Up to now during this epic PNW road trip, we had experienced zero rain. When we turned in for the night it had began to rain and the next day was expected to be rainy and dreary .....much like we imagined. We took an opportunity to sleep in just a bit and got on the road at 9am.
Our plan was to drive from Issaquah, a suburb of Seattle and make our way to Leavenworth. My research had shown this town to have the atmosphere of a German Bavarian village. Helen, Georgia is a city in this same type of style. Although very touristy and a bit corny, Helen is a fun town to visit so we expected the same from Leavenworth.
We had originally planned to visit the Leavenworth Reindeer Farm because who doesn't love reindeer? The previous evening, as I was looking again on the website and making our reservations, I read something that caused us to not visit. Evidently, goats and sheep can carry an airborne spore that is very dangerous to reindeer.....and the Leavenworth Reindeer Farm makes it clear on their website that you are not welcome if you have petted or visited goats and sheep within a week prior. If you read my post about our visit to the Woodland Zoo, you will remember that the very first animals that we saw were the sheep and goats, both of which April and Avery petted. So, it was decision time. Should we not go to keep the reindeer safe.....or should we go ahead....I mean the Reindeer Farm would never know.
The family decision was that we wouldn't go. We certainly did not want to be responsible for wiping out their reindeer population. So, we had to make other plans. Avery did some research and decided that horseback riding sounded fun. We agreed.....however, when we woke up the next morning it was still raining. Horseback riding in the rain didn't sound like fun.
So we decided to get on the road and see where the day took us. We had the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery planned so that would be our first stop after breakfast and coffee.
The rain continued. The drive was beautiful. Up and down mountains.
We had limited cell phone service and really enjoyed watching the scenery. The road had many turn-outs for slowing moving traffic. There was really nothing to see other than trees and mountains. No homes, no businesses, nothing.
It took a little over 2 hours to get Leavenworth. As we drove through the "village", it was cute. We saw many breweries, candy shops, restaurants. We made our way directly to the Leavenworth Fish Hatchery. It was evident that this was a mountain town. In the winter there are tubing and skiing opportunities. We also passed several creeks and rivers that offered river tubing, rafting, and kayaking. In fact, had it not been a rainy, very cool day, rafting would have been the perfect activity.
We made our way to the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery. We put on our rain coats and got ready to explore and learn. The Visitor Center was closed with a sign saying they would only open if they had staff availability. This was a bit disappointing. There were some maps available in the parking lot, so we picked one up and started our own self tour. We saw a few staff members wandering around....even walked right past a few...but we were never greeted nor spoken to. We made our way to the first set of raceways and they were empty. We made our way to another set of raceways and they, too, were empty. We walked around back to the holding pond and saw nothing. In fact, we say zero fish other than the 2 in this tile mural:
It was raining....maybe we didn't see what was to be seen. Or, maybe there was nothing to see. We may never know. Despite this, we did get an opportunity to see a really cool hatchery the next day. You can read about that in this post.
After the Fish Hatchery, we decided to head back into the "town center". But because it was raining, we did not stop anywhere else in this Bavarian city. We simply did a drive through.
A bit down the road we stopped at Smallwood's Harvest. This place is huge inside. We moved from room to room to room, looking at all of the fruit jellies, popcorn, wine and honey. Outside was a playground, a petting zoo, and a train.
As we were looking for jams, jellies, honey, or candy to take back to our loved ones I was a bit disappointed in their selection. While a lot of their goodies seem to be produced locally, there was so much that was not. We ultimately did not purchase anything and got back on the road.
As we traveled from Leavenworth to Wenatchee we could tell that the terrain was starting to change a bit. We continued seeing fruit tree farms. The Greater Wenatchee area is considered the Apple Capital of the World. Approaching Wenatchee, I realized that the city was bigger than I expected although still not a big city.
At this point we wanted to grab lunch so we decided that the Pybus Public Market would be a great place since it had multiple food options.
Avery decided to get a crepe at "Ice" and April and I decided to grab a drink and a pizza and "Fire". These seemed to be sister restaurants. We were all pleased with our food and drinks.
There are also several shops within the market selling handmade jewelry, honey, hand towels, soaps, etc.
After lunch we made our way to our hotel were we freshened up. One thing I have failed to mention is that this trip was framed around a key event: the Brandi Carlile Concert at the Gorge.
The Gorge is a massive outdoor amphitheater overlooking the Columbia River. The Gorge is in George, WA and is about a 45 minute drive from Wenatchee. It was so interesting to see the terrain change as we made our way from Wenatchee to The Gorge. From a lush, green apple tree valley to a dry desert.
As this is a travel blog, and not a Brandi Carlile page, I can say without a doubt, the concert was the highlight of our trip. It was AMAZING!! And that's all I will say.
The Travel Gritty: Had we had more time and had it not been raining, I would have enjoyed exploring Leavenworth and Wenatchee more closely. If in Wenatchee, definitely visit the Pybus Market.
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