Travels with Edna and Papi: In Search of Clean Air, The Races, Costly Error and "The Hills Are Alive"......!

Beautiful Washington State!

From the Bavarian town of Leavenworth, Washington to the wheat fields of Eastern Washington! A trip to Mt. St. Helen's.

August/September, 2018

LEAVENWORTH, WA.

Following the Columbia river from British Columbia into Washington, the smoke/visibility gradually worsened. There were major fires burning in both countries with smoke settling between the surrounding mountains. The road was barely visible as we ventured our way to Leavenworth, Washington.

The Columbia River obscured by smoke

Driving into the small Bavarian town was not as I remembered decades ago. It had grown in size but just as cute with its' Bavarian stores, hotels and restaurants. The RV park was one of our favorites, nestled among the trees with a river running through with deer as neighbors.

One of our "wild" neighbors

Many activities were planned during our stay here including hiking, shopping, visiting a local brewery, eating German food, visiting Aunt Shirley and
"The Hills Are Alive….." a local production of "The Sound of Music".

In Search of Clean Air!

The heat and smoke lingered at the 1,100' elevation of Leavenworth. We hiked (seeking relief from the heat and smoke) to a place several miles up the Icicle Creek Road along the Wenatchee river. Climbing an additional 1,000 feet brought welcomed relief in the temperatures and giving us cleaner air to breathe. My ongoing fear of bears continued as we hiked several miles through the Wenatchee Forest. No bears in sight, just more beautiful tall pine trees, streams and photo "ops" of Gracie plopping in the silt blue river to relieve her arthritic knees. Another beautiful day of hiking in God's country.

The refreshing Wenatchee River

Cooling off while soaking arthritic knees

cool refreshment on a warm day

The RV park was a short walk from a theater camp where someone mentioned a great restaurant/bar nearby. Our neighbors were from Arizona and after a short friendly conversation, we joined them for a fancy drink given by an entertaining server.

Aunt Shirley

Not far from Leavenworth is the city of Wenatchee where some of Perry's family once lived. Only 91 year old Aunt Shirley remained. Our short, sweet visit made us smile as she entertained us on her harmonica. At 91, she still drove to church, hairdresser and the local grocery store while living alone in her tidy house.

Aunt Shirley

The Hills Are Alive!

Each summer in the Bavarian town of Leavenworth, locals perform "The Sound of Music". Perry knows I love musicals and "The Sound of Music" was one of my favorites, if NOT my favorite! He surprised me with tickets to the semi-professional outstanding performance. The outdoor theater was against a mountain overlooking the scenic Cascade mountain range. My heart was full with "The Sound of Music"

"Loving Leavenworth"

As much as we love the trees, rivers and mountains, it's time to move east towards rolling wheat fields in Mansfield, Washington, Perry's home town.

Mansfield, WA.

Friends, Tom and Nita invited us to park our fifth wheel in their quiet peaceful home outside Mansfield with the occasional hoot of an owl and visits from the neighborhood deer. As we passed miles of wheat fields, I couldn't help reminiscing the first time I was introduced to the small town/farming community back in the 1980's. Perry's Dad was one of the original farmers in the community and I remembered this kind man sitting on a bench in overalls with other farmers watching the few cars go by on main street. Mansfield is a town of no more than 280 people and though I could never live in a town this small, it depicts what America is all about. The small town hard working people help make America what it is.

Local Mansfield deer

Working our way to eastern Washington state, the scenery changed along the Columbia river. This is one of the more enjoyable scenic drives leaving the tall pine trees to rolling hills of wheat fields in Mansfield.

Tough and expensive lesson!

We pulled our fifth wheel outside Tom's 3,000 square foot shed which housed their toys (snowmobiles, side by sides, etc.). We were impressed not only by the toys but how neat everything was organized by season and/or activity. Their cat claimed the shed as her home and let Gracie (our dog) know it was not her territory. After the grand tour, the guys plugged the electricity into the 220 volt electrical unit. We had 110! The voltage was too powerful for the fifth-wheel and while trying to set up the inside, I could smell burning wires. The guys realized the mistake after losing our electrical. We stayed in Tom and Nita's fifth-wheel that night and had to bring ours in to Wenatchee the next day to be serviced. It was a costly error but three days in the shop, we were happy to have our "home on wheels" back.

A City Girl in the Country!

The nearby town of Waterville was having the annual County Fair. All of us were meeting up with Tom and Nita's friends Malissa and Lee to listen to a country band and enjoy the 4H animals, chickens, pigs, cows….we saw it all! The friendly small town country feel abounds in this city girl!

Enjoying country music
at the county fair

making friends with a goat....

and the pigs? cute but not my favorites

More time was spent visiting old friends and driving past many homestead houses from the 1800's. I loved seeing the deer at dusk each day and the eastern Washington sunsets are stunning but it's time to move on to the coast where we'd meet Tom and Nita at the sprint car races in Elma, Washington.

Sprint car races

We were given ear plugs to muffle the sound of motors and glasses to protect our eyes from the dirt. This was a new experience for Perry and I but an annual event for Tom and Nita. After, we saw the sprint cars close up and met some drivers. Our favorite driver was a California local boy that took a picture with Perry. Sprint cars are small so the drivers have to be small in stature.

Sprint car driver from California

Sprint car race in Elma, Wa.

Our adventures with Tom and Nita had come to a close. I eagerly anticipated our stay in Washington knowing we were getting closer to the arrival of our three kids in Oregon at the end of September.

COPALIS Beach, Fort Stevens (Mount St. Helens)

A lot of time has been spent in Washington State with still much more to explore.

Pulling into a so called "resort" in Copalis Beach was not at all a resort! The "good" was that we had a large RV space and it was a short walk to the beach. Driving a few miles down the coast, a few areas could be accessed by driving on the beach. A driver didn't read the "do not enter" signs placed at various spots for obvious reasons. The woman was stuck deep in the sand. We offered to help as she explained it was her birthday and was there to celebrate on the beach. An unhappy park ranger came by ticketing her and giving her a "tow". The fog slowly crept in creating a wall along the coast.

first attempt at sand surfing

Fog...not smoke

A drive on the beach avoiding soft sand areas

Fog bank at Quinalt Reservation

We ventured out to explore the neighboring areas including The Quinault Reservation along the Quinault River, the cute growing New England style town of Moclips and a day hike along Lake Quinault. There are miles of hiking trails along the lake that we took advantage of. Another breathtaking area of Washington State.

Our next stop was Seaquest State Park outside Mount St. Helens.

Seaquest State Park is the epitome of abounding nature with its tall pine trees, wildlife, wildflowers and an occasional ant pile along the many trails.

Clouds rolled in the day we visited Mount St. Helens. The once 9,677 ft. mounted erupted in May of 1980 killing 75 people and spewing ash as far as Perry's home town, a mere 300 miles away. The active volcano is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire and its eruption in 1980 sheared off the top of the mountain reducing it to 8,300 ft. This day we weren't able to see the top of the volcano but once again enjoyed a day of hiking and learning about the history in the visitor's center.