Memorial Day Weekend 2014 Part 3

The last day of our long weekend we had sunshine and an idea of where we wanted to go. Once again we headed East. This time we took a left at Cle Elum, WA to head over Blewett Pass. Before heading over the pass, we decided to head up to a fire lookout we had read about, exploring some of the forest service roads along the way.

Before reaching the fire lookout we found a side road to follow that wasn't on the GPS. So off we went.

Emma's way of saying "We've stopped! Play?!?!"

We came to the end of the road after a couple miles. So we stopped to take a break and let Emma play for a bit. Then it was back on the road headed to the fire lookout.


You can drive pretty close to the lookout tower, but it is quite a hike to get to it. Unfortunately due to an injury, we weren't able to make the hike this day. But it is on the list to return to soon.

Red Top Mountain Lookout was built in 1924 It was used until the 1970's some time then abandoned. It was restored to its current condition in 1996 and is in use again during the summer months.

Flowers are all over the place in areas like this. It's always nice to see them and know this is what nature made, no garden, no tending, just the hardiness of these delicate looking plants that come back and flourish every year. Debbie takes some pretty amazing photos of them. Here is a few:

As we finished up our exploring of the area, we headed back out to the highway, then off to Wenatchee for lunch. After that was a trip up and over the North Cascades highway which had just recently opened back up for travel.

We took our time, enjoying the scenery along the way. Above is our stop at the Diablo Overlook. Our last stop before heading home.

It was a great way to spend a three day weekend. We covered several hundred miles, drove over Snoqualmie Pass, Chinook Pass, Blewett Pass,  and the North Cascades Highway. We played in snow, in mud, and on dry dusty dirt roads. Our Jeeps were in and out of four wheel drive multiple times and our dog needed two baths. It was a good weekend.

We've got a few more pictures here.