Last Day On The Cascade Loop

They All Leave Early

In Winthrop at The Old Schoolhouse Chad had commented about my plans to drive to Tacoma on Sunday. Apparently Seattle-ites who weekend in the Cascades like to leave and drive back home between 9 and 10 am. This causes Rte 2 W to become a car park of RVs all the way to Seattle. Why everyone leaves so early he did not know. Beats me as well. But it’s what he’d heard. Forewarned, I’m not sure what to do.

On arriving last night I questioned the hotel receptionist about it. Yes, she concurred: “Everyone leaves early.” Her only logic is that “They’ve got to work on Monday” but what difference does it make getting home at 12 noon instead of 6 pm? I suggest to her that if I leave at noon, whilst there might still be some traffic, I might avoid major jams. She says if I leave then I should be OK. So I ask for a late check-out at noon. “Oh no, I can’t authorise that, you’ll have to ask in the morning.” WTF!!! What kind of dip-shit establishment is this? There was something a bit strange about the woman anyway, but I was clearly not going to get anywhere last night.

Late Check-Out

Back in reception for breakfast in the room behind, I ask today’s receptionist for a late check-out, having explained what I’ve been told about everyone leaving early. She also states this is the case, but then agrees with my plan and gives me a late check-out. Halleluiah.

Breakfast however is less of a cause for celebration. Poor would be too kind. It’s like the rest of the hotel. Cheap. There are kind-of the normal stuff you’d get in hotels elsewhere, just cut-price crap versions of same. The only fresh fruit available is apples. They are a major crop in the area, but still… It’s all plastic, single-use cutlery and plates. Sugar-y cereals, withered sausages and bizarre circular-formed scrambled eggs. The latter two tasted OK but looked weird.

Killing time back in my room until noon, I do some diary. Then it’s out on the road again, expecting carnage. Leaving the town Rte 2 runs right by the Wenatchee River, with towering mountains enclosing the road. It’s very spectacular. But where is the traffic? The Loop swung another ‘corner’ at Wenatchee and I’m now driving west. But I’m practically on my own on the road. There are more cars coming into Leavenworth than leaving. What is going on? Not that I’m complaining about not being stuck in a traffic jam…

Where Is All The Traffic?

I leave the impressively high mountains behind as the road presumably starts to route itself on the mountain surface rather than in the valley. The road, as with the rest of the Loop, is in very good condition. It’s a fast and easy drive. I keep expecting to start climbing as I believe the road goes over a mountain pass rather than through a tunnel.

I continue west, still almost alone on the road. And still about four times the amount of traffic is heading east. It’s different to almost all other mountain passes I’ve been over. You almost wouldn’t know you’re doing it as the road’s gradient is so gradual for much of its length.

I still don’t understand how this road becomes a parking lot either. Sure there are sections of road where there is nowhere safe to overtake but there are miles of two lane sections where that shouldn’t be a problem.

Stevens Pass, the high point of the road, is an anti-climax. It’s a three lane highway either way over the summit. It hardly classes as a mountain pass in my mind, but you do go over the mountain as I climbed up. Past the Pass, the road starts to descend. It’s about as safe a road as any could be. The gradient in the area of the Pass means your speed might run away with you if you weren’t paying attention, but then if you weren’t then that’s your fault. The bends and curves in the road are so shallow as to not present problems either.

They’ve clearly spent years and millions of dollars on the Steven Pass section of road because back on the valley floor the road is a one lane either way highway again. Now this could become a parking lot with a lot of vehicles. On the other side of the Pass heading towards Skykomish the road become tree-lines and very pretty it is too. There are a few bends to keep you awake as well, with hills and mountains rising up on either side to create interesting scenery.

A Custom Car Show

I’m getting back into civilisation now as homes and businesses to start appear road-side. Obviously up over the mountain there was little but nature. I carry on Rte 2 W until I reach Snohomish, which is where I turn left off the Loop and head south. I let Maps run its course though and it takes me into the centre of town. In town, on the left I spot some streets closed off and some sort of event taking place.

As I have been on the road for a few hours, I decide to take a break and stretch my legs. The streets on the other side from the closed ones are very busy with parked cars but I eventually find a space. A five minute walk and the closed off streets are hosting a custom car show, very similar to the one in Commerce on the Route 66 trip.

But this one is much larger. It’s all very impressive what some folks have done to the cars, a lot of serious love – and money – on show today.

It was good to stop and have a look around Snohomish. However I hadn’t looked properly at the route to Tacoma once off the Loop. I just plugged it into Maps back in the UK. This morning however I realised that it’s Interstate all the way. It’s 2.30 pm when I’m at the custom car show. I figure if I get on the Interstate I’ll be in Tacoma in no time. So I decide to go off-grid.

To Tacoma ‘Without Motorways’

I re-program the Maps route to Tacoma as “without motorways” – no Interstates basically. Then I set off again. The weather has not been great today. There were a few sunny intervals early on but since noon it’s become total cloud cover. And now it’s raining.

I was hoping that from Snohomish the route would be in the countryside, so I would see some pleasant scenery. Wrong. They’ve built on all the fields that were presumably once here. I’m driving almost without exception through suburbia. It just goes on and on. Which in America means one thing. Traffic lights. Lots of them. Every block. And always on red. And never co-ordinated, so I always end up stopping at every junction.

It’s becoming a nightmare. Sure, I’m getting to see parts of the outer Seattle conurbation but after a while the novelty wears off given I’m in US traffic light hell on earth. And frankly there isn’t anything to see. It’s one suburb after another. I guess I’ll live and learn…

With about 30 minutes to go to Tacoma on my non-interstate route, I decide I’ve had enough. I pull over and turn off “no motorways” and Maps re-calculates a way to I-5. It eventually saves me about 15 minutes but more importantly I retain my sanity.

