Vacation in North Cascade Mountains - Unforgettable Newhalem!

Gorge Dam

Skagit River

It can not even be called a village because it's so small! Probably, it will echo your whisper, so your friend can hear from other part of this tiny company town of 80 people, mostly the employees of Seattle City Lights and National Park Service.

The town has lots of history and immense natural beauty. A place surrounded by rugged mountain, roaring Skagit river, and a big waterfall Ladder Creek fall. The Gorge, hydroelectric project sums up the history of Newhalem. This is all because of one man, known as J.D. Ross! Mr. Ross saw power in power.

J. D. Ross was born to Scotch-Irish parents in Chatham, Ontario, on November 9, 1872. As a boy, he was fascinated with science and physics. He had his own little workshop where he performed countless experiments with electricity (including, at age 11, a recreation of Benjamin Franklin’s experiment of flying a kite in a thunderstorm). Almost all of his knowledge of electricity was self-taught.(courtesy: HistoryLink) 

He is known as Father of Seattle City Lights. Not only he made possible of three dams on huge Skagit River, he made sure the place continues with it's pristine beauty and be enjoyed by public forever. Building three huge dams on single river was not a small task for Mr. Ross! He had to gather public support for the cause and for which he wanted people to see the magic of electricity and remember this was in 1920's!

Lighted Ladder Creek Fall in the night

People from Seattle and other parts would visit Newhalem by train, will have Newhalem's famous chicken dinner and then go see the 'show' as dark sets in. Ladder's creek waterfall would be lighted up with various colors. A lovely park was built with all tropical plants. It is said, electricity was used to keep the soil warm in winter so that the plants would survive and many such magic of new technology. 

Obviously, it worked. People would go back to city and spread the word about all the results of electricity and funds kicked in. So, the Ruby dam and Diablo dam followed Gorge dam. Ruby dam was later renamed to Ross dam to Honor Mr. Ross and his contribution.

The tradition still continues till date. Skagit tours by Seattle City Lights make arrangements of Chicken dinner, tell about stories and then go on a small hike to see the beautiful waterfall by crossing a suspension bridge as sun goes down. You will also get an amazing view of Skagit river as cross the bridge.

General Store

The place also runs a General store which will have simple lunches available for reasonable price or one can buy frozen dinner and heat up in microwave or you may pick some snacks here as food will be difficult to find going up from here.

Cascadian Farm

We were returning to Seattle after completing our vacation in beautiful Cascadian loop, we came across this little shop near Rockport. "Anyone up for blueberries", my husband asked. Suddenly the sign, "Cascadian Farm" caught my attention. Is that really the same brand that I generally buy from our local grocery store, I quizzed myself!





The girls who were serving a long line of customers confirmed my doubts with an exciting 'Yes'. Indeed, it was the original Cascadian Farm! Nestled in a lovely location between mountains and near Skagit river, there were the bushes of blueberries. With a very pleasant weather, many were picnicking as well. Wish we had more time to enjoy this but we had to hurry back to Seattle. We bought a pint of blueberries, a coffee for myself and my husband got a scoop of blueberry ice-cream. 

Needless to say, everything was out of the world. We regretted for not buying more blueberries as we finished before even we reached our hotel. The girls were very friendly and telling excitedly the story of their farm. My curiosity went up when I heard her telling that this was bought by General Mills in 2000!

Read more on General Mills website. 

The story of Cascadian Farm begins with the story of its founder, Gene Kahn.

You never know who you will come across when you travel. Gene Kahn is a face in the crowd and an inspiration to all of us. Let's keep our earth beautiful and stay organic!

Bhitarkanika - One Amazing Trip!

Bhubaneswar to Bhitarkanika is 142 km only which is about 88 miles, which is not much in comparison to the length of road trips in USA. But in Orissa, that's quite an adventurous outing. It had it's own charm though. After a long time, I saw the country side of the state where I spent my childhood. Never got a chance to see this Bhitarkanika National Park. This time, before even our trip from US planned, we had decided to visit!

Each house in village is an art in itself

It took us almost 5 hours to reach the park. Thanks to mom for packing awesome chicken & egg rolls and other snacks. To top it, cold water in the cooler, which would have been very hard to find otherwise. Of course, we still took a detour to go via Salepur. Dad wanted us to have Salepur Rasagolla experience after a long time. 

Salt water crocodile

We reached near the banks of Khola, which looked like any other big river in Orissa. As the story goes, the King of Kanika who had the rights to this National Park before Government took over, dug out so that he can have a short cut to go to the other side for hunting.

The boat was quite ready and we immediately started. The boatmen and his assistant were not more than literate but it was amazing how they educated they were on the flora and of course the fauna. They exactly knew at what location we should see what. We got to see a lot of salt water crocodiles. They were huge! The quietness coupled with vastness of this ecosphere took us to a different world. The spotted-deers, monkey families and plenty of king fishers, made us believe this piece of earth needs to be preserved at any cost.

Sun set in the National Park

Cottage

Bhitarkanika is a unique habitat of Mangrove Forests criss-crossed with numerous creeks and mud flats located in Kendrapara district of Orissa. One of the largest Mangrove Eco systems in India, Bhitarkanika is home to diverse flora and fauna. Bhitarkanika located between 86’-45” To 87’17” East longitude and 20’-17” to 20’-47” North latitude in the estuary of Brahmani, Baitarani, Dhamra & Mahanadi river systems, has unique attraction and a boast of nature’s most picturesque sites. 

After sight seeing in the boat, we reached Dangamal where we stayed overnight. Beautiful cottages with excellent amenities with a long veranda. In the night, one can see flocks of deers as well as other animals, including porcupine. The stay was accompanied with excellent oriya delicacies and services were very courteous and accommodative of needs.

Waking up to a misty morning!

The morning was equally impressive. The serenity of the place with a misty view of the river was quite refreshing. Our guide-cum-host was all in one. He can tell any piece of history related to the place or animal or bird with ease. A nice museum is located adjacent to the resort. Nestled amidst coconut trees and with a nice breeze, Bhitarkanika will be remembered for time to come!