Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2001 15:27:33 -0800
Reply-To: Brian Cochran <rangerbrian@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Brian Cochran <rangerbrian@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: A weekend in Leavenworth....wow! what a visit!
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On thursday, sarah and I briefly discussed loading up the vanagon and
making a concentrated escape from disease-covered puget sound. We decided
to go to Leavenworth. We had both heard some nice things about the town,
albeit rather non-descript. I knew there was a brewery, so I was sold on
the destination. Friday morning arrived, and Sarah was having a shortened
day of school- sending the kids off early with grade cards. When ready to
shove off, we even decided to bring the cat for our general amusement. (The
cat was not amused.)
The drive was smooth. Anytime the vanagon gearshift is in drive there is a
certain lingering fear of mechanical trouble, whether spoken about or not.
The white beast drove like a champ, I'm glad to report! Our main goal was
to camp in the van after a nice evening out. And then play in the mountains
on Saturday. Sarah was to run in the "Jingle Bell Run" 5k race on Sunday in
Seattle, so this was an overnight trip. As we drove up the mountain, snow
accumulated on the sides of the road and eventually on the road surfaces.
It was slow going for a good hour of the drive while driving over the 4061
foot-high Steven's Pass. I was surprised on how different every state
handles snow-covered roads. Washington puts a lot of faith in the driver to
be responsible. We were driving on grades of packed snow. I saw the plows
out and they weren't even trying to plow. I figured this choice was because
plowing could increase the slickness of the road surfaces, but I'm not too
savvy on these subjects. Washington, like many western states, does not use
salt on the roads, since there is still an ecosystem with a chance of
survival despite human onslaughts. We were cruising along at about 20-30
mph. Slowly, the road surfaces became only spotty and the speed increased,
but suddenly we were in Leavenworth, and we realized within a few minutes,
there was more here than we bargained for!
Leavenworth is a wonderful town. The Rand McNally 1999 road atlas puts the
town population at 1,692 folks. There were two gas stations. One major
grocery store. Most importantly, there was practically no signs of typical
American sprawl. As you leave town, you leave town. What does that mean?
Well, if you ever try to leave many places nowadays, you'll find the
boundary of the "edge of town" is difficult to find. Gas stations,
fast-food chains, assorted businesses seem to have fogged up the edge of
towns. This doesn't really apply to Leavenworth. It's seemingly right up
against US Forest Service land on the west edge, making additional growth
difficult. But we didn't traipse through much muck on the eastern edge,
either.
I didn't leave Leavenworth a historical expert on the place, but I was privy
to a few details: the town's settlers were of a German background. The
pictures of the town in the fifties revealed a typical story. I'm not sure
when, but recently (70's or 80's) the town decided to make themselves into a
special place. From the attached photo’s you can see it’s a Barvarian-styled
town. They call themselves the “miracle town.” I think the miracle was
from getting all of the business owners to agree to such a hefty investment
on a zoning and theme change-over.
Anyway, you can see a taste of it in the attached photos. Sarah and I
arrived around 6 pm. We found the Leavenworth Brewery and parked. We
checked in on Oso the cat who was cowering under all of the blankets and
sleeping bags in the back of the van. The town was somewhat lit up. There
was a small hill in the town square where kids in large quantities were
sledding with their parents grouped around a few burn barrels with these
cute little air vents in the shapes of snowmen and Christmas trees (enclosed
pic).
Dinner was okay. I had a calzone of mediocre liking. Sarah ordered a
panini which was not so hot either. The beer was great! In the future, I
would skip this place for food purposes.
After dinner, we stood around the toasty burn barrels, watching the sledding
and observing the unlit lights that seemed to coat the tree branches in this
area of town. All of the hotel/motel rooms in the region were booked full,
not that we cared. We eventually pointed the van in the direction of Icicle
Road, on the west edge of town, to go find a campground to stay for the
night. I guess it should be noted that there is about 2-3 feet of snow on
the ground. The campground scene wasn’t. Despite what we were told by the
Forest Service office on the other side of the mountains, snow closed our
options to campgrounds. In fact, we tried turning around on a sloped section
of road and became stuck on the ice. Getting back up the hill was a twenty
minute miserable scene of pushing and rocking the five thousand pound
vanagon, using a rug to put under the tires for traction. We finally got
back up the slight hill and back on track to seaching for a campsite. We
finally found a nice, quiet RV park east and south of town. It’s a bummer
to pay for camping. I have spent much of my life avoiding it. We didn’t
pay much, though, and the bathroom was heated! Sleep was peaceful and
breakfast was delicious- breakfast burritos, a vangon specialty. (pic) Oso
was introduced to the
When we drove back into town, we realized something huge was going on, a
festival!. All of the parking lots were full and there was bus after bus
moving into town, unloading their cargos. The town of 1700 had now
swelled to 20,000! It was a scene of Christmas songs, performed live,
echoing through the town. Every restaurant had a line of people coming out
of it’s doors. Other shops, and there was a LOT of shops had to regularly
empty the cash register overflows into safes. We turned down one street and
walked into a winter version of “Taste of Chicago”, with a german theme.
Sarah and I had no idea that there was such a festival! We just happen to
time it right. So much for the snowshoeing......we bought some hot
chestnuts, cider and watched the choirs from surrounding schools, teenagers
contemplate the snowball, and sleds wear through the snow into the grass.
There were various characters in costume parading the streets, offer a photo
moment. Of course, santa claus was there in his appropriate box waiting to
hear wishes of the lined-up children. Lunch was at a delicious bakery, a
fifteen minute wait in line well worth it. I ate a huge pretzel, soft and
tasty while Sarah had a raspberry danish. Any remaining Christmas shopping
was completed at many shops--half of which we never stepped foot in. Lots
of handmade items! Cool stuff. We decided to stay for the lighting of the
tree. That was the purpose of this festival, answering our questions from
the unlighted trees from the previous evening. It was a scene to
experience. There were people, shoulder to shoulder up and down the
streets. The mayor and Town Crier presented a bunch of stuff and we all did
the chicken dance as some weird tradition. Picture about 16, 000 people
(it’s not that popular of a ritual) flapping their wings. Then the lights
came on, lighting up an impressive display of community. Then 20, 000
people rushed to all of the restaurants. We, too, were hungary and didn’t
want to drive home on an empty stomach. We ate at Gustav’s about thirty
minutes after entering--better than most who waited over an hour. The beer
was excellent! The food wasn’t bad either.
We arrived home in Seattle around 9:30pm, much to Oso’s liking. We both
wanted to stay in Leavenworth and talked about living in such a community.
Leavenworth has three festivals a year. Octoberfest, and something in the
summer, I think, are the others. Why can it pull in the people? Mostly
because it’s a beautiful place. It is an awesome replica of a Barvarian
village. I kept thinking I was swept away to europe.
And the beer was delicious!
(there was also a cheese and wine cellar, which I didn’t frequent, but
surely it will please).
Check it out sometime! We’re going back for more when we can get to it.
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