Volume 13 Issue 1 » 21
Later that day we ambled lazily around
downtown Leavenworth, tasting pretzels
and poking our heads into the gift
shops. Then we headed to the Ski Hill
Amphitheatre for a performance by
Leavenworth’s Summer Theatre. The venue
was spectacular: the stage and seating
area surrounded by tall pine trees and
the sun casting a final ray of sunshine
on the distant mountains. The voices of
Leavenworth’s talented youth filled the
air, young people who had grown up in
this Little Bavaria and never knew their
town in the days before, when its future
had once looked so terribly bleak. The
theme alone, and the town’s wholehearted
commitment to it, is enough to entice folks
here from far and wide, enchant them with
Leavenworth’s natural beauty and send
them home with sausage in their bellies
and memories of a great weekend away.
W H E N YO U G O
G e t t i n g T h e r e : Le ave nwo r t h
is located 330 km from
Va n c o u v e r , a f o u r - h o u r
j o u r n e y . Ta ke B C H i g hw a y
99 South across the US
borde r to the I - 5 Inte rstate
and fol low the I - 5 unti l
you re ac h US H i g hw ay 2 .
He ad E a s t o n H i g hw ay 2
a nd i t w i l l t a ke you i nto
Le ave nwo r t h .
the population has increased considerably
and, instead of shuttered windows and
closed doors, the town is thriving and
growing.
No one gives a hoot that Leavenworth is
an illegitimate daughter of Bavaria. Visitors
come for chamber music in the summer,
outdoor art displays, Christmas lighting
festivals in the winter and a myriad other
festivals in between. Then, when they’re
sated with beef franks, strudel and ice
cream, they seek out the kind of outdoor
adventures that make Washington state
legendary.
My son and I checked in for whitewater
rafting on the Wenatchee River with
Osprey Rafting, joining about forty
others booked for the same trip. By July
the river has lost much of its ferocity but
nevertheless, we spent a fun day on the
river during which we repeatedly plunged
in when the water turned calm and
were hauled back inside the boat as we
approached the rapids. Around us granite
mountain slopes soared into the sky,
swallows dipped in and out of the water
and a couple of ospreys watched us from
their nests.
W h e r e To S t a y : S l e e p i n g
Lady Re s or t is the be st
property in town, with
c o m fo r t abl e l o g c ab i ns
i nte rspe rs e d i n fore ste d
groves. Ask for their
G re at E s c a p e Pac kage ,
which i nclude s ove r night
accommodation for two,
a nd b re akfast a nd d i n ne r i n
the Kingfisher Lodge. The
package starts at $276 USD.
Details: visit sleepinglady.
com or call (800) 574-2123
toll free or (509) 548-6344
local.
Fo r g e n e r a l i n f o r m a t i o n o n
Le ave nwo r t h , c o nt ac t t he
Chamber of Commerce at
(509) 548-5807; or visit
l e ave nwo r t h . o r g
Osprey Rafting leads
whitewater river excursions
f r o m Ap r i l t h r o u g h
September. Info: (800) 7436269; or visit ospreyrafting.
com