McMenamins Elk Temple

Commencement Bay

Through the drizzling rain I arrive in Tacoma. I’m routed north onto I-705 and a short distance up that, I turn off and quickly find the McMenamins Elk Temple hotel, just off the Interstate. It looked a very interesting and quirky hotel when I found it when planning. So much so that I decided to ‘stay in’ tonight and sample the hotel’s delights. Hopefully.

I’d booked a room with a view of the sea, Commencement Bay, but through the rain and gloom it’s not a pretty sight tonight. There’s little to see of Tacoma either. On check-in I’m given a Wandering Map, a graphical illustration of what’s in the hotel. So after unpacking, I go for a wander.

It’s a very eclectic place but it has a quirky charm. There are four bars / restaurants – well, five, of which more soon – and I visit them all to discover the ambience and menus. I decide to eat in Doc’s Bar later mainly because it has TVs so I can watch the end of SNF. Breakfast is only available in McMenamins Pub.

McMenamins Elks Temple map

The fifth bar I mentioned is hidden, a secret to be discovered. Not sure why, a bit of fun I guess. It’s called The Vault. The staff won’t tell you where it is but a couple of them give me hints. I search thoroughly but cannot find it. I convince myself that it must be a hoax, a wind-up for guests.

Finding The Vault

Hotel lobby

Back in my room, I decide to Google ‘The Vault’. Lo and behold someone posted a video on YouTube of entering the bar through it’s hidden door. The poster did not state where it was but I recognise the area from my walk around earlier. And no-one has posted anything online with explicit instructions in how to find it, which is good.

On my way to Doc’s Bar later for dinner I visit The Vault. It’s small and cosy, only seating about 15 to 20 people. It specialises in spirits – rum, whisky etc. There’s no beer or wine on offer. I shall return later for a nightcap!

I sit at the bar in Doc’s and Chris the barman is very friendly throughout the evening. When I sat down there was a guy to my right. We end up chatting, firstly about football. He’s a local but is a Giants fan. Next week he’s travelling to New York to see them play – the Seahawks, of all teams.

It’s his first ever home game. He went to see them play at Lumen Field at some point in the past. He’s going with some mates and is staying in Manhattan to see some sights.

Talking About Road Trips

Temple postcard

Including the 9/11 Memorial & Museum. So I tell him I’ve been and offer some tips for his visit. Such as to do the narrated Memorial Garden Tour on a joint ticket for the Museum, which allows you to jump the line queuing to get in. He leaves a while later and we wish each other well on out various trips.

I have a turkey and cheese sandwich and fries. I was expecting the sandwich to be warm and toasted, but it wasn’t. It tasted nice though. Too many fries to finish though. Good beer on offer as well.

A friend of Chris’ turns up and he persuades him to stay for a drink. We also end up chatting. He asks if I’ve visited Crater Lake. I tell him that’s on Tuesday. He says it blew his mind. As did Niagara Falls when he visited aged 18. I ask him what he saw and he did the American side, which means he did the Cave Of The Winds.

He’s probably mid-30s now so I pull up the videos of the ‘Winds on my website. He says he doesn’t remember all of it so I tell him he must go back and revisit, plus to do the Canadian side and a boat trip, neither of which he did.

Temple leaflet

Anyway, he departs shortly after so I do a bit of diary for a while. Then a young lady arrives, sits next to me, whereupon Chris gives her a mini-cribbage set. She sets this up, deals the cards – and Chris starts playing a game with her. It’s his girlfriend. She serves in a pizza restaurant and when her shift ends she comes to Doc’s to wait for Chris to finish. Chris plays a hand then goes to serve someone, comes back for another hand – which is how the game gets completed.

We all chat generally in between their card games. It getting on and I want to visit The Vault. “It’s usually very quiet in there”, he says. I reply that I’ll be back if it is. Bidding Chris farewell, we shake hands and he says “Safe travels.” I say goodnight to his girlfriend and leave Doc’s.

In The Vault

The Vault

The Vault was quiet but I didn’t go back to Doc’s. The young lady serving was very knowledgeable about the drinks on offer. I say I like Jack Daniels and she recommends a local whisky called Hawkshead. It is very good. But they don’t sell it in shops. It’s actually distilled by the owners of the hotel (which is a small chain around Washington and Oregon states). It’s only sold in their bars and hotels. Why is beyond me.

Taylor the bartender then recommends Pinhook. She says people come into the bar and see it on the shelf and have to have it. It was featured in a TV series but is hard to find in stores. I’m not surprised. It’s very bland and non-descript to my palate. Just goes to show what idiots some people are, buying a drink just because it’s in a TV series. I have another Hawkshead ‘for the road’.

By this time I’m the only one left in The Vault. Not that I’m bothered, it’s chill-out time. I retire to a table and do some diary. All the bars in the hotel close at 11 pm, which is rapidly approaching, so I walk back to the bar and sign off my check. Whilst I do, I notice some malt whiskies behind Taylor. She says something that indicates she doesn’t know the difference between blended scotch and single malts. So I explain, she’s very grateful and then we wish each other goodnight.

I reflect on the end of the Cascade Loop and a rain-drenched afternoon. The predicted traffic jam on the roads never manifested itself, which was good. It was a good and fast drive this morning. A bit of sun would have been nice, in fact the weather on all of the Loop has been mainly overcast. I’m glad I went ‘off-grid’ but the US traffic light system beat me in the end. The Elks Temple rounded off another varied, mostly up and some down day on the road.