North Cascade Scenic Highway

 

Unwilling to say goodbye to the North Cascades, we decided to pull our trailer through the park, on the North Cascade Scenic Highway, to see what was on the other side. What a good choice that was. The drive was spectacular and the mountains continued to awe and inspire us. When we came down from Washington Pass we stopped in a small community called Mazama for coffee and second breakfast, thanks to a recommendation from our friend, Joyce.

We then passed through the western-themed town of Winthrop on our way to Pearrygin State Park where we planned to spend the week. Winthrop is an unusual place with a population of about 400. It underwent a westernization makeover, in the early 1970’s, after learning travelers would begin driving through the town daily, upon the completion of Highway 20, connecting western and eastern Washington. To encourage travelers to stop, the town opted to put up Old West facades, dig up the sidewalks and put in wooden boardwalks.  Each downtown business was required to contribute $2000 to the westernization effort. Two restaurants and a hotel refused to participate in the project so the local Kiwanis Club bought out those businesses to achieve 100% participation. Soon after the project was completed a local businessman recalled, “We went from a town that was about hunting, fishing and farmers to one with thousands of people who wanted souvenirs…quite a culture shock.”

The photo I’ve posted came from a newspaper article, in 1973, showing the change after westernization occurred. I’m not sure how the hunting, fishing and farming have fared in Winthrop, over the last fifty years, but the tourism trade is definitely thriving.