Leavenworth

Relaxing along the White River

Hanging around:  Well folks, here we are, still in our 1000 Trails campground north of Leavenworth.  We planned to push ahead on our vacation before the end of July, but a few brush-fires popped up that needed immediate attention.  There was a little controversy about who would be living and/or taking care of our house while we're gone.  Some confusion still exists but I think we have it covered.  Then, daughter Brenda accepted a job offer in the Boston area and had only a few days to pack, move things into storage, take care of local business and drive off to Boston with her two girls (we'll miss them).

So, while Bonnie is at home for a couple more days helping Brenda move, I had to assume the more difficult duty of watching the RV to make sure a storm doesn't come up and blow the awning off or cause a tree to fall on it.  But seriously, we're very content about our delayed intinerary.  It has allowed us to enjoy the beauty of the Wenatchee National Forest a little longer than planned and, frankly, I can't think of too many places I'd rather be.

Leavenworth is a terrific vacation destination.  We've been here many times and it's always a pleasure to stroll the Bavarian-themed streets and poke in and out of the many unique shops that specialize in music boxes, hats and leather goods, candles, decorator items, nutcrackers, baked goods, etc.  There's always something new and interesting.

The town is a real success story and has a colorful history that's worth mentioning.  This area has always been popular.  Northwest Indians have been coming here for hundreds of years to harvest the abundant salmon runs on the Wenatchee and Icicle Rivers.  Then gold was discovered in the 1860s and the huge influx of miners made Leavenworth the center for shipping, supplies and other necessities.  The Great Northern Railroad was completed through the valley in 1892 and Leavenworth became a railroad center.  That was followed by a boom in the logging industry with new mills and lots of jobs.

It all came to a screeching halt in the 1920s.  The Great Northern moved its rail lines to a better location outside the town and moved its headquarters to Wenatchee.  The sawmill closed the following year.  Residents moved away, businesses closed, the Great Depression hit, World War II came along and Leavenworth was depressed for a 30 year period.

Just as it was on the brink of becoming a ghost town, an idea was presented to take advantage of the beautiful alpine mountain setting.  Why not transform the town into a unique Bavarian village and invite tourism?  Project LIFE (Leavenworth Improvement For Everyone) brought forth an alpine design theme that was adopted in 1965.

During the next three years, 14 buildings were remodeled.  Today, the town is a work of art and a tourist magnet.  It will host 19 different festivals this year.  It also offers art shows, summer theater and lots of outdoor events such as white water rafting, camping, hiking and horseback riding.  Music can be heard almost daily at the gazebo in the park.

The alphorn, a very unique instrument, is played twice daily in the mornings on the balcony of the Enzian Inn.  On this particular Sunday, it was also played at the gazebo.  You won't find many of these in marching bands.

Plain:  Meanwhile, back at the campground near the very small town of Plain, there are  other sights to see and things to do.  We took a self-guided tour of Plain's historic buildings.  It took about five minutes since nearly all of them can be seen from one location. 

Plain Hardware is the hub of local activity.  It stocks just about everything anybody could possibly need, and more.  Next door is the Old Mill Cafe.  It serves up great breakfasts and the second best biscuits and gravy I've ever had. 

Then there's the Plain Community Church, Plain Automotive, a few other small Plain businesses and perhaps a Plain Jane or two in the area.  It's just a Plain little town.

The historic church is next to an old bridge over the Wenatchee River that has been closed to traffic and transformed into a pedestrian and bicycle bridge.














Lake Wenatchee is about eight miles from our campground.  It's a good place to have a picnic, go swimming, hike one of the many trails in the area or just relax and soak up the scenery and sunshine, as we did.  

Area campgrounds are usually full on summer weekends and some of the state parks and Forest Service campgrounds offer clean beautiful sites adjacent to the water, such as Nason Creek below.

Our campground offered a good selection of hiking trails.  Lazy Horse Trail was an easy walk, followed by a climb to the top of a local hill to view the surrounding valley and mountains from Summit Rock Viewpoint.

Bonnie on Lazy Horse Trail

Summit Rock Viewpoint - looking north

For a bit more adventure, we drove to the end of White River Road.   The farther we traveled, the worse the road got.  Much of the road was one-lane, dirt, and very rough and rocky. It took a while, but we managed to crawl along very slowly all the way to the end where we were greeted by beautiful White River Falls.

Hiking trails were available to take us farther into the back country and wilderness areas, but we were content to take shorter walks in the woods and along the river to soak up the sights and sounds of the rushing water.  We couldn't get enough of that.

We took another hike (on a very hot day) across a former pipeline bridge and along an old railroad bed that followed the Wenatchee River up Tumwater Canyon.

The trail led to an abandoned railroad tunnel.  The entrance had collapsed long ago.  But, after a little searching and climbing over huge rocks, we found the entrance and could look down into the old tunnel.  It was clear that people had been going inside, but it was dark in there and we didn't have a flashlight, so we stayed out.












A family from Chilliwack, B.C. occupied the campsite next to us for several days.  They had two boys (10 and 12) and Jasper, a very friendly dog. 

Jasper was well behaved and didn't need a leisch.  He roamed around the campsite and came to visit us frequently.  We offered to take him with us, but his family wouldn't allow that.

It's now Tuesday, August 7.  Bonnie should return this afternoon and we'll make another attempt at moving eastward tomorrow.  Yesterday was her birthday.  Since I was here watching the RV while she was on the west side of the mountains helping her daughter pack for her move to Boston, we'll have to make up for the missed birthday somewhere down the road.  I'm pretty sure she'll be ready for some serious relaxation and a nice dinner.  The 59er Diner may not be the most appropriate place.

This morning I'm drinking coffee and doing some de-cluttering, vacuuming and other RV clean-up tasks.  Half my morning has already been spent wiping a thick layer of dust off the mini-blinds after six weeks in dusty campgrounds. I often wonder what was going through the minds of RV designers when they decided to put mini-blinds in RVs.  Their design studio was probably dust-free so they overlooked that little "real world" inconvenience.  Then again, it's only dust.  No big deal.