We're On the Road Again!

Yesterday Dave and I traveled north on I-5 and then I-405 and stayed overnight at Lake Pleasant RV Park in Bothell, WA.  It was a lovely day, but I didn't have a chance to take any pictures.  I've written about this park in the past because it's where we stay when we visit the Seattle area.  The price is $44 per night, but it's a peaceful oasis in the Seattle area.  Their Tengo internet is not adequate, and the 1 hour free per day is not adequate, either.  Dave used the MiFi on his phone to connect to the internet and I made do with the free 1 hour and checking email, Facebook, and blogs on my smartphone. 

Today we headed further north on I-5, past Everett and Marysville, and turned off on Highway 530 at Arlington. After checking my phone's Gas Buddy app, we got gas at a former Shell station at the exit.  Alas, the $3.63 price was for cash only, so we paid the debit card price of $3.73.

See the phone booth at the bottom of the picture?  Does anybody use phone booths any more?

Between Arlington and Darrington, we crossed this bridge and saw some great scenery.  It was sunny when we left Bothell, but cloudy when we turned onto Highway 530. 

Yes, you guessed it!  We reached WA State Highway 20 and headed east to Marblemount and North Cascades National Park.

The collapsed bridge on I-5 at Mount Vernon hasn't been fixed yet (later this week, they say) and we didn't want to deal with taking the motorhome on the detour route, so that's why we got off at Arlington and took Hwy 530 to Marblemount.  We missed seeing the towns of Burlington, Sedro-Woolley, and Concrete.  We really only missed out on seeing Concrete, because we had visited the other two  on previous trips. 

This part of Hwy 20 was new to us, as was Hwy 530.  The Skagit River runs along the Highway 20. 

We are staying at Alpine RV Park, located a couple of miles east of Marblemount.

 

The RV Park has grass sites, as you can see in the picture, which aren't our favorite, especially when it rains and the ground gets soggy.  Our "lego" jack pads are already buried in the grass/dirt.  But the price is right here, at $12.50 per night (Passport America) for full hookups with 50 amp power, free internet, and a two-bar Verizon 3G signal. 

Our destination after we got settled and had lunch was North Cascades National Park, located on Hwy 20, about ten miles east of the RV park.

The weather is still cloudy and it has rained some, with a predicted low of 35 degrees tonight.  Cold temperatures and more rain are predicted, so we'll see how much more of the national park we are able to see from this end of the park.  I'll share my pictures from today's explorations of the national park in my next blog!