September 3 - September 5, 2003 Last updated: 11/3/03 2:00pm PT
This year we went on a driving tour of part of eastern Washington. We stayed a couple of nights in Leavenworth and used that as a base, since it was about half way to the Grand Coulee Dam.
First settled by homesteaders in 1885 (of course Native Americans lived in the area long before we barged in), Leavenworth is a former logging & mining town that fell on hard times in the 1920’s. The following depression didn’t help either. In the mid-60’s the townspeople decided to save the town as a tourist trap (I mean attraction). Buildings were redone in a Bavarian style and now it is a “Bavarian” village with many shops and restaurants, and there is skiing nearby. It’s a very nice little town and we ate some great German food. High marks go to Andreas Keller’s German restaurant and their Schweine Schnitzel (breaded fried flattened pork)
On our drive out the first day, we stopped at Deception Falls, right off Highway 2. It’s not so much a “falls” as it is a fast moving downhill river. Very cool. There were hiking trails around the area, so we took a walk. A long time ago, someone cut down a huge tree. Here’s Denise standing in front of a new tree growing on top of the old tree’s stump. We managed to run into some people and they took our picture.
On the second day, we drove from Leavenworth to the Grand Coulee Dam. Leaving Leavenworth, we were in apple country. Lots of orchards. Then nothing. Rolling nothingness as far as the eye can see. Then you run into Banks Lake, and start seeing what a coulee looks like. A coulee is a ravine or deep gully, usually dry, which has been cut by water. At the end of the last ice age, 10,000-20,000 years ago (depending on where you steal your facts from), an ice dam was holding back water of a lake the size of Lakes Erie and Ontario combined. When the ice dam broke, a massive flood swept through the area, with walls of water 800-1000 feet high. These floods moved quickly and carved the land.
Here’s the Grand Coulee Dam, originally built from 1933 to 1942, it is 550 feet tall and 500 feet wide at it’s base (the part under water, not the distance between shores). There was an addition built in the ’70s of a new power plant. We went on a very limited tour. With the peacefulness that exists in the world today, you no longer get to go down and see the giant turbines that generate electricity like you use to be able to do.
The third day, we went to Cashmere, which has a Pioneer Village & Museum. It contains a collection of Native American and pioneer artifacts from the area. It also has collected original buildings from the late 1800s. I think all but two are original. Denise wondered if 100 years from now someone will pay their 5 bucks to take a tour of your house. This was the best small town museum we have visited. It had a nice array of artifacts (wooven bags, arrowheads, tools, etc.) and good descriptions of what they were and how they were used. The buildings were very small. These were mostly one room houses and businesses.
We also stopped at a candy factory in Cashmere called Liberty Orchards where they make Aplets & Cotlets. This is a very tasty candy made from Apples and Apricots. Imagine Apple or Apricot flavored Jello, that is really thick and filled with nuts. Very tasty and not too sweet.
I just noticed we took no pictures of Leavenworth. Oops. Go to the Leavenworth website.