The Twisp Cross

 

The 25 foot Twisp Cross sits on top of a mountain overlooking the town. Lit up at night with brilliant white bulbs, it's visible for many miles around. 

A simple icon left over from the earlier settler days, the cross has been a source of controversy in town politics for many years. That aside, hiking up to the base of the cross is a rite of passage around here, and somehow we've missed it in the many years we've been coming to Twisp.

For one thing, you need the right conditions. I took the hike yesterday with Amanda and Maya on a cool and cloudy afternoon, perfect timing. Without tree cover, this mountain gets baking hot in the summer and of course the trail is covered with snow in the winter. The hills and valleys were just greening up and the first wildflowers blooming. We even saw a pair of bluebirds.

The reward for the long, slow slog is a dynamite bird's eye view of Twsip spread out at your feet. We could clearly see our little homes far, far below. 

Back to big city life today. The big warm up and snow melt is finally getting underway, with temperatures close to 80 here next week. The river will be running high and fast when we return. Hopefully it washes the beavers downstream. Ha ha.