Leavenworth, WA

We found Leavenworth to be somewhat of an interesting place.  It was a little bit "touristy" with lots of shops and restaurants that all seemed to be the same.  We only spent 4 nights in the area therefore not a lot of time was spent wondering the "Bavarian-style" village.  Here's some of highlights of our time there.

Leaving Coulee City and traveling west on Highway 2, you see the landscape change from rolling hills of wheat fields to the deep valley holding the Columbia River.

This part of Highway 2 was a steep descent, maybe 3 or 4 miles of 7% grade.

The views were incredible.

Once we reached the Columbia River you were greeted with many, many apple, pear and cherry orchards.

We stopped at one of the first fruit stands we saw and bought delicious fresh cherries.  We got the Bing cherries and those sweet Rainer ones too.

The apples and pears were not yet ripe but you could see them just hanging from the trees.

Orchards lined both sides of the road from Wenatchee to Leavenworth.

We crossed the Columbia River at the town of Wenatchee.  It's considered the Apple Capitol of the World.  It seemed we saw as many apple orchards here as we see orange groves in Florida.

Our drive to the Icicle River RV Park was gorgeous.  This RV park was perfect for us and so was our campsite.

Traveling along the gorge of the Icicle River, we found lots pull-offs to explore the river's and many rapids and waterfalls.

The Town of Leavenworth boasts a type of "Bavarian-style" architecture.  With a landscape of towering mountains surrounding the area, we could see why the town wanted you to think you were transported back to an Austrian mountain village. There, we found lots of retail shops, ice cream and fudge parlors, restaurants, pubs and tourists.  We happen to be there during the International Accordion Festival too.

And these costumed gentleman seem to fit right it....

The Icicle Brewery was our favorite shop to visit.

Raspberry Wheat Heffiwizen
Bootjack IPA

It rained one day so we visited the Pybus Public Farmers Market in Wenatchee. Leavenworth is about 22 miles west on Highway 2.

There were several restaurants and craft stalls in the market.  There were olive oil stalls, ice cream, meat and seafood markets and even a wine tasting section.

We found more fruit stands to visit in Leavenworth.  These are the smaller type of cherries used for pies.  They were growing in a small road-side orchard in some one's front yard.

One of the highlights of our stay in Leavenworth was leaving, moving west on Highway 2.  Traveling over Stevens Pass (Stevens Pass History of the 1910 Avalanche) was one of the most beautiful roads we have traveled.  We saw high, jagged, snow capped mountains with streaming waterfalls while a whitewater river followed along the road. 

Stevens Pass was another steep descent.  I believe it was 7 miles of about a 6% to 7% grade.  You could see the old railroad bed of the Great Northern Railroad on the far mountain side.

The entire drive on Highway 2, from Spokane to Everett, was filled with fantastic scenery and changing landscapes that we will not soon forget.

We are now located in Anacortes on Fidalgo Island.  We plan to be here for a month.  We are centrally located to explore the San Juan Islands, North Cascades National Park and the town of Victoria, British Columbia.

More Later.