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Cascades, Washington
Winter trip 2000.
Click on thumbnails to enlarge photos
Planning to spend a weekend in the snowy mountains, we went ahead
and had a set of all-season radials mounted on a spare set of rims.
We ended up purchasing the 6 ply reinforced sidewall tire with a
winter type studless tread pattern, but rated all-season.
Figured that in addition with cable chains, the vanagon shouldn’t get stuck.
Almost as soon we get on I-5, we run into a 50 mph violent windstorm,
buffeting our bus, but we decide to continue anyway.
By the time our vanagon is climbing Snoqualmie pass, it’s snowing quite
merrily, and the windshield wipers have a hard time coping with the
powdery stuff. We are beginning to have fun.
Then on the way back down, the traffic stops, and we are stuck
for almost 2 hours waiting for an avalanche to be cleared off the road.
So we sit in the back, drinking hot tea and eating sandwiches,
while enjoying the view. Finally arriving at our destination in
the small Bavarian village of Leavenworth, we are greeted with
oompah music and the smell of bratwurst with sauerkraut.
There is almost a foot of fresh snow on the ground, and the
Cascades are a visual smorgasbord.
The village is at its most charming, and we arrived just in time
to watch the Icefest fireworks.
Sunday morning a short stop at Homefires Bakery to stock up on
fresh-baked goods, then some sightseeing, and we’re on our way
back home via Stevens Pass.
Overall we were surprised, how well our 2 wd westy handled in the
deep snow and slush, and brought us safely back home.
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