Leavenworth in the Fall

My wife and I spent the better part of two days earlier in the week in Leavenworth, a quaint Bavarian town on the inland side of the Cascades about 110 miles east of Seattle along highway 2. The reasons? a) Fish Lake is nearby, and b) Fall foliage is ablaze in color.

My cousin Joel and his wife Sandra spend a timeshare week in Leavenworth sometime during each October. This year they invited Kay Lynne and I to spend a couple of days with them. I'm glad they did.

Joel and I fished both mornings until noon or later while the ladies shopped in the Village following a leisuely breakfast. Usually at this time of the year nearby Fish Lake is hot, hot, hot. For some reason this year (which we were never able to pinpoint other than the unseasonably warm weather) we had to work hard to get our fish. Joel is a purist fly fisherman, and I'm a bait dragger, so we rented a pontoon boat from which we could each fish in the manner we prefer (bottom pic is of Joel bringing in a trout on his fly gear). I guess we did finally limit both days, but for some reason we had to scour the entire lake to find where they were having their fall conference -- and then they were more interested in socializing than eating.

Each afternoon we took driving excursions in and around Leavenworth. One of the days we drove some 15 miles north of Leavenworth to a quaint little town called Plain. It's nestled in a gorgeous valley and is lubricated by the Wenatchee River which runs right through the area on its way to the Columbia.

We spent some time in a touristy "Hardware" store which was chock full of historical artifacts and souvenirs from the area and actually did have some paint and hardware goods in the back. It even had an Espresso bar and deli up front. I think the women could have stayed there a full day.

Later we drove out to Mountain Springs Lodge, within a mile of Plain, which is owned by a family who has been a significant part of the town's history for a hundred years or so. Our daughter-in-law Jamie went to Seattle Pacific University with the daughter of the Lodge family, so we felt we had a "connection". Plus Joel and Sandra had visited there before and indicated it was a "must stop" on the drive.

The top picture shows a bit of the Fall colors near a pond on the grounds at the Lodge which, by the way, can accommodate large family gatherings and conferences. Its facilities contain a marvelous, beautiful grouping of "log cabin"-type buildings with the main lodge a grandiose A-frame structure of heavy laminated beams and ornate woodwork set off by an immense rock fireplace. What a great setting this would be for a family reunion.

Unfortunately, we had to come home too soon. However, we feel fortunate to have enjoyed the beauty and sights of Leavenworth in the Fall while accompanied by family, even though the time was too short.