The Cascades Autumn Colors Tour, scheduled for Saturday, Oct 18, 2014, will highlight the fall colors in the Cascade Mountains. The event will be a relaxing and fun driving day in a social environment, filled with many opportunities to photograph and enjoy the colorful forests, lakes, meadows, rivers, and waterfalls of the Cascades .
Beginning in Monroe and ending in Cle Elum, this Tour will follow a 235 mile / 8 hour route through the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie and Wenatchee National Forests, over Stevens, Blewett, and finally, Snoqualmie Passes. Late Sept and early Oct are prime time for fall colors, and the route goes through areas of cottonwood, maple, mountain ash, and yellow aspen trees. The drive includes some lesser-known and little used twisty and colorful roads near Leavenworth and/or Cle Elum. This event will include a BYOF (bring your own food) lunch in a beautiful fall setting. Drivers may depart the tour anywhere along the route.
You do NOT have to own an Audi to attend this event.
The Tour will meet 8:00am Saturday Oct 18, in the Rite Aid parking lot, in Monroe, WA. Rite Aid is located at 18906 Highway 2. The store is across the street from a Denny’s for those who want to arrive early and have breakfast. Look for a bright yellow Hyundai Tiburon in the parking lot, and event leader Mark Yonker. Please arrive with a full tank of gas.
After a drivers meeting at 8:10am, the tour departs Monroe by 8:30am, and heads east through Monroe, to Ben Howard Road, a 16 mile scenic twisty drive, over hill and dale, ending in Sultan. From Sultan, the drive follows Hwy 2 East over Stevens Pass. Descending after crossing the pass, the drive turns north onto Hwy 207 from Coles Corner to Lake Wenatchee State Park. Here the group will stop for an early lunch around 11:00am.
The picnic area at the park is on the waterfront, with spectacular vistas. Lake Wenatchee State Park requires either a 10.00 day fee or a discover pass. (You may purchase a discover pass online for 30.00 for one year from purchase date.) Drivers will be asked to pay the $10.00 state park fee at the drivers meeting, so the event leader can expedite all the vehicles entering the park.
After lunch, the tour will follow 1 or 2 different roads highlighting fall colors, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, and meadows. Forest Road 65 and/or White River Road [please note both these roads dead end in the mountains, and we will do a U-turn back to the main highway], will eventually take the group to Chumstick highway (Old highway 209). This highway, with a very challenging hill climb just past Plain, goes through Chumstick and ends in Leavenworth on Hwy 2.
Upon arriving in Leavenworth about 2:00 pm drivers have the option of continuing on the tour, or staying in and enjoying the Leavenworth area, or returning home from this point of the tour if desired.
Departing Leavenworth at aprox 2:30pm, the drive will continue east on Hwy 2 to Hwy 97 South. The route will include a section of Old Blewett Pass Road, a 10 mile scenic hill climb and descent along the original highway. This single lane paved road has almost NO traffic, and has exceptional twists and turns and 180 degree corners.
Continuing on Hwy 97 south, the route leads to Cle Elum, and I-90. From Cle Elum drivers may continue home, or enjoy an optional dinner in Cle Elum aprox 4:30pm. After dinner the group will continue on I-90 west across Snoqualmie Pass towards Seattle.
For more information and to register please go to: http://audiclubnw.motorsportreg.com.
For further information please contact event leader Mark Yonker, [email protected].