Drove the Cascades Loop this weekend.

[1BADLS3]

No pictures, no t-shirt, and no souvenirs except for the memory of romping on the throttle of my 2011 SS for a good 8-9 hours and having a sore face from grinning so much.

In a last minute decision, my partner and I decided we wanted to see the SR20 loop before the weather turns. It's been years since either of us has been up that way, so at 11am, we hopped in the Camaro and set out Northbound from Seattle. We reached SR 20 at about noon.

The weather and scenery were fantastic. Late afternoon views of Ross Lake and the Diablo dam, beautiful yellow and orange casts through the trees in the Wenatchee valley, and miles of open road.

There were a few slow movers on SR20, but the Camaro went right around them. I had some really good pulls near the summit on some of the longer sweeping curves. For such a big car, the handling is confidence-inspiring, and it's pretty easy to steer with the throttle if your halo isn't attached securely to your head.... Also had a wide open road going up Blewitt pass on the return trip, and some really good pulls going up that.

So, for anyone who has NOT done SR20 in a while, I highly recommend it. I'm hoping to get back up there in the coming weeks--this time, maybe not with the Camaro, but something more conducive to stopping, taking pictures, smelling the roses. I'd like to spend a little time in Winthrop (althought I did manage a momentary pause to snap a pic of the purple T/A Marshal vehicle).

[heRS]

That's always a great drive. We drove out to Grand Coulee on Saturday to watch the light show on the dam. It was spectacular!

[Motorhead79]

I might have seen ya, I did the mountain loop hwy on saturday from granite falls then on monday did the mountain loop hwy run from darrington. FYI its exciting right up till you see the sign saying pavment ends. So I doubled back onto 530 north to the N Cascade HWY and headed west on 20 to Baker Lk.

[Motorhead79]

I think my favorite part on monday was my new roomate riding shot gun with a permagrin while driving well into the 3 digits, then calling his wife in Texas saying "When you move up here were buying a Camaro!!!!!"

[scorch yellow]

That sounds like a blast. Let's see...Bremerton Raceway on Saturday leaves Sunday free all day! What's traffic on Sundays like up that way? I-5 northbound from Portland to Seattle turns into a long thin parking lot.

[Ladybugsmom]

Originally Posted by scorch yellow

That sounds like a blast. Let's see...Bremerton Raceway on Saturday leaves Sunday free all day! What's traffic on Sundays like up that way? I-5 northbound from Portland to Seattle turns into a long thin parking lot.

This coming Sunday shouldn't be bad, but the following one (9/25) will be horrendous anywhere - Obama is going to be in Seattle, AND it's the Seahawks home opener.... Stay in the south end that day!
BTW, welcome aboard! I'm in Graham - maybe I'll see ya around - I'll be the one waving!

[scorch yellow]

Originally Posted by Ladybugsmom

This coming Sunday shouldn't be bad, but the following one (9/25) will be horrendous anywhere - Obama is going to be in Seattle, AND it's the Seahawks home opener.... Stay in the south end that day!
BTW, welcome aboard! I'm in Graham - maybe I'll see ya around - I'll be the one waving!

Thank you for the welcome and info. Incidentally, I just saw a sweet red 5thGen with an arm out waving on 510 this evening... (I flashed my lights) maybe that was you!

[Ladybugsmom]

Originally Posted by scorch yellow

Thank you for the welcome and info. Incidentally, I just saw a sweet red 5thGen with an arm out waving on 510 this evening... (I flashed my lights) maybe that was you!

Nah - drove the SUV to work yesterday....

[MOMSREDSS]

Originally Posted by Ladybugsmom

This coming Sunday shouldn't be bad, but the following one (9/25) will be horrendous anywhere - Obama is going to be in Seattle, AND it's the Seahawks home opener.... Stay in the south end that day!
BTW, welcome aboard! I'm in Graham - maybe I'll see ya around - I'll be the one waving!

Good info. Our daughter called & said she was coming home that weekend from college. I'll tell her the drive will be awful. She may want to pick a different weekend to come home. I never look forward to the I-5 crawl.

[scorch yellow]

Originally Posted by MOMSREDSS

Good info. Our daughter called & said she was coming home that weekend from college. I'll tell her the drive will be awful. She may want to pick a different weekend to come home. I never look forward to the I-5 crawl.

It's even crowded at Midnight. Not much opportunity to enjoy the driving capability of the Gen5, but that's ok, because it gives me a chance to appreciate cruise control, fuel economy, and that Boston Sound System !