The Shadow Lady and I decided to head up to the mountains, both for the scenery - the leaves are changing color - and for the break the drive would give to us.  We ended up having a better time than we'd hoped, and yeah... the scenery was awesome!!!

We left Right from work... here's the Shadow Lady coming out of the elevators into the parking garage...

The trip we took was a loop... up I-90 to Cle Elum, over to Leavenworth, then home via US 2, and down I-5 back to home.

It had been raining for most of the day, but once we started out, the weather was quite nice...

46 degrees... it was a bit chilly up in the Pass...

The scenery was NICE.  Mostly green, with outcrops of colors really setting the background...

Once through the western edge of the pass, the sky really cleared up.

The sun made the trees stand out more... which made for a great drive!

The sun was just setting as we got to Leavenworth.

We quickly found our Hotel... which was above a book store.  It was in a perfect spot for a view of the village.

The view from the room was very nice... the tree on the corner really set of the view.

There was a balcony... but it was a bit chilly to really sit out there for any amount of time...

The rooms in the hotel are set up themed by author... we had the "Shakespeare" room.

The quotes on the wall were a nice touch!

The room was VERY nice.

In the waning light, we took a walk around the village, into a few shops, and found a place to eat.

The town's main roadway is lined with fun shops...

They've done a great job of setting it up like a Bavarian village...

Christmas reigns year round in Leavenworth... this store had nothing but Christmas decorations... we ended up picking up a nice Nativity Scene.

The food, of course, is awesome!  There's not much better than German food, in my opinion... :-)

On the way back to our hotel, we were treated to a nice view of the sky...

Morning in the town was very quiet and relaxing...

The view was pretty incredible.

We got a light breakfast at the "Wedding Chapel and Cafe"... a quaint place that really does double as a wedding chapel.

We checked out of the hotel... we'll be back - I'm sure of it!

From Leavenworth, we traveled up into the mountains a bit, looking for scenery.

The area was burned out a few years ago... you could see the scorched ground in some areas.  The trees were able to survive the burning, but the bushes and grasses will take a bit to grow back.

The view, with the bright leaves, was awesome!

It was a GREAT drive!

Before too long, we left the pavement, and were heading out on the Forest Service Roads.

They were fine, but a bit tight on the corners, especially with oncoming traffic.

Hunting season is on, and there were quite a few hunters out and about, taking advantage of the weekend weather.

THIS is why were were heading up into the mountains... the views were SPECTACULAR.

Our objective was the Sugarloaf Lookout, a forest service fire observation post.

The post is perched on top of Sugarloaf Peak, which is the highest point in the surrounding area.

We had a great view of Glacier Peak!

We could also see Lake Wenatchee, which was a considerable distance away.

The area had been burned out in the 1970's, again in the mid 1980's, again in 1997, and again in 2001... understandably, its taking a while to recover.

Before too long, we were at the turn off to the lookout.

The road was fairly well maintained...

... but after about a mile, the road was closed...

... several trees had fallen over the roadway.

So, we walked the last half mile or so.

The Lookout has a commanding view, and is visible from a considerable distance

The "Employee Parking" sign was pretty funny... I suppose, though, that they had the road open during the fire season, which ended a month ago or so.

Cresting the hill below the outcropping of rocks that the lookout is perched on... the view REALLY opened up.

Wow.

The Shadow Lady spotted a Reference Mark.

They are placed by the USGS, and are used to verify your location for survey information.

The views were just amazing!

No matter where you looked, the view was incredible!

The panorama below is looking 180 degrees, facing west.

The lookout itself is pretty interesting.

Built in the 1940's one has to wonder how many fires this structure has seen, and how much snow and harsh weather it has withstood.

5,814 Feet.  Some 600 feet higher than I could get in my home state of Maine.

The Shadow Lady really sets the scene...

We could have stayed up there all day, but unfortunately, there has to be a last look...

We walked back down the road to Gar... it was a GREAT day!

After we turned Gar around, we realized we had a GREAT view of Glacier Peak from the roadway, too.

We went a different way on the way back... this section of the road was a bit rougher, showing some effects of the recent rains, but still no problem at all.

The views continued to be just incredible!

This section wasn't burned out, and the underbrush was more lush and colorful.

Out on US2, fall made for some incredible views!

We saw a fly fisherman in the river, so we stopped to check it out for a bit...

The water was so clear we could see the fish from the bridge!

There's at least 8 fish in this picture... the yellow streaks are leaves floating downstream

The views were INCREDIBLE!

While we were there, enjoying the view, a rain went over the bridge...

The sun set while we were heading down out of the mountains... the sun's final rays made for a great finale to what was an VERY nice day!

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