This Is What Retirement Should Be!

Yesterday morning, after spending about an hour at the DMV while I finally got my Washington State Driver's license, we decided to go home, make a couple of sandwiches, and go out and enjoy the beautiful day.

Larry had discovered Tye Lake in Monroe when he was on a motorcycle ride recently, and thought that it would be a good place to take Duchess. When we got there, however, we weren't that impressed and decided to head on up Highway 2, since Larry had never been to the top of Stevens Pass. So off we went, hoping to find someplace to eat our cheese sandwiches along the way.

The Stevens Pass Greenway follows the rushing Skykomish river as it ascends the west slope of the Cascades to 4,061' Stevens Pass. We have to chuckle at the elevation, since our house back in Castle Rock was about 6,200'!

We passed through Sultan, Gold Bar, and Index, nestled at the foot of spectacular 5,979' Mount Index, and Skykomish.

Our first stop was Deception Falls - The short half-mile interpretive trail was a great stop for a quick stretch of the legs.  I've been over Stevens Pass many, many times, but this was the first time I'd ever stopped at the trail. It begins at an inauspicious "rest area" east of Skykomish on the west side of the pass, but within moments of leaving the parking lot you feel well away from civilization.

We followed a 0.2 mile ADA-accessible trail to a bridge that spans the Upper Falls. This worked well for me, with my handy little blue cane.The highlight is the tumbling, multi-tiered waterfall and its distinctive 90 degree turn the creek makes at a stop along the way.

 Deception Creek originates in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, and this is its last run before joining the Tye River. The water was quite powerful and the mist cooled us off on such a warm day.

At the crest of Stevens Pass, the sweeping views of the forested country to the west reminded us of many passes we had traveled over in Colorado. Larry was beginning to feel at home as we crossed the Cascades, moving from a wet, lush, maritime climate to the drier open woodlands of the east slope.

As long as we had come this far, we decided to keep on going to Leavenworth - why not? We had nothing better to do on such a gorgeous day!

We passed Coles Corner and turned towards Lake Wenatchee. We found a picnic table in the shade and had our lunch. We were really sorry that we hadn't brought our swim suits along, but we didn't know we would end up here.

Everyone loves to make friends with Duchess!

 Time to head for Leavenworth - mainly to get gas - but I had told Larry about what a quaint little Bavarian town it was, and was looking forward to doing a bit of exploring.

We took the long way back to Leavenworth, through the Chumstick Valley. I thought I remembered it as coming out by the high school, and was pleasantly surprised that I was right - it had been a lot of years since I'd been along that route!

And it was hot! The thermometer in my car said 100 degrees!

We stopped at the Visitor's information center in Leavenworth and then drove down to the main street through town and found a parking spot. The town had really grown since I'd last been there. It's still a very pretty place, but where was the dollhouse shop? I found the building, but it was now a cheese and wine shop. There's nothing wrong with that, to be sure, and I guess everything must change, but I missed browsing through the miniature treasures. Everything was way more upscale than it used to be. We got some ice cream, but couldn't really enjoy it. Larry had to try to control Duchess as we maneuvered our way through the tourists and other dogs, and I was so hot that I thought I might pass out.

It was a short visit, but now Larry can say he's been to Leavenworth! He may never want to go back, though.  As we headed out of town, the car thermometer was registering 103!

On our way home, we stopped at the Iron Goat Interpretive Site, just to see what it was about, and discovered that the town of Scenic used to be in that location, with a hotel and hot springs!

The hotel is long gone, but what had become of the hot springs? It has been way too long since we've soaked