Postscript

A Trip to the North-West

Some Cascade Loop Postscript thoughts on my first time in the north-west of America, and of course on the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway. I visited and saw many new places and sights on this road trip to the US of A. It was good to be back on the road after four years away due to the pandemic. Overall I drove 1721 miles through the states of Washington, Oregon and California.

For a relatively last-minute trip it worked out well. There wasn’t anything I regretted doing, nor identified anything that I could have added on or done differently.

Seattle is an interesting city and the added bonus of seeing Coldplay play live was a great experience.

Most recommendations for doing the Cascade Loop seemed to say to allow 4 to 5 days. As I’m not into hiking or wilderness walks, for me the Loop was essentially a scenic expedition. And a good one at that, although some more blue skies wouldn’t have gone amiss. Thankfully there was no rain though. I didn’t rush at all and made sure to stop at as many vista points and overlooks as possible. My three days on the road for the Loop was more than adequate.

Driving the Washington Pass

I would say however that if you were into outdoor activities then from what I saw of various trailheads available, I think 4 to 5 days to do the whole of the Loop might be somewhat optimistic. I think you’d need longer than that.

Volcanos and 49ers

The rain-soaked drive to Eugene was obviously an unavoidable transition day. The Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway has some superb scenery along its length. Apart from Crater Lake plus McCloud and Burney Falls however there’s not a lot of ‘Points of Interest’ other than to marvel at the views. And the trees. The weather was a lot better further south as well.

It was nice to stay in Napa again and do another wine tour with Platypus. It was excellent to get back to watching live football again at Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers played great and of course went all the way to the Super Bowl that season, only to be thwarted yet again by Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. Maybe next year…?

As of the end of July 2024 the Pacific Coast Highway is still closed in places in Big Sur. The Paul’s Slide section re-opened in July but further up the road there were two more landslides in March 2024, again due to bad storms. Caltrans is saying PCH probably won’t fully re-open until near the end of the year. So that means my 2024 road trip sadly won’t be the Seattle to San Diego coastal trip I’ve had planned for two years – that will have to wait until 2025 hopefully…

I shall however be back to start a 2024 trip from Seattle in September. And I will be jetting back to the UK from San Diego. I’ll be getting from Seattle to San Diego by a different, non-coastal route and seeing lots of things that I’ve had on my California to-do list for a while. Washington and Oregon will also hopefully add something to the road trip mix. Watch this space.