Diablo Lake Overlook

In June, we also visited the Diablo Lake Overlook while traveling the North Cascades Highway (SR 20). This is where I also broke one of my most important travel rules.

If the weather is beautiful, if the lighting is beautiful, or if the view is beautiful, always pause to take photos—because there is no guarantee that beauty will repeat itself in the future.

Yet I didn’t pause to take photos of this gorgeous site under its most beautiful conditions (sunshine!). And one can guess what happened when we returned to this spot for another visit.

Well, you can see what happened.

When we came back across SR 20 (after visiting Washington Pass, Mazama, and Winthrop), the stunning bright teal color of this glacial-fed lake … was gone.

Gray drizzle was beginning to set in.

How had I neglected to capture the beautiful bright teal of Diablo Lake—especially when I knew it would be at least another year before I’d see this exquisite lake again?

I simply forgot about the weather. I passed through without reminding myself that the sun might disappear completely during this trip (that is Washington). But the upside of this snafu?

I was reminded how much I love this stop in the road … how much I want to see … and savor it.