Songs & Strings Tour Journal
Autumn 2002, West Coast
Michael DeLalla & Andrew McKnight
November 1, 2002: Fire, Ice and a Warm Glow
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Songs & Strings Tour JournalAutumn 2002, West Coast
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 A view of one face of the rugged North Cascades from the very remote parking lot at Johannesburg Basin
An idyllic scene of fly fisherman in their quest for steelhead, just below the confluence of the Skagit and Sauk Rivers, Rockport WA
Two gentlemen kick back to enjoy some traditional Celtic and Appalachian music thrown together on "Da Fully-Rigged Ship/June Apple", Evergreen U.U. Fellowship, Marysville WA |
I tour a bit differently than a lot of my musical colleagues. I've always been drawn to the rural two lanes with the map dots along them designating them the scenic route; William Least-Heat Moon made them famous in his epic "Blue Highways". I find myself incorporating more of this type of travel into my tour plans as I get older. In this last 12 months alone, I have seen places ranging from the redrock deserts and canyons of the Four Corners States, various different mountain ranges from Colorado and California to the Carolinas and Kentucky, and a whole lot of wonderful rural and urban settings in between. The northwest is a challenge to see 1 percent of all of the glorious scenery here. Luckily for Michael, he seems not to mind driving an extra couple hundred miles to see just a tiny sliver of the ever-amazing West. Today he got a real taste of a typical Andrew tour day; up early, coffee and breakfast, and out the door for a drive through the spectacular North Cascades National Park, affectionately dubbed the "American Alps" locally. Dotted with the massive monuments of volcanic Mts. Baker and Shuksan nearby to the north, they live up to their billing with their high rocky walls and numerous glaciers. We took a drive up a 23-mile dirt road into this glacial feature called Johannesburg Basin, just below Cascade Pass. Remote wilderness area, rocky cliffs rising well over 1,000 feet overhead on three sides, over a dozen frozen waterfalls tumbling down their faces and slides. Photos don't do this setting justice, but hopefully when we get back and get this journal and the photos all together for you you will at least be able to get a taste of it, minus the 60+ mile an hour wind gusts at 32 degrees F. One of the most impressive sights I have ever laid eyes on. Along the way we dipped into the river valley close enough to see river frost lining everything within 50 feet of the river. Although there was no snow at this point, the water vapor from the river condensed on everything nearby and created this incredible winter wonderland by the water and framed by the yellow autumn foliage of the northwest forest. First time I have ever seen that! We headed back to our host Dennis Griffiths' place charged up from the day and ready for a good show. And a big night it was; attendance and audience enthusiasm in big quantities. Nights like that carry me for a couple days when I am on the road, and though tired from a nearly three-hour show, I lay my head down on this evening as happy as one can be on the road. Thank you for the magic and the warm glow, Marysville! Andrew |
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