We woke up this morning to a gorgeous, clear day. After virtually no deliberation, we decided to go exploring. Our journey started with a second trip to Lake Wenatchee because the weather was different than the last time we were here a couple days ago. Sure enough; the lake and surrounding mountains look different in different lighting but either way the vistas here are breathtaking. We checked out the state campground here but it seems unlikely we will ever stay in this great spot because we have a great spot about 8 miles away in the Thousand Trails Leavenworth RV Resort.
We departed the lake after a bit and drove a few miles south to WA-2 where we headed down Tumwater Canyon through which the road and the Wenatchee River share the skinny bottom of the gorge. There is a tremendous amount of water moving down the river here and it makes for about 8 miles of spectacular rapids and cataracts right next to and in plain view of the highway. If you fall in the river here, you may soon find yourself in Cashmere about 20 miles downstream.
Tumwater Canyon runs right down to the edge of Leavenworth and almost as soon as you pass the town’s nifty welcome sign there is a turn to the south that will lead you up Icicle Creek and the gorgeous canyon it runs through. Near town are some residences that follow the architectural look of Leavenworth (probably at great expense) before the road turns northwest and heads up the canyon. The canyon is absolutely spectacular; raging rapids, pine forests, hillsides covered with large yellow flowers, snow-covered peaks in the distance. Although we had to turn around after ten miles due to road closure, we still required about 3 hours to make our way through this magnificent canyon. This drive is comparable to some of the other top ten rides we have taken in the last two years; Yosemite Valley floor, Highway 12 in Colorado and the Blue Ridge Parkway are in the same class.
Late in the afternoon we finally emerged back in Leavenworth and we turned east on WA-2 again for the drive of 10 miles to Cashmere. We met Peggy’s nephew, Ian, and Bree, his spouse, along with their fascinating kid, Ani, in a brew pub called Milepost 111. The porter here is good and my fish and chips were good, too.
Peggy and I figured we would not be able to make today any better through more fun so we drove back up to our campground and called it a day.
There are some pix of this gorgeous drive if you click here