Leavenworth, WA

Friday, June 27, 2014

Leavenworth WA is an interesting town. Its original name is Icicle, or Icicle Flats. It presents itself as a Bavarian Village and it succeeds in that very well. Even the McDonalds has signage that evokes a Bavarian heritage.  But it is all fake. Well done fake, and I applaud them for that. And very enjoyable fake and again I applaud them, which surprises me since I usually rebel against such overt manipulation. But they do it so well, and are so sincere in it that you just relaxed and enjoyed the spell they cast. Knowing the history of the town helps because you can cut them some slack.

The town was settled by pioneers in 1890, looking for gold, farmland and furs. The local tribes had been fishing for salmon in the Wenatchee River for forever. The railroad came in, as well as a sawmill and the town grew in size and economic vitality. But eventually the railroad relocated to avoid avalanches. The saw mill followed and the town fell on hard times.

City code dictates how all downtown buildings must look

To quote the town history: " For more than thirty years, Leavenworth lived on the brink of extinction." http://cityofleavenworth.com/about-leavenworth/leavenworth-history/

In the 1960s a hotelier, noting the similarity of the surrounding mountains to that of the Alps, decided to model his hotel on a Bavarian Gasthaus. The rest of the town said "Hmm, not a bad idea, why don't we all do it?" Actually, the project LIFE (Leaveanworth Improvement for Everyone) was formed by the local business community. The transformation worked and brought the town back from the brink of extinction. Here are some pictures of the transformation: http://leavenworthhistory.com/

So, yes it's fake, and it's all tourism, but the fact that they did it themselves and did it well counts for an awful lot. They have a great location to start with, but so do a lot of other small towns we've seen. Many of them are trying, but they don't have much to work with. One we passed through on the way here, Reardan (pop. 510 as of 2010), has no more than ten buildings lining busy Route 2. (That's not fair. I Googled the town and there are more than 10 buildings. It just felt like 10.) Their bid for fame and  fortune is Mule Days, celebrated for over 50 years. I'm sure it's a lot of fun, but I can't see why. http://reardanmuledays.net/ We didn't even slow down.

Light lunch at Icicle Brewing

We spent a pleasant day walking the main street of Leavenworth, sampling cheeses and salamis in various shops, stopping for beer and a plate of meat and cheese at the local brewery. Everyone is very friendly and interested in where you come from. The Wenatchee River is right nearby and they have built pathways through the water front park, which makes for a good way to walk off the beer and brats.

Down by the river

Entrance to the Cheese Monger

There were several good cheese and salami shops and we bought from two of them. One even had Lebanon Bologna, which we have been unable to find since we left Amish land.

In the tea shop

There is even a Nutcracker Museum here. We didn't go in. I think Nutcrackers are ugly and a little scary.

I have several pictures of this statue with Peg in them acting silly. She won't let me post them. I'll reconsider if you email me and send a Bitcoin or two.

Tomorrow we take off for La Conner. It's a quaint, small town on the Swinomish Channel, not far from Puget Sound and about an hour south of Blaine. It's our last stop before we hit Birch Bay with our brooms, mops and paint rollers.