy road trip thru Washington’s Cascade Mountains in late October of 2009
Gazing across Lake Wenatchee from the state park there. Curious what drives or pulls the clouds as if towards a central point, tho the big volcano Glacier Peak is over the horizon there just out of view. It’s Tuesday the 20th of October 2009, and one can feel Winter’s on the way. Winter comes early up here in the mountains.
Me in an old-fashioned selfie taken with my handheld Nikon D40 DSLR. Somewhere on the side of a dirt USNFS road north of Stevens Pass in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. From Wednesday 21 October 2009.
Standing here on the South Shore beach in Lake Wenatchee State Park. Emerald Isle is on the left side center of the foto. Beyond rises bulky Dirtyface Peak to a height of 1,897 meters or 6,223 feet. I’m on a little ol’ road trip from Seattle out to check on our River Cabin further out off River Road across from Plain, WA. It’s Tuesday 20 October 2009.
During the latter half of October had to make a run out to the River House. It was my dream house, our dream house, for Kristina, my wife at the time, and for me, and for our children. We were in the final stages of losing it in the Great Recession. The events leading to the loss were complicated and international in scope, and it’s a story for another write-down for another time. Needless to say, we were in a short-sale process to avoid foreclosure, and I drove out to check on the property. Depending on traffic flow and weather conditions, the drive out from our home in Seattle, also in a short-sale process to avoid foreclosure, took anything from two to three hours one way.
At the same time I like taking road trips, especially out into the countryside. I love driving up and down in the mountains and along river valleys and then bursting out of woods and rocks to meander thru peaceful pastoral scenes of run-down barns from the glory days of family farms. I love driving. Just love driving. At the time I marveled at the beauty of Autumn as the Wheel of the Year rolled towards Winter, I also felt wistful, nostalgia, sadness, anxiety, and, yes, hope. Even stopped and prayed at a tiny little roadside chapel east of Monroe but just west of Sultan on the way home. The little sanctuary is the Wayside Chapel on the north side of U.S. Route 2. It’s peaceful, and altho my prayers were heartfelt, the Divine chose to not to respond the way I’d prayed for. OK. Had a lot going on, and losing so much so quickly was building up intense internal pressures resulting in severe episodic depression about five months later.
In the meantime, here are pictures from what turned into a high lonesome solo road trip. Felt good to get back out on the road and smell the October air, see the aftermath of Autumn glory, feel the misty rain and fog amidst the evergreen forests, and behold the stillness of a huge mountain lake.
The camera used was a handheld Nikon D40 DSLR. Fotos were loaded into my Apple iMac and cleaned up in Apple Photos. I’m an amateur who enjoys messy dynamic landscape fotografy.
Beach whorls: Nature’s fractal found art along the high water line.
Looking out across Lake Wenatchee.
We’re already past the peak of fall colors at this elevation of this mountain lake.
A young couple hunches down among the rocks, boulders, and logs on the little spit just past the beach. Feel glad to have some company after all, and also glad for the spacetime betwixt us. Tuesday 20 October 2009.
Drove off Route 2 down a dirt road into the woods and stopped alongside a small stream cutting thru the cliffs. Wednesday 21 October 2009.
Scree and talus slopes above and below the creek.
Fluid energy.
This scene is along a dirt road off Route 2 between Stevens Pass and Coles Corner in Chelan County, Washington.
The road beckons, and here I chose to turn around. Got back on Rt 2 to explore other dirt roads into the US national forests.
On a dirt forest service road north of Rt 2 going into another section of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. There’s an old network of roads that go into a mix of old private or once-private holdings and come out on the wilder far side of Lake Wenatchee.
Love the misty fog and cool drizzle. Also felt deeply alone, altho not at all lonely, and enjoyed the high, lonesome mellowness and focused presence.
Foggy Cascade Mountains
Love the intricate layers of life upon life upon death upon even more life upon this rotating, revolving mix of geology, chemistry, atmosphere, light and dark, and gravity…and spirit.
Looking down to the ground where the road bends around …
Looking back up and across into the hills and valleys and mountain peaks…
Old-fashioned, high lonesome selfie by the author. Wednesday 21 October 2009.
Back on the road heading home to Seattle thru mist and rain. Shot thru the windshield with the Nikon D40. Life thru the looking glass? It’s a curvy road out there!
William Dudley Bass
Wednesday 16 October 2024
Shoreline/Seattle, Washington
Cascadia
USA
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