With my cousin visiting from Florida, I get to head to all the "biggies"... and Snoqualmie Pass is one of them.  Lucky for me, my favorite restaurant is nearby... what better excuse do I get than this?!?  :-)

The drive up there was very nice... low clouds always seem to make for an interesting drive!

Up at the pass, the clouds were scraping along the hillsides, but they were leaving open areas, which allowed us to see the views fairly well.

There were still several patches of snow here and there.

The fog made for interesting terrain...

The sunbreaks were very nice, too.

Both the Shadow Lady and I marveled at how full the lake was... this region is usually Stumps - we went snowshoeing here last year, and were playing around the stumps and the stream... all of that is buried in water, now, though. 

 
We took a walk down the Iron Horse Trail to the Snoqualmie Tunnel, which was constructed in 1902.

It was replaced a while back, and the rail line it served is now a mountain bike and hiking trail.

We could feel the cool breeze flow out of the tunnel as we got closer... it caused a steamy, misty fog as it mixed with the air outside the shaft. 

The tunnel is about 2 miles long or so... too far to see light at the other end.

we only went 100 yards or so into the tunnel, to get a feel for it, then we walked back. 

 
My cousin liked the area, but through it was too cold.

She is from Florida, though, so I can understand!  :)

There was a wreck blocking the Interstate heading Eastbound, causing a 7-8 mile backup, so we took a US Forest Service road down the pass instead. 

You're supposed to have a Forest Service Pass in order to use the roads... so my Golden Eagle Passport came in handy!

 
The road was VERY nice, with awesome scenery... I think I found my new favorite way down the Mountain!

 
The fog really made the trees stand out nicely!

 
High, steep slopes above the road... it was great!

The roadway was very well maintained, with asphalt the whole way.

I'm pretty sure that the roadway follows the original road up and over the pass, which was opened in 1915, about 88 years before we drove on it.

The scenery was spectacular!

 
We came out onto the highway right where the accident happened.

The onramp led us right to the exact spot where the wreck was, and we merged into traffic just as it was passing the choke point.

we couldn't have planned it any better!

 
The roadway after the site was wide open.

We missed the backup completely!

 
Continuing down out of the mountains, we were treated to an awesome view of the sunset!

It was a nice ending to a great drive... with an adventure of sorts - my favorite!

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