a visit to the methow valley

Since Adrienne and I moved to Seattle, people have told us to visit the Methow Valley in eastern Washington. Home projects and general business have kept us from doing so...but last week, I decided at the last minute to hitch a ride with my friend Tristan over to the Methow while he went fly fishing.  The 500+ mile road trip (all in one day!) yielded no steelhead for Tristan, but he cold, crisp, beautiful, blue-skied day over there was a big treat. Worth the drive, and clearly we explored just the tip of the iceberg of what the Valley has to offer - AJ and I will go back and explore a bit more in the months to come.

The air temperature was about 18 degrees when we arrived...

Tristan got in the water.  All of those riffles on the top of the water...well, they are not riffles, they are ice chunks!

I stood on the river bank - no way was I even getting close to that water!

Tristan all suited up.

Riverside cobbles

Partially frozen river

 Ice edge with colorful cobbles underwater

Whitewater

Sun off of the water and snow

Not much snow, but the cold temps kept what little snow there was stuck to the river's edge.

I love the dry ecosystems of the east side, especially the pines that dot the landscape.

We caught the sunset from the Sun Mountain Lodge, where we also caught a beer and the end of the Packers/49ers game. That's the upper end of the Methow Valley.

Up at the resort - John Meyer looking cold...

 Panoramic of the Methow Valley from the Sun Mountain Resort