We didn't sleep well at North Cascades National Park

At the casino RV Park, we enjoyed the last full-hook-up camp site we would have for a while. We took long showers and used unlimited electricity during our stay in Anacortes, Washington. We stocked up on groceries and supplies, because it felt like we were going into the wilderness--also known as North Cascades National Park. This less-visited national park was quite remote. The nearest little town had only two gas stations, one restaurant, and a post office. Even that nearest "civilization" was a 25-minute drive from our national park campground. So we knew we needed to come with everything we would need for the next week. Our drive from Fidalgo Island to North Cascades National Park was through Skagit River Valley. We saw miles of fruit trees, but most of the fruit had already been picked. We saw flower stands instead of fruit stands. When we drove through Marblemount, Washington, the sign said, "Last service for 73 miles." So we filled up with gas, glad to get it for ONLY $4.75/gallon. But that wasn't why we didn't sleep well at this national park.

Our Newhalen Campground was eight miles past the entrance of the national park. We followed the turquoise green Skagit River to get to our new campground.

After driving beside the river for miles, we had to cross the Skagit River on a one-lane bridge to get to our campground. Monitored by a timed stop light, it was good that we couldn't meet anyone on that narrow bridge. Is that the reason we were not sleeping well?

We set up for a six-night stay in our site in Newhalen Campground among the tall evergreen trees. We were beginning to recognize the differences between western hemlocks, western red cedars, and Douglas firs. We were enjoying half-price camping because of our senior park pass. This was a beautiful campground that only cost us $12 per night. That certainly wouldn't keep us from sleeping well at night!

North Cascades National Park is one of the few parks that doesn't charge an entry fee. There were no entrance stations or parking fees. Some say that is because it is a hidden gem that doesn't get as many visitors. But we found that it had definitely been discovered by hikers that can appreciate this remote beauty. After making the two-hour drive and getting the trailer set up, we hurried to the visitor center before it closed for the day. After getting some advice and a park map, we followed that advice to take a short hike to get our first view of the North Cascades mountains. "The Pickets" was an interesting jagged line of some of the tallest peaks in the park. We had to see that view from a distance, because there were no trails to this wilderness peak section.

Since we had no cell phone service in this remote location, we had to get weather information from the visitor center. They divided the park into "west side" which was closer to the ocean, and the "east side" which was on the other side of the mountains. The Cascade Mountains block most of the precipitation, making the east side warmer and drier. The day we arrived, the east side was ten degrees warmer than the west. But both sides were unusually warm by northern Washington standards. We were glad to find that the mountains cool off in the evenings, and night-time temperatures in the 50s in August made for very comfortable sleeping conditions. The temperature was not why we didn't sleep well.

We expected some cloudy weather, and we definitely got it. While North Cascades National Park is famous for its mountains, it also has some beautiful lakes. Besides the Skagit River, visitors can also visit Richardson Lake. It would take a little effort to get a better view of this remote lake.

There was only one road through North Cascades National Park. Highway 20 provided overlooks for Lake Richardson (above) and Diablo Lake (below). Highway 20 shows up on the short list of the most scenic roads in the country.

Back to the trailer, a woman on a bicycle asked if she might set up her tent on our tent pad behind the trailer. We clearly didn't need that space, and she did. She offered to pay, but we assured her that we were already getting a great deal on this camp site, and we'd love to host her for free. Ann was from Switzerland, and she was spending six months in North America, biking and camping. She had been in Jasper and Banff National Parks in Canada, and was heading to Seattle next. She biked alone, often riding on gravel roads. She figured out where she would pitch her tent as she goes. She was retired and had made international biking trips to Asia, Morocco, Europe, and North America for many years. She will return home in six months, or when her Visa expires. While she was preparing the daily meager meal that fuels her for most of the six months, we shared some fresh pineapple and food we had just purchased. That was a rare treat for someone that had to pedal all her own food over the mountains. What fun people we meet! But having a tenting neighbor at our site didn't affect our sleep.

While we were almost asleep in our trailer at 9:00 p.m., a surprisingly loud alarm went off. What?!? It continued loud and long, and we didn't know what the appropriate action should be. Should we hook up the trailer and get out of there as fast as possible? Maybe we shouldn't take that much time to hook up the trailer, and we should just get in the pickup and run for our lives? What direction should we drive--east or west? Was it a wildfire sweeping across the mountain right towards us? Or was that a storm alarm and we should hunker down? We went outside, and none of our camping neighbors were running for their lives. The eery alarm finally stopped and we waited . . . and waited . . . We had no cell phone service to call and ask questions, and no wifi to google for information. We had a hard time feeling safe enough to go to sleep that first night. We definitely did NOT sleep well our first night at North Cascades National Park.

The next day at the visitor center, we asked what was going on. They explained that because the phone signal was so bad here, they use a deafening alarm to alert local volunteer emergency crews to any little or big reason for them to report to the fire station. Last night's alarm was for a little reason, and we didn't need to run for our lives. The ranger at the visitor center desk agreed with us that a little head's up would be nice for campers that probably would have a hard time sleeping after an alarm like that. That alarm was why we didn't sleep well at North Cascades National Park.