2011-27 Leavenworth, Washington
Hello All,
Departing Snoqualmie Falls we continued on our adventure in the Pacific Northwest’s Cascade Mountains. Our next target point of interest was the Bavarian village of Leavenworth, Washington. This gem is just a few hours east of Seattle and has many quaint shops and wonderful German cuisine. The village would not be out of place in the European Alps.
On the outskirts of Leavenworth we stopped at Preys Fruit Barn and stocked up on some fresh fruit. There’s nothing better to munch on during a roadtrip. It is a colorful place with some really nice flower baskets. The Fruit Barn has been in business for over thirty years.
In 1975, Antje and Rudolf Prey, Sr., immigrated to the U.S. with three of their four children. Previously, Rudolf (Rudy) had visited the Wenatchee Valley with his brother-in-law, who was considering buying land there. Rudy fell in love with the area. Shortly after returning home to Germany he told his family, “…that is where I want to live.” Rudy soon sold their farm and returned to the Wenatchee Valley where he bought 130 acres of orchards. His wife and children joined him soon thereafter.
It was a humble beginning. The Fruit Barn first opened its doors in 1979, with a few bins of apples and pears from the family orchards. Once they opened, they began to realize the demand for high quality, tree-ripened fruit, and the fruit stand began to grow. Today, some thirty years later, Prey’s Fruit Barn is one of largest and finest fruit stands in Washington. They still sell their home-grown pears and apples along with fresh fruits from other local farmers. They have a picnic area, clean restrooms, and a 100-foot flag pole that proudly bears a 30 x 50 foot American flag.
There is a lesson to be learned here for all the illegal immigrants now crossing our borders--immigrate legally, work hard and the American dream can be yours.
Departing Snoqualmie Falls we continued on our adventure in the Pacific Northwest’s Cascade Mountains. Our next target point of interest was the Bavarian village of Leavenworth, Washington. This gem is just a few hours east of Seattle and has many quaint shops and wonderful German cuisine. The village would not be out of place in the European Alps.
On the outskirts of Leavenworth we stopped at Preys Fruit Barn and stocked up on some fresh fruit. There’s nothing better to munch on during a roadtrip. It is a colorful place with some really nice flower baskets. The Fruit Barn has been in business for over thirty years.
In 1975, Antje and Rudolf Prey, Sr., immigrated to the U.S. with three of their four children. Previously, Rudolf (Rudy) had visited the Wenatchee Valley with his brother-in-law, who was considering buying land there. Rudy fell in love with the area. Shortly after returning home to Germany he told his family, “…that is where I want to live.” Rudy soon sold their farm and returned to the Wenatchee Valley where he bought 130 acres of orchards. His wife and children joined him soon thereafter.
It was a humble beginning. The Fruit Barn first opened its doors in 1979, with a few bins of apples and pears from the family orchards. Once they opened, they began to realize the demand for high quality, tree-ripened fruit, and the fruit stand began to grow. Today, some thirty years later, Prey’s Fruit Barn is one of largest and finest fruit stands in Washington. They still sell their home-grown pears and apples along with fresh fruits from other local farmers. They have a picnic area, clean restrooms, and a 100-foot flag pole that proudly bears a 30 x 50 foot American flag.
There is a lesson to be learned here for all the illegal immigrants now crossing our borders--immigrate legally, work hard and the American dream can be yours.
On the side of the fruit stand
near the picnic area there were some trees growing that we were not familiar
with. The trees had a greenish flower that had an orange swatch on each
petal--nothing like we’ve seen before. We have since learned that it was a
tulip tree.
We drove on into the village
of Leavenworth. It is such a lovely place with their Bavarian theme. We were lucky
to be there at the right time to see many beautiful flower baskets adorning the
outside of the buildings.
Leaving Leavenworth we
followed U.S. Highway 2 to the west towards Seattle. The highway parallels the
Wenatchee River up into the mountains. Wow, was the river ever boiling down
through the canyon! For sure, it wasn’t a day that you would want to consider
floating the river on a tube.
Higher up in the Cascade
Mountains we stopped at Deception Falls. Here’s a bit of trivia for you. Near
the falls is where at 11:30 at night, on January 6th, 1893, a
laborer drove the last spike completing the transcontinental Great Northern
Railway. The 1,816 miles of new track linked Puget Sound to St. Paul,
Minnesota. Great Northern’s founder, James J. Hill, built the line without any
government aid. A hard taskmaster, he insisted in the summer of 1892 that crews
link eastern and western rails “…somewhere up in the Cascades, before winter
sets in.” More than a thousand men worked to complete the line in the rugged
mountains. Winter arrived, but they kept working in driving rain and snowstorms
until that cold night when the crew from the west met the crew from the east.
Deception Creek and falls were blasting down the mountainside. The heavy snow pack in the mountains had all the creeks and rivers running high and fast. The falls plummets sixty feet in a thundering mass of colliding water and then passes under the highway.
Deception Creek and falls were blasting down the mountainside. The heavy snow pack in the mountains had all the creeks and rivers running high and fast. The falls plummets sixty feet in a thundering mass of colliding water and then passes under the highway.
To get to the falls we followed a path to a
grated foot bridge over the creek and then under the highway bridge to the
viewpoint. We must admit, crossing that foot bridge was a bit spooky! The
torrential water was thundering below and spray was soaking us. Dave is
covering his camera lens in the following photo. The photo looks peaceful
compared to how it really was.
The following photo is looking
back from the viewpoint towards the foot bridge.
Our final photo is looking downstream from the
foot bridge. Note the water spots on the camera lens.
We thoroughly enjoyed our loop
drive into the Cascade Mountain Range. We saw some beautiful sites and examples
of Mother Nature showing her awesome power. Our next adventure will take us to
the famous Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle, but more on that later.
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns
Until next time,
Dave & Barb
The Traveling Browns