Leavenworth-Bavaria without a passport

Yesterday we drove back to Leavenworth.
The first thing we did was go to breakfast at Sandy’s Waffle & Diner. I made the mistake of ordering a Belgium Waffle - too doughy. Tom said his was OK, but he smothered his waffle with 2 eggs over easy and lots of Raspberry syrup.
We shopped (or not shopped) all along the cute streets of Leavenworth. There is more ‘stuff’ to buy than you can shake a stick at. The funniest place was the Hat Haus. You could buy just about any hat from cowboy to Disney Mad Hatter and everything in between.  We seriously have enough hats!!! There were some very nice boutiques and art stores that we looked and didn’t buy at. A little pricey for our pocket book.
As we drove in to Leavenworth we had passed this interesting dam so we drove back to get some pictures. It was actually the Tumwater Fish Collection Facility where they count the fish using the fish ladders. This is part of a large hatchery complex. After that we drove to Cashmere.
This is another cute little town and we heard there was a nice museum there. We followed the signs through town to the museum and paid our $4.50 each for Seniors and spent the next 1½ hours in one of the nicer small town museums. The Iris around the Frontier Town were amazing. The lady in the museum said they have an Iris Society and they had just had a show there. The deep purples are impossible to show; something about the digital camera does not recognize that reddish, blackish, purplish color.




The Frontier Town has been recreated with the original cabins to depict life in Cashmere.



Another surprise we found in Cashmere was the Aplets and Cotlets factory. In the 40’s my Grandmother would buy my sister, Janet, and me these special fruit treats when we rode the train from Los Angeles to Fresno which we did often because we rode on a pass. Dad was an engineer for the Southern Pacific. It is thrilling to find the completely unexpected while on the road that brings back those very special memories.
We came back to the RV to watch the news before heading back to Leavenworth. Tom wanted a Brat. We ate outdoors under a heater in the light rain. It was great. Just like almost every building in Leavenworth all the buildings are painted with either beautiful murals or pictures. Even the Safeway has pictures of 3 cornucopias filled with fruit and vegetables.
 


This morning we were on the road by 9:30 which is early by our standards, but we wanted to see Rocky Reach Dam and get to Spokane by dark. Fortunately, it does not get dark before 9:00.

The grounds at the dam are just wonderful.



We toured the Educational Center in the dam and learned about the early  “Peoples”, the Discovers, the history of this valley, life along the Columbia River, and the history of electricity. This is a must see if you are ever near this area.
We particularly enjoyed how they protect and preserve the salmon. We even saw the salmon swimming up the ladders. They have even landscaped the ladders with ivy and hanging flower baskets.

Below the ladders there are windows where we watched the salmon come up the ladders. The count today was over 140. There were large, small, and even tiny salmon about 1 inch long.


  We left after lunch and drove  along I-2 through many small towns that were separated by miles and miles of green fields of wheat.
We checked into the Spokane Elks at 6:30, hooked up and went for their Friday night fish fry. Then back to the RV, pulled out the slides and started to plan our day in Spokane tomorrow.
We sure hope we have dryer weather than we have had. So far it has rained every day since we left Monroe. I guess that’s Washington.
On the Road Again, Caching Places That We’ve Never Been…  Thanks for joining us.