Fall Foliage Day Trip

Last Friday, Abby and I ditched the sickly Kevin and went on a day trip with my parents to see some fall foliage up in the mountains. For months my dad had talked about taking us up to the North Cascades Highway during fall since we'd never been there. My dad said some of the best scenery in Washington is in the Northern Cascades. But because of multiple factors (cranberry harvest, Kevin's sickness, my Dad leaving for Alaska yesterday), we decided a multiple day trip to the north would not be possible. But I had been so set on going on a trip, that my dad decided we could go on just a day trip over to White Pass (near Mount Rainer) to see the fall foliage. His first plan was to make a 6-hour drive loop that went all the way to Yakima. Knowing that traveling with a baby always takes way longer than expected, I suggested we just go up to White Pass and back (about a 4 1/2 drive). Well, we never even made it to White Pass before we had to turn around - that's how far behind schedule we got! Dad couldn't believe how long the lunch stop in Morton took us. =)

We had a lot of fun on the trip, watching the passing countryside, visiting together, and making a few stops. But the main reason for the trip - seeing the beautiful fall colors - was quite the disappointment. Little did I know, but up in the mountains there only seems to be one kind of native deciduous tree - and that kind only turns yellow. I was hoping to see bright reds, oranges, burgundies, golds, etc...but we only saw yellow leaves over and over again. =)

And, as is also typical in Washington especially up in the mountains, the scenery was almost all evergreen trees! So we saw a lot of green-covered hills with a scattering of yellow trees at the bottom just like the picture below.

The highlight of the trip for everyone was a herd of elk we saw alongside the highway. We stopped and watched the herd for at least twenty minutes. Abby was ecstatic! I'm sure she would have loved to have stayed there all afternoon.

We couldn't get Abby to look away from the elk to look at the camera. =)

Another highlight was going on a little trail in Mount Rainier National Park. Once we decided we didn't have time to go all the way up to the pass, we pulled into the park because my Dad remembered taking a tour group to a stop with a pretty little creek just a few minutes inside the park boundary. Abby had fun going through the woods and staring up at all the tall trees. She was also quite fascinated by the creek and the sound of the rippling water.

All in all the trip was a lot of fun and a very nice break from the everyday routine. We laughed about never making it to our destination and not seeing any red or orange trees except in towns where people had planted non-native trees, but we were also thankful for the unexpected chance to view the elk herd. On the way back, we were rewarded with this beautiful view of Mount Adams peaking over the hills.