You'd expect that even in the beauty-packed Cascade loop that you'd notice if you drove right over a six-story waterfall wouldn't you? But that's exactly what several thousand drivers do each day when they drive state route 20 west of Stevens Pass.
Even the sign directing you to Deception Falls is so simple that you can't help but assume the experience can't possibly be much.
So, it was with low expectations and on impulse my wife and I pulled into the parking lot for a 10-minute break.
30 minutes later our expectations were completely overwhelmed and I had again shown that in the proper setting I could wander off like a four year old.
Sure, the parking lot was just off the highway, but how long and/or difficult might the hike be to get to these falls and what would we find when we got there? Our concern was allayed the moment we got out of the car as we could already hear rushing water.
Our "hike" turned out to be less than 50 yards and the "climb" was down 15 or so woodland stairs. There before us was wild white water crashing down 65 feet through the rocks.
While not a waterfall in the classic single plume of water over a cliff, it was instead, water crashing down and through a series of rock-strewn steps.
There was a small footbridge over the water, so naturally we had to walk it. From the footbridge there was an easy trail that paralleled the falls and went under the highway. It was an impressive show of the force of water and well worth the stop.
We dawdle-walked back down the trail, stopping to take pictures and just simply fritter-away some time before getting back in the car.
My wife was ready to resume the drive when I found the downstream portion of the trail. She was willing to walk a little ways, but I wanted more. And yes, at some point I found myself hightailing it down the path like a kid cutting loose, and not really sure she had seen where I went.
I followed the well-groomed path through the typically amazing Northwest tree-scape down to a lower part of the creek. I dared myself to step out onto some of the rocks in the creek. I needed to photograph a better angle of the creek, I told myself.
No, the kid-level behavior didn't end in a drenching. The adult in me finally scrambled to the surface, reeled me in, and sent me back to the car.
The stop at Deception Falls certainly deserves high marks. You get a lot of nature with a relatively short walk.
But, be forewarned, places like this might just also bring out the kid in you.
