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Sandy Breckenridge’s career as a maker, designer, and artist span over 40 years.

Driving Through Oso to RockPort, WA

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Oso Mudslide
Oso Mudslide of 2014, Bird’s Eye View

“Sometimes it’s the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination” – Drake

At the end of the summer of 2017, Kirk and I took a car trip to the Kootenay region in British Columbia, Canada. We had several overnight stops planned on the way. You will learn about all our destination in future posts.

After we left our home on a late September morning, our first stop was a couple of hours away in Oso, WA. We wanted to pay respects to those who lost their lives in the historic mudslide of 2014.

For more information, click > Oso Mudslide

In March of 2014, the little town of Oso experienced record rainfall, two hundred percent of the average rainfall for that time of year. The mudslide smothered forty-nine homes and structures. The devastating event ended the lives of forty-three people.

To understand the devastation to the small community, the tsunami of mud swept over one of the largest unincorporated neighborhoods located on the south side of the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River. The entire town’s population in 2010 was only one hundred sixty people.

Highway 530 runs through the area and east over the North Cascade Highway and the destroyed highway running through Oso had to be completely rebuilt. GeoEngineers had to reengineer this destroyed section of the highway and reconnect surrounding communities following the Oso landslide.

We spent quite a bit of time at the memorial. Small tokens and personal mementos can be viewed by the gate blocking the area so no one can trespass. A tree was planted as a placeholder for each life lost. They were decorated with treasures that connect to memories of those who lost their loved ones. We were touched and felt honored to pay our respects.

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I Scream for Ice Cream

After the sober and touching experience at the memorial, it was time for a pit stop.

Lucky for us, the original Cascadia Organic farm was just up the road! We heard about their roadside stand with fresh homemade ice cream located just before heading over the North Cascades in RockPort, WA. The Rockport National Park is another tourist stop which is close by in this sparsely populated region.

At Cascadia’s first farm they still grow blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, sweet corn, and pumpkins at this location. We were lucky to see the pumpkin harvest at the end of summer’s growing season. As you’ll see in the pictures a farmer was loading trucks for the market during our visit.

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Of course, we had to have some of their homemade ice cream from the little roadside stand and small store. Other items that were made from their various harvests were also for sale.

We enjoyed the views of the pollinator flower gardens, pumpkins, the river, and glacier-covered mountains visible from the outdoor seating area next to where we purchased the delicious ice cream.

What a treat on such a beautiful day. Our next photo stops are several breathtaking scenic areas as we drive over the pass and include: views of Ross Lake National Recreation area, Manama and Stehekin mountain regions. The next overnight stop is in Twisp, WA where we will include photos of a friend’s straw bale house.

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Grand Coulee’s Grandeur to Creston’s Fields of Gold

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Grand Coulee Dam at Dusk
Grand Coulee Dam at Dusk

In 2018, Kirk and I took a road trip from our home in Edmonds. We headed north then east over the scenic Cascade Mountains and then up to British Columbia, Canada. Since it was at the end of summer the kids were back in school so we happily missed the tourist season crowds.

On our return trip, we chose to travel south then east through northeastern, Washington. It was a three-day trip to get back home so the first night we stayed at a hotel with a view of Grand Coulee Dam.

The slideshow below contains three pictures found in our hotel room, and a spanning view of the Dam.

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The history of the damn goes back to the ’30s and was once thought of as a “pork barrel” scheme. It took the Great Depression and President Roosevelt’s need to create a vast public utility project that would employ thousands of men for the approval and funding for Grand Coulee Dam to move forward.

Heading West to Endless Fields of Gold

The next day we drove from our hotel through the adjacent town of Electric City.

After driving east about twenty-two miles we entered the region known as the Big Bend Plateau. The elevation in this area is between 1,500 to 2,500 feet and a system of channels or coulees are eroded into bedrock by glacial rivers and streams that were created from the ice age.

The endless winding road through the fields of gold reminds one to drive safely.

This is a sparsely populated area sitting in the middle of Lincoln County and it’s where you’ll find what remains of the towns of Wilbur and Creston.

The area is known for its agriculture. We drove through endless golden wheat fields as far as the eye could see. Orchards are spotted through the area and cattle graze in the valleys and on the rolling hills. This high plateau region has its own kind of beauty.

Here is a fun video from the car will driving along Highway 2 looking to the north.

A Bit of Lincoln County History

Lincoln County was formed back in 1883 and stories about its first settlers include a character nicknamed “Wild Goose Bill’ (Samuel Wilbur Condit). In 1875 he was recorded as the first actual white settler in the area and his homestead was where the town of “Goosetown” or Wilbur now stands, although we didn’t see any public buildings left standing.

Next, to Wilbur is a pit-stop town called Creston with a population of 236 as of 2010, and the elevation is 2441 ft. The town was formed as a stop along the Central Pacific Railroad. It also has an interesting history. In 1902, the last surviving member of the infamous Hole in the Wall Gang, Harry Tracy, was shot at a Creston ranch and then he killed himself to avoid capture.

The slide show below conveys the unique beauty of the region when driving by the grassy plains and homesteads.

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Transmission lines in Washington state
Transmission Lines in Creston, Wa

Transmission lines now run across the plateau from Grand Coulee Dam and are quite visible from the highway. Their tall stature and the perceived buzz in the air left me with a cold and unsettled feeling due to their dominance.

But that passed quickly as I imagined the history of this area. I wondered about the Native Americans from this region, known as the Cowiche, and the fur traders and gold miners who passed through.

I thought about the first white settlers and those who built the Central Railroad that brought the telegraph.

I thought about all those who died in the region building infrastructure through the years and those who survived in the hard winters and through all the changes.

If time could talk, I am sure this region would provide endless stories.