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A Drive Up North Cascades Hwy 20...................


























Our destination was the top of the North Cascades Hwy 20 to see the snow......we kind of got waylaid by some pretty flowers when we stopped to use the restrooms at Early Winters Campground....what a nice campground this time of year...the ground was a carpet of flowers....pink and white with a few balsam roots mixed in.....hiked around through the brush and creek....the weather was pleasant....a tad bit windy...made for interesting flower shots.....it's kinda hard to catch a flower between wind gust as its swinging back and forth in front of your camera....from there we ventured on up the pass...made a few stops and checked snow level....wow....all I can say is its going to be awhile before we are hiking the Pacific Crest Trail on the backside of Cutthroat Pass....it was a lot of fun....a little chilly on top...lots of folks skiing...and snowboarding....and other folks getting ready to pack in with skis and such.....brave souls....The sky was pretty much grey by the time we got to the top....rain clouds moving in.....as we ventured back down made a stop in at Klipchuck campground...looking for the Driveway Butte trail head....We will return when the sunflowers are in prime shape here....once again a beautiful campground and with lots of options for exploring...the snow if pretty much gone out of lower area of the pass......we checked out the trail head and campground as we wandered around looking for flowers....the Glacier Lily's were blooming in this area very nicely.......as you drive into the campground you have a really nice view of the mountains up the pass....from there we headed back down the pass and into Winthrop....a stop at the book store to check for any new reading material and checked out Winthrop Mountain Sports....I could spend hours in there.....so much to look at....made a lunch stop at the Twisp Cinnamon Bakery....there is always something in there to munch on....as we headed back down the Methow we had to make our regular Blue Star Coffee stop...a must.....it was a pleasant day for a drive...a little bit gusty and windy....I thought March was supposed to be the windy month....

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