Washington - July, 2003 (Re-run)

 Most of my trips to Washington state have been on the western side, visiting Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens and the Olympic Peninsula.  This was our first foray into the eastern side of the state, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Our first stop was the village of Leavenworth, a delightful community of about 2000 people modeled after a Bavarian village in Germany.  Originally a timber town, that industry began to dwindle in the early 20th century.  Citizens got together in 1962 and developed a strategy to make tourism their primary industry and it has succeeded marvelously.  Having renovated most buildings in town, the place simply oozes Bavarian charm.  Beyond the Bavarian theme, Leavenworth offers a full range of four-season outdoor activities.   They host festivals every month and hold the largest Oktoberfest outside Munich, Germany.

 After passing through Leavenworth, Highway 2 crosses the Cascade Mountains at Stevens Pass.  In Winter, it serves as a major ski resort, but in Summer there are waterfalls to enjoy and rapids to navigate in kayaks.

Near Leavenworth, Lake Chelan is the largest lake in the state.  Already the largest natural lake, a dam constructed nin 1927 made it even larger.  It is 50 miles long and up to 1496 feet deep, third deepest in the U.S.  The town of Lake Chelan, population roughly 4000 sits at the southern end of the lake.  At the opposite end, a village called Stehekin provides a Summer getaway offering all water activities and lots of hiking.  I can attest to its remoteness, as the only way to get their is by boat or small plane, there is no road to it.

Another path through the Cascades, U.S. 20 passes a quaint town called Winthrop.  Following the example set by Leavenworth, Winthrop re-imagined itself and adopted a western theme in 1972.

Based on the recommendation of a lady Forest Ranger we met along the way, I took my first drive up a mountain trail to Hart's Pass.  The views were incredible and the wildflowers were breathtaking.  That experience led me to take many more mountain trails since then.

Route 20 continues through Northern Cascades National Park, but we chose not to go completely through the park at this time.  I think it was concern for the steep mountain grades and the fact that I had so little experience driving the large motor home at that time.  We did make the full passage through the park at a later time.  Still, the part we saw had magnificent scenery.