Omak to Seattle 6/9 &7/9

Yesterday as we left Omak we discovered that we had been staying in an apple growing area. We wound up through the valley surrounded on either side by red apples ripe for the picking. As we gradually climbed higher the forest returned and we were soon driving between dense pine forests. We kept climbing into the Northern Cascade Mountains. The highest point was Washington Pass. There was a delightful lookout there and we wandered around the overlook and a short walk trail. The view was spectacular because the road has been cut into the side of the mountain. There was an information board giving the history of the road construction. When it was decided that a road was needed through the mountains the route was planned and work began from two towns on opposite sides of the mountain. The middle section took two years in the 1920's with the men working for $2/day. When it was almost completed the whole road was washed away in a winter storm. This delayed things somewhat and it wasn't until the late 1960's that a new survey devised the current route. Modern explosive technology was used to blow the new path through the rock in one big bang. It was completed in 1972.
From there we drove on to the Northern Cascade National Park and found the picnic area for lunch. We then tackled the Visitor Centre and picked a nice relaxing 3 mile River Walk Loop. The water in the rivers in the mountains is wonderfully clear and a beautiful greenish blue when there is depth. We were walking along the path when we came  upon a family of flightless birds. The biggest (mumma) was the size of a small hen only a bit closer to the ground. They were fairly untroubled by us so we managed to get some photos. Back at the Visitor Centre we checked and found that they were Sooty Grouse and the rangers have only noticed the one family.
Our accommodation that night was on the Highway between two small towns. There was not a lot of choice in that part of the world but the Totem Trail Motel was very comfortable and had interesting benefits. Before dinner we were sitting outside in the Gazebo and I was eating my fill of juicy blackberries. They are everywhere in this part of the world and the motel had a huge hedge of them around the back of the units and the car park. We had to drive a couple of miles back to get dinner and I tried my first "pulled pork". It was tasty but as usual I couldn't eat it all.
Today we had a short run into Seattle where we have accommodation for 3 nights at the City Hostel. So we have two days to explore. We stopped at the outlets on the way into town and did some shopping because we couldn't check in until after 2pm. The traffic coming into Seattle was very heavy but Bob and our faithful GPS managed it safely. Photos of the Cascades Loop Hway separately.