The trip to North Cascades was just awesome. But I was getting there very late in the night. I was in Seattle and I wanted to have dinner with my cousin when I was driving through. We had a great time but we chatted a lot and it got late before I left Seattle and North Cascades National Park is still about 2 1/2 hours away and it was already after 9 pm. The best part was I still didn’t have a place to stay. So on my way there, I figured I was going to lose phone service so I called a buddy to talk a little during the drive and to let someone know where I would be.

After getting off highway 5 I did the one thing that I have learned. I got gas so that I would have a full tank. I’m glad I did because after driving about 10 miles I saw the sign that said last service for 74 miles. I have a container of gas in the car stored in the cargo container on top of my car. But it felt good to have a full tank of gas at this time of night and with me going out into BFE.

Just after 11 pm, I got to North Cascades National Park. But I still needed to find a place to stay. I forgot that it was Labor Day Weekend and now it might be harder than I thought it would be to find a campsite. So after taking pictures of the North Cascades National Park Sign, I looked at the map of the area.

I started off towards the first campground and when I pulled in I saw the sign that said full. So then I went onto the next and the next. Still nothing open, I was starting to think I might be sleeping in the car tonight. But I was still positive that I would find something. I drove across the Diablo Bridge. It was really starting to get dark but I was still so excited and happy it didn’t bother me at all.

Then around 12:30 at night I finally pulled into a campsite that didn’t say full. So I turned my lights to just the fog lights and with me having a Prius I’m not loud at all I drove around not seeing any open. I was hoping that they didn’t forget to put the full sign up. One of the last spots I looked at was open. I had found a place to camp. I pulled in and it was great. So quiet and peaceful. I got setup and got everything ready. Since I have been doing this I have had lots of practice so it went up pretty quick. I then just decided to rest and relax in peace. Got to bed a little after 1 in the morning. I so so love getting a full day of travel in.

I woke up feeling very fresh and in such a great mood. But I had another very big day of traveling. I was going to make it all the way to Glacier National Park today. And that was over 500 miles away and that was if I didn’t get distracted with something to see which happens a lot. So I packed up and got everything ready to leave and got my pictures. It was way too dark when I got here last night.

I wanted to do a little bit of hiking and I found a trail named Gorge Overlook Trail and it ended up being exactly what I wanted. It was a short trail that walked back into the woods with two nice overlooks. It was nice to stretch the legs.

I wanted to see the town Diablo. It was a super small town and I couldn’t even find the sign for the town to be able to take a picture. Not sure why but I love the name Diablo but I just do. But to get to the town you have to drive past the power station and when I say past it. I mean right by it very close.

After walking around and seeing the town of Diablo it was time to move on down the road. I was driving down the road with Diable Lake to the left of me. The Diablo Lake was so so gorgeous and the color of the water. But soon it was going to get even better. The Diablo Lake Vista Point was a stop that you must stop at if you are driving through North Cascades. I had to pull over, but I pull over to ever place that uses the word vista. It is one of my leasons I have learned.

After spending time just looking out at Diablo Lake and the surrounding area. It was super hard to leave but I knew I had a long drive ahead of me. There was also alot more nature to see on my drive today.