The Drive Most Visitors Miss: Highway 97 to the North Cascades

Thank you for joining me for a peaceful and soulful drive along a portion of the North Cascades Loop drive, between Wenatchee and Mazama, along Highway 97 and State Route 153. This relaxing drive was an absolute highlight of my summer, as I took a solo trip to visit our daughter who lives in an undisclosed remote area outside of Mazama. You'll find that we wind through some dirt roads leading through the forest and opening up to beautiful meadows that most folks won't ever see. Ah, the joy of being a resident! I got this out a bit late today, but it's been a busy end of month in the kitchen, so here I am trying to get this out in time for everyone to see it before the window of opportunity for views fades... I have a few more videos to share before getting into the new season for 2026, so I hope you enjoy this fantastic display of Washington State scenery set to some happy soulful music that found me while I was making it. The songs just popped up, and they kinda fit so I used them... and I like it like that. I hope you do to. My aim is to uplift and inspire, one set of eyeballs at a time. My aim is to be real, so here you have some real footage, filmed from the dash of my real Subaru, wobbles and all. I'm just gonna be me and upload footage I capture when I can. We are not full time travelers, and we are navigating a life-altering health issue, so this is my outlet of creativity to stay positive and bring joy and calm to whoever watches. The North Cascades Loop is stunning, and one that should be completed in a number of days to really enjoy it. I have done it in both directions, and honestly each way has it's own unique perspective, so honestly, I would probably make a trek from Highway 20 in the North, to Leavenworth or maybe Monroe and back again. Skip the portion on I-5. Yuck. I mean, if you really like to experience major highways, and want to include stops along that route then fine. But if you're looking for more remote mountain beauty and aspire to experience the dry side of Washington, I recommend the back and forth route I mentioned. If I was to plan stopping along this route myself, on the east side I would stay in: Leavenworth, Chelan, Winthrop/Mazama, and then any of these on the west side: Marblemount, Concrete, Sedro-Woolley, Newhalem/Diablo, and if you are adventurous and have a lot of time, you could stay near Anacortes and extend your trip to include the San Juans or explore Whidbey Island (one of my favorites). Anywho... this video is just something I randomly recorded on a solo trek to visit family so it's only a brief look at what you would see if you were to do more of this loop. I also have some footage that shows a little of each direction on hwy 20, which I might post as a short bonus video. Thank you for tagging along today for this beautiful 4k scenic drive in the North Cascades. I hope you liked the cheery music and pretty scenes from my home state. Enjoy the ride, and I'll catch ya next time! #ScenicDrive #CascadesMountains #RelaxingDriveVideo