[mobike008]

March 16th, 2024.

Weather out here is still cold, rainy and mostly damp due to the rains. As we are approaching spring, the weather suddenly changes in between and becomes sunny and glorious. Entire Washington waits for this phenomena because when it turns sunny, it literally feels like heaven as due to rains the trees and bushes become lush green and the sun's ray falls giving it a gloss and sheen that is indescribable and cannot be captured by pictures and has to be experienced in person.

Last weekend, was couple of such days. Sunny and Warm around 10C. My wife’s cousin was visiting us from Austin and having spent brief time earlier in Seattle, he loves this place. He wanted to spend a day in the mountains so we did exactly that.

I always run by a drive idea with BHPian Crackhead who is as keen as me for drives into the mountains. He immediately agreed and a plan was formed out of thin air.

Two families (BHPian-Crackhead joined us in his beautiful Porsche Boxter) in two performance cars to enjoy the beautiful landscapes and a fabulous lunch was the simple plan for the day.

Left home leisurely at 10:30am and decided to take the mountain pass route throughout skipping the freeway which was about 1/3rd of the distance. We kept stopping enroute whenever there were beautiful vistas and finally reached one of the most visited & gorgeous lake in Washington- Diablo Lake which is up in the North Cascades Mountains and National Park. We normally visit this area at least 3-times a year (Spring, Fall & Winters) as each season it looks completely different and always breathtaking.

Driving on the mountain roads was rewarding and they were begging to be tamed as it was curvy with beautiful smaller lakes on the sides and gorgeous vistas throughout the route. Porsche chased the Bimmer and then Bimmer chased the Porsche. I enjoyed the tight curves slotting the Bimmer in paddle shifts and tried not to use the brakes as much as possible on the twisty roads, it was ridiculously fun and the B58 never ceases to shock me with it’s potential.

Last winter was dismal as we didn’t get much snow otherwise this entire route and the mountains would be fully snowcapped, atleast until May.

We did a short hike for the dam view and then at the main point which is Diablo Lake Vista point. Spent an hour or so soaking in the beautiful vistas and then took a u-turn from that point back towards home.

Enroute, stopped at a quaint restaurant on the way back and enjoyed some good food-burgers, pizza, Mac & cheese before heading back home by 6:00pm after covering around 240 miles (380kms) in a total time of 6.5 hours.

Enjoy the pictures and videos. Cheers to Diablo Lake & Pacific North-West !!!

[mobike008]

This post has pictures of all the pitstops and onward journey to Lake Diablo. This place is roughly about 100 miles (160kms) and takes around 1.30 hours to reach if you are not making more than a single stop.

Obviously, we did not do that and we stopped at every other pretty location to admire the spectacular scenery and enjoy the warm 10C temperatures which we were craving for a pretty long time.

The pretty boxter at a red light.



I let the Boxter be ahead of me so I can enjoy this beautiful yellow speck in my line of view.







This spot is a mandatory stop for us whenever we are on this route. Nice place to take a break and enjoy the river flowing next to us and mountains on the other side.







I never get tired of being in "awe" of the gigantic conical trees that dot the line of sight through every highway in Washington and they are deeply embedded in the mountains too.





We are entering the beautiful "Cascade National Park". This is 1/3 National Parks in Washington and all 3-of them are not regular national parks but, are nestled in mountains which means beautiful mountain roads, serene lakes, gorgeous waterfalls and not to mention snow-capped peaks throughout the park.

Trivia : Did you know that Washington State has the most GLACIERS in contiguous USA. Yes, We have 3000 glaciers in WA. Mind-Boggling huh?












Stopped here for a short hike up in the mountains for a view of the Dam below.













We have many such old locomotive engines parked as attractions throughout Washington. I have seen at least 4-5 in Greater Seattle area.







60%-70 % of the roads in Washington is either curvy like these or go up and down. Just love it!!!

[mobike008]

After all those stops, we finally reached one of the most touted destinations in the North Cascades- Lake Diablo. This place is also a hikers paradise as there are plenty of hiking trails. We love to come to Lake Diablo at least 3-times in a year (Winters, Spring and once in Fall or Summers) as each time Lake Diablo looks totally different.

We reached this spot around 1:00pm and we spent an hour or so just sinking in the environment. The color of the water looks different each season-Sometimes it's blue, sometimes it's a gorgeous emerald color and sometimes it's a combination of both.

From this point, we took a U-turn back towards home and decided to stop on the same highway at a restaurant for a nice lunch before heading home.

A few more pictures from the Park Entrance.





Pit-stop at a gas station for nature break and a coffee.







Lake Diablo- Parking Area.





Lake Diablo- Totally love this place. It's absolutely spectacular.







One with the backdrop.





















A beautiful waterfall enroute our way back.





Lunch- The quintessential American lunch. Burgers, Pizza, Pasta and Salads.

[mobike008]

Enjoying the twisties. Don't miss the "B58" music.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=4Ni5mx-DhIg

B58 passing through a tunnel.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=rCB2ATEgLDo

B58 in action.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=mSLbRGQzsEc

We hiked a short distance to come up for this dam view.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=LE_w3v8LtDQ

Diablo Lake

https://youtube.com/watch?v=MvxE85Hpvz4

[KarthikK]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[mobike008]

Season makes so much of a difference to the landscape. As mentioned, We normally visit 3-times in a year to Diablo Lake to enjoy its different views.

This exact same place in winters- This was in December 2022 (Last December the winters were dismal).

From an aqua blue lake to a winter wonder land.

[the_real_slager]

@mobike008, loved reading the post. Cheers

[amitoj]

Wonderful trip and pictures! Man, I cannot wait for the days to open up here on the Northeast and hit the road again.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by the_real_slager

@mobike008, loved reading the post. Cheers

Thanks for the compliment. Appreciate it.

Originally Posted by amitoj

Wonderful trip and pictures! Man, I cannot wait for the days to open up here on the Northeast and hit the road again.

Thanks Amitoj. This time the snow was pretty low out there in the East Coast too, right? I hope you still have the WRX, you would love carving the mountains out here in that dynamite of a car.


Here is the "exact same location- Diablo Lake" in yet another season of the year- These pictures are from August, 2023. Look at the color of the water, skies and mountains.

Doesn't it look different from the original posts?

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by mobike008

Thanks Amitoj. This time the snow was pretty low out there in the East Coast too, right? I hope you still have the WRX, you would love carving the mountains out here in that dynamite of a car.


Here is the "exact same location- Diablo Lake" in yet another season of the year- These pictures are from August, 2023. Look at the color of the water, skies and mountains.

Doesn't it look different from the original posts?

Yes this winter season has been bizarre, although we did get 20 inches of snow couple of weeks ago up in Vermont and surrounding areas. But most of the season this time it has been wind and rain.

Still have the WRX and will keep it for another couple of years at least. Doesn't even have 25K miles on it yet. Planning to take it to autocross this year.

[AKTransAM]

Nice write up! Will have to keep Lake Diablo in mind to check out sometime. Great that weather is starting to clear up over there. Same here-was able to get my 88 out of storage (the 77 will wait till another couple weeks). It's always fun getting back behind a V8 after months of driving a V6 We'll be heading to the Portland Swap Meet next weekend, so hoping for good weather then.

A pull off about 10 minutes away from me last Saturday when I pulled 88 out of storage and went for a drive

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by AKTransAM

We'll be heading to the Portland Swap Meet next weekend, so hoping for good weather then.

How many hours/days to reach Portland from Juneau? When will you be passing Seattle? Are you going to take the I5-South?

Make sure to wax it as you will get a lot of folks clicking pictures of this beauty when you are on the freeway.

[AKTransAM]

Originally Posted by mobike008

How many hours/days to reach Portland from Juneau? When will you be passing Seattle? Are you going to take the I5-South?

Make sure to wax it as you will get a lot of folks clicking pictures of this beauty when you are on the freeway.

Oh the road trip isn't until later this year. This is our yearly long weekend trip to the swap meet. So we just fly to Seattle and rent a car from there to Portland.