If you want that outdoorsy feeling, you can always buy a convertible. The North Cascades Highway, also known as the North Cross Highway, is the 132-mile segment of state Highway 20 between Winthrop in the east and Interstate 5 to the west. It is the northernmost mountain pass route in Washington state, and is closed most winters from first snow until mid-April because of avalanche hazards. There's a lot to appreciate in this hunk of asphalt. For one thing, it's probably the last major highway route we'll see opened in Washington state.
Funny thing is, it's the first highway the state was supposed to build.
What became of the money, no one exactly knows, and it's one of the reasons the Legislature created the Department of Highways in 1905. The agency, now known as the Department of Transportation, says that each spring DOT snowplow crews race from each end of the road, trying to be the first to get to the midpoint. The first person to drive the road straight through was Washington's own Ted Bundy. He got to drive the limo. His brother came instead, but I didn't care.