Oklahoma Mountain Man

Day six is now over on my trip to Northern Washington State and Canada. I spent yesterday traveling east, deeper into the Cascade Mountain Range. It was amazing driving on the sides of the mountains at altitudes up to 3,600 feet. This is the skiing area for most Seattle residents and the lodges where bristling with residents getting in the last of decent powder before spring hits. Growing up on the US Gulf Coast and then moving to Oklahoma I am pretty much a flat-lander and couldn't ski down a hill if my very life depended on it.

Fortunately there is a little Bavarian alpine village called Leavenworth nestled in the beautiful Cascades that offers tons of shopping and the best in German food and of course BEER. Far be it for me to pass up a good stout pint! I never really considered Washington State as being a skiing state but the mountain views made me dizzy and my palms where sweating the entire drive.

Tomorrow I am off to Vancouver B.C. after having my birth certificate sent to me via FedEx so I can get across the border. I had wrongfully assumed a driver license would be enough to get into Canada. Turns out you need to have a passport now or at the very least a U.S. government ID and a birth certificate or you're not getting into Canada. It crossed my mind to perform a Mexican style crossing but the rivers up north are a bit colder than the Rio Grande.