Hwy 542 - Artist Point

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On Sunday, my wife Erin and I made the drive to Artist Point. In word...wow. I expected the drive to be fun & entertaining, what I didn't expect was the beauty of the surrounding area and sights to be as impressive as they were.
We started the fun part of the drive off exit 236 of I-5. We wound through the back roads eventually connecting to Hwy 9 and headed north. While on Hwy 9, we notice a bunch of high end, exotic cars with BC plates heading south. Seeing (and hearing) Maserati's, Aston Martin's, Ferrari's, Porsche's whizzing by, made the countryside scenery even more interesting & exciting.

At Hwy 542, we headed east towards the Mt Baker Nat'l Park. Making a few pit stops along the way for coffee and to check out the sights. The further into the mountains we got, the road got more fun to drive and the clouds started to make way for the warm sun. We saw lots of cyclists doing their thing as well.

As if the hwy, the sights thus far and the improving weather weren't enough, about half way to the peak in a large turn off, we came across another group of interesting cars. Only this time, we were able to pull over take a closer look and chat with some nice folks who are a part of the NW Vintage Speedsters club. Cars from this era absolutely fascinate me and getting to take an up close look was great. Apparently the group makes this drive up to Artist Point each year (road conditions permitting) and is considered one of their most popular events...particularly with members in the Puget Sound area.

We stopped again at the Heather Meadows rec area, took a short .5 miles trail to stretch the legs and took a bunch of photos before moving on to make the final ascent to Artist Point. We did some light hiking and took photos, while dodging the kids & families who were getting some summer sledding in. Still plenty of snow up there but the sun and clear skies kept the temps very comfortable. Side note: this boy from So Cal never knew there was even such a thing as sledding in the summer!

The drive up was rather leisurely and on the way down I took advantage of the fact there seemed to be almost no one in front of me and put the Countryman through it's paces. Greysen handled the road wonderfully, burbling & popping all the way down. Reminded me a little bit of the Maryhill Loops runs, only longer and of course open to the public. There were a few potholes that caught me by surprise, but thankfully nothing that did any damage. At the base of the mountains near the town of Deming. We stopped for an early "Sunday Supper" at Il Caffe Refugio. Great food, sourced locally, prepared simply, allowing the ingredients stand on their own. They also offer some great freshly brewed teas & coffees...don't get me started on the desserts. Here's a tip: on Sundays they throw in free dessert with the "Sunday Supper" pre-fix meal.

All in all, we had a great trip and vowed to head back. Here's a link to a few photos. Thanks for reading.

https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/106025193539225866751/albums/5779001883126473953 

Edited by leogetz - August/21/12 at 9:45am

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leogetz Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MINI Motorer Joined: May/01/12 Location: Mill Creek Status: Offline Points: 216	Post Options Post Reply Quote leogetz Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Hwy 542 - Artist Point Posted: August/20/12 at 11:10pm
	On Sunday, my wife Erin and I made the drive to Artist Point. In word...wow. I expected the drive to be fun & entertaining, what I didn't expect was the beauty of the surrounding area and sights to be as impressive as they were. We started the fun part of the drive off exit 236 of I-5. We wound through the back roads eventually connecting to Hwy 9 and headed north. While on Hwy 9, we notice a bunch of high end, exotic cars with BC plates heading south. Seeing (and hearing) Maserati's, Aston Martin's, Ferrari's, Porsche's whizzing by, made the countryside scenery even more interesting & exciting. At Hwy 542, we headed east towards the Mt Baker Nat'l Park. Making a few pit stops along the way for coffee and to check out the sights. The further into the mountains we got, the road got more fun to drive and the clouds started to make way for the warm sun. We saw lots of cyclists doing their thing as well. As if the hwy, the sights thus far and the improving weather weren't enough, about half way to the peak in a large turn off, we came across another group of interesting cars. Only this time, we were able to pull over take a closer look and chat with some nice folks who are a part of the NW Vintage Speedsters club. Cars from this era absolutely fascinate me and getting to take an up close look was great. Apparently the group makes this drive up to Artist Point each year (road conditions permitting) and is considered one of their most popular events...particularly with members in the Puget Sound area. We stopped again at the Heather Meadows rec area, took a short .5 miles trail to stretch the legs and took a bunch of photos before moving on to make the final ascent to Artist Point. We did some light hiking and took photos, while dodging the kids & families who were getting some summer sledding in. Still plenty of snow up there but the sun and clear skies kept the temps very comfortable. Side note: this boy from So Cal never knew there was even such a thing as sledding in the summer! The drive up was rather leisurely and on the way down I took advantage of the fact there seemed to be almost no one in front of me and put the Countryman through it's paces. Greysen handled the road wonderfully, burbling & popping all the way down. Reminded me a little bit of the Maryhill Loops runs, only longer and of course open to the public. There were a few potholes that caught me by surprise, but thankfully nothing that did any damage. At the base of the mountains near the town of Deming. We stopped for an early "Sunday Supper" at Il Caffe Refugio. Great food, sourced locally, prepared simply, allowing the ingredients stand on their own. They also offer some great freshly brewed teas & coffees...don't get me started on the desserts. Here's a tip: on Sundays they throw in free dessert with the "Sunday Supper" pre-fix meal. All in all, we had a great trip and vowed to head back. Here's a link to a few photos. Thanks for reading. https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/106025193539225866751/albums/5779001883126473953 Edited by leogetz - August/21/12 at 9:45am
	GREYSEN - '12 Countryman S All4 - Royal Grey w/ Black Roof, Stripes and Trim (no chrome) - Premium, Cold Weather & Sport Pkgs - NM Eng RSe14 Wheels - JCW Exhaust - LED Fog Lights

WOODSTOCK Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List PSMINI Expert Advisor PSMINI Ambassador (past President) Joined: February/07/07 Location: Everett, WA Status: Offline Points: 1610	Post Options Post Reply Quote WOODSTOCK Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August/20/12 at 11:28pm
	Awesome! I love that trip up to Artist's Point and we used to do it every year. Last year it never opened and we didn't get up there and I think the date we had scheduled in 2010 got snowed out. We need to do this again - How about you leading the run? We'll help you, but you'd be great at it!
	WOODSTOCK: Linda's 2005 LY MCSC with feel good graphics and go fast mods. CINIMIN: Jack's 2006 Chili Red/White Coupe KEMO-SABE: Our 2011 Bright White/Blk All4 Countryman

swpars Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MINI Motorer Joined: August/07/11 Location: Mercer Island Status: Offline Points: 220	Post Options Post Reply Quote swpars Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: August/21/12 at 7:19am
	The Artist Point drive is a great one. I went in 2010 and was fortunate to be behind a local on the way down in a Subaru wagon who knew the road well and was really pushing it. Eventually he pulled over and let me by, but it was great having someone to keep up with who knew the road well and wasn't afraid to drive fast.
	'12 Mini Cooper 6AT '04 BMW 330i 6MT