Winter on the Cascade Loop

Whidbey Island is part of Washington’s Cascade Loop, and a drive through part of the Loop as nature plays “gently” is thought-provoking and enchanting.

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Whidbey and Camano are beautiful places to visit and work, and yet they’re part of a larger beauty, where a state, indeed a region, teases with new beauty around each turn.

I headed this week into the Cascades along the Cascade Loop where nature rewards winter travelers with more space and special views.

This spectacular sunrise left me running in circles. “Which way to shoot?” “The rising sun in the east?” “The light off the mountain tops to the west?”

I’m sure I provided amusement to the regulars at Sun Mountain Lodge as Camera and I raced back and forth, Tripod acting as a balance against falling.

I had arrived at the lodge after dark and was unaware of my surroundings. Threats of snow should have kept me driving, but the Wenatchee River next to US Route 2 just kept teasing me to stop and shoot it in its new winter outfit.

Then, a few miles later a new view teases me again, until I was behind schedule and driving unfamiliar roads, giving me an early morning surprise.

Somehow it seems it was all just part of the plan.

Jack Penland lives on Whidbey Island with his wife, Diane. Even though they’ve lived here for more than 20 years, they keep finding new adventures, places to explore, and food to try.