Wenatchee, Washington, Apple Capital of the World

We decided to spend the week prior to the Labor Day holiday on the eastern slope of the Cascade Range. We checked into Wenatchee River County Park on September 30 for a week. This well maintained and peaceful park is very RV friendly with full hookups and 50 amp service at each paved site. This area is in the rain shadow of the mountains and receives very little rain. The Wenatchee River converges with the mighty Columbia River providing plenty of water for irrigation of orchards as well as hydro-electric power.

Our site at Wenatchee River County Park

Leavenworth, a German Town

Fifteen miles west of the RV Park is the quaint German town of Leavenworth. This popular tourist town is full of restaurants with authentic German cuisine, beer gardens, bakeries and interesting gift stores. We partook at a couple of the establishments, eating brauts, sauerkraut, sauerbraten, weinersnitzel, spatzle and apple strudel and other assorted things we can't pronounce and don't remember their name.

ALL the buildings in the town are
Bavarian style, even McDonalds.

The streets were dressed in beautiful flowers.

LIBERTY ORCHARDS MAKERS OF APLETS & COTLETS, Cashmere, Washington

We love taking tours, especially of candy factories. Liberty Orchards, produces Washington's take on Turkish Delight, since 1920. Aplets & Cotlets are small, gelatin-like confections baked in powdered-sugar around walnuts.

Donning hairnets for our tour after checking out the samples.

Packing for the Christmas Rush

STUTZMAN RANCH

We found this pick your own orchard, just one mile from our home. The fruit was fresh and extremely well priced. We picked two buckets of Gala apples along with Bartlett pears and Hale peaches. Couldn't help but go there twice.

This orchard had at least four different kinds of apples.

Didn't take long to fill our buckets.

We fed a reject to the goats.

Orondo Cider Works
We had fresh pressed cider and homemade apple
cider donuts for lunch one day.

As Carl Sagen would say, there are billions and billions
of apples along the Columbia River Valley.

Virginia's Homemade Apple Pie and Apple Sauce

DAMS ALONG THE COLUMBIA

If there is one thing the Columbia River Valley has, besides fruit orchards, its hydro-electric dams. We visited three of the biggest and took two tours.

Chief Joseph Dam, near Chelan
Second Largest Hydro-Electric Producing Dam
in North America

Grand Coulee Dam
Largest Hydro-Electric Producing Dam
in North America 

Rocky Reach Dam
A "Z" Shaped Hydro-Electric Dam
had the best tour of the three.

Rocky Reach Fish Ladder

Salmon Viewing Windows

Turbine Power Generators

DRY FALLS STATE PARK, COULEE CITY

Dry Falls, a long-extinct cascade would have dwarfed Niagara Falls. One especially large lake that covered a portion of northwest Montana broke through an ice dam in prehistoric times, unleashing a tremendous volume of water that rushed along forming the Grand Coulee and leaving behind the skeleton of the greatest waterfall in history. This three and a half mile wide falls that dropped 400 feet is now referred to as Dry Falls.

Victoria, Vancouver Island

The resort we stayed at was about 90 miles north of Victoria. We spent two separate days visiting Victoria and the surrounding area at the south end of Vancouver Island.

VICTORIA BUTTERFLY GARDENS

An indoor tropical jungle, home to thousands of butterflies.

White Tree Nymph from the Philippines on a Hibiscus

Brown Clipper from South East Asia

"Little E"

BUTCHART GARDENS

No trip to Vancouver Island would be complete without a stop at the spectacular Butchart Gardens. This 130 acre botanical gardens and estate attract close to a million people annually. The Butchart Gardens, in bloom for over 100 years, was designated a National Historic Site of Canada. Butchart is made up of six separate gardens: Rose Garden, Japanese Garden, Sunken Garden, Italian Garden, Piazza and the Mediterranean Garden.

The Butchart Estate Home is now
an award winning Restaurant

Sunken Garden

Originally a quarry, the Sunken Garden was
transformed by the Butcharts.

Star Pond

Dinner at the Blue Poppy Restauant

THE PARLIAMENT BUILDING OF BRITISH COLUMBIA

We always enjoy visiting U.S. state capitals. Canada is no exception. Victoria on Vancouver Island is the capital of British Columbia. This building was completed in 1897 at a cost of just over $2 million. After clearing security, we took a self guided tour of this beautiful building and grounds.

Memorial Rotunda surrounded by four paintings that
depict the primary economic industries of the province:
forestry, fishing, agriculture and mining.

Legislative Chamber
They only have one house, unlike states which have
both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Stain Glass Windows displaying quotations from
17th and 18th Century English writers and thinkers,
here to inspire legislators
and spectators as they enter the Chambers.

THE EMPRESS HOTEL AND MINATURE WORLD

Empress Hotel built in 1904
is home to Miniature World

Miniature World has 80 highly detailed miniature scenes.

This circus scene even had moving rides.

CHRIST CHURCH CATHEDRAL

One of Canada's Largest Cathedrals





CRAIGDARROCH CASTLE

This sandstone mansion was built in the late 1880s for Robert Dunsmuir, a self-made Canadian millionaire. He died before the mansion was finished. His wife, Joan, and three of their ten children occupied the house until 1908. Craigdarroch means "rocky, oak place" in Gaelic.

Third Floor Landing

Fourth Floor Tower with 360 degree view.

Craigdarroch Castle, Christ Church and the Parliament
Building contain some of the finest examples of
stained glass in western Canada.

Vancouver Island

On Sunday, August 14th, we left our rig in Ferndale, Washington and drove into Canada for a week. The BC Ferry at Tsawwassen was only 30 miles north. A two hour ferry ride transported us and our car to Duke Point on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. We checked into a one bedroom timeshare condo at Pacific Shores Resort in Parksville. We had beautiful weather the entire week. Vancouver Island is about four times the size of Puerto Rico, yet the population is only 750,000 vs. 4 million on Puerto Rico.

Sitting on the Sun Deck, departing from Tsawwassen.

Entrance Island Lighthouse at Duke Point

First Floor Condo

Very Comfortable with Washer/Dryer, too.

McLEAN MILL NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE

This sawmill has been restored fully to working condition and gives sawing demonstrations weekly. This mill was in operation from 1926 to 1972.

Steam Powered Saw Blades

1928 "Buda" Gas Locomotive used for hauling logs.
Only two "Buda" locatives were built and this is the
only one surviving.

 

Fully Restored 1947 Hayes Logging Truck

PORT ALBERNI

Maritime Lighthouse Museum

Boomer used to manage floating log rafts.

CATHEDRAL GROVE PROVINCIAL PARK

Yup, they have some big trees here, too.

Big Trees but Shallow Roots

PACIFIC RIM NATIONAL PARK PRESERVE

We took Highway 4 over to the west side of the island and visited Pacific Rim National Park as well as the small towns of Ucluelet and Tofino. Most of the west coast of Vancouver Island is an inaccessible wilderness. Only this thirty mile stretch of paved road runs between these two small towns.

KwIstis Visitor Center

End of the Road, Tofino.

End of the Road, Ucluelet.

It was a warm clear day,
with a marine layer just off shore.

MILNER GARDENS

Milner Gardens is 70 acres of natural beauty perched on a bluff overlooking the Strait of Georgia. The historic Milner House served traditional English afternoon tea in the Tea Room. Some of the famous guests included Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana, not to mention Kurt and Virginia.

Beautiful front lawn overlooking the Strait.

600 year old Douglas Fir

Tea Room

 ENGLISHMAN FALLS PROVINCAL PARK 

 

Nice trail to the upper and lower falls.