Olympic NP Trip - Northern Rockies

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More photos at: Picasa

Grand Coulee Dam

Mountain day. AKA Rain day. It never really poured, just an on and off drizzle to make the mountain driving interesting until I got to Spokane, WA, at which point what was left of the day became sunny and clear. In Spokane I left I-90 behind and started moving towards North Cascades National Park and Ross Lake National Recreational Area. Along the way was Grand Coulee Dam, a massive dam on the Columbia River that diverts water for irrigation. After this I continued on, stopping Omak, WA for the night. I probably could have gotten a few more miles in, but there is a lot of mountain driving and not much else between Omak and Ross Lake NRA.

Also, don't trust old maps, even when they aren't that old. Sometimes, they lie. As is my habit, I had planned to stop at the Washington visitor's center at the state border, which was marked on my 2003 road atlas, so I could pick up a state map. Turns out, Washington is having a bit of a budget problem (who isn't?), and the visitor's center closed two years ago. Oops. (Also, starting July 1, Washington state parks will be charging an entrance fee, to much wailing and gnashing of teeth)

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