Mountainside, Washington Pass

The Eastern Cascades are a lot like the Eastern Sierra, but more spectacular in some ways. Here, at about 5,500 feet, the mountains end and the desert begins. Like in California, the dry country below is filled with sage, and the sun beats down, bleaching even the pines at lower altitude, replacing green with burnt orange. What's more stark than the heat is the contrast with the lush, almost tropical ( but cold ) environment west of the divide, that we associate with the Pacific Northwest.

Within 50 miles of Canada, it's almost unfathomable how warm it is here, and in eastern Washington.