Sunday, the 29^th, we headed for Leavenworth, Wa and the Icicle River RV park. Leavenworth has a Bavarian feel to it with lots of shops selling German stuff and German restaurants.

Icicle River RV is on the Wenatchee River nestled in a valley of craggy slopes reminiscent of an Alpine village. At least I think so, never having seen an Alpine village except in pictures. The river runs right along the base of the mountains and our sites were right on the river. Absolutely incredible views from the coach.

Out the front of our coach.

On the other side of the river.

Cocktail hour with our friends Don and Sandy Courtney, enjoying the scenic river overlook.

We only had two nights in Leavenworth so we had to make the best of it. Our arrival day was pretty much shot with the four hour drive from Deer Park. (I think one of those hours was spent inching our way up the hill into Leavenworth in Sunday traffic.) The boys were pooped so we just kicked back and enjoyed the scenery.

Monday we set out with a full days agenda…breakfast, followed by wine tasting (this area is known as the biggest pear producing area in the U.S. if not the world, but is also part of the Okanagan wine producing area), followed by playing tourist in Leavenworth, and ending with German food for dinner.

We were sent down the highway to a café that serves the best breakfast in the area. Rob was told the name and where it was only he forgot the name, but had a general idea where it was. Okay, I think we got there. In any case, we all had terrific breakfasts. The waitress recommended that we order half breakfasts, which we did. Even the half sizes were huge and we ate way too much. This was a late breakfast so we wouldn’t need lunch. We timed it to coincide with the opening of the local wineries.

The first winery we found was called Cascadia. Not an impressive looking building; just a unit in a small commercial building. This is a one person operation: owner, winemaker, salesman, etc. with a master’s degree in oenology from UC Davis. Some really good wines.

Then we went down the road a bit to Icicle Ridge winery. Absolutely gorgeous setting. An old log cabin built by the winery owner and used as his home where he grew pears and raised his family. With his daughters out of the house he decided to retire and turn the house into a winery. Wines were only so so and way too expensive for the quality.

Icicle Ridge Winery

Tourist traffic slowed down some it being Monday, but we still weren’t the only ones on the street. Your typical touristy items in most of the stores, German-style, but many made in China. Actual German-made items were too pricey to consider.

As with other towns in the northwest, gold brought people to this area. Gold mining continued until 1975. The Leavenworth townsite was the supply source for the miners.  A rail route over the mountains completed in 1893 linked Leavenworth to the rest of the country and lumber became a big industry. In 1925 the Great Northern Railway Company decided to move its headquarters to Wenatchee and move its tracks to a canyon not so prone to avalanches. This move, along with WWI and WWII caused a decline in the population and the economy. The townspeople turned to outdoor recreation with the construction of a toboggan run and ski jump in the late 20's. But the town was still in a depression which lasted about 30 years. In the 1960's a group of residents, determined to find a way out of the depression, banded together and created a community plan of action. In 1965 the community committed to "go alpine" and by 1968 14 buildings had been remodeled to reflect the new theme. Theme festivals were added slowly and this year there will be 19 of them. Based on the number of people in town as we drove through I'd say the economy is safe in Leavenworth.

Dinner at Andreas Keller a local German Biergarten.

Next stop Gig Harbor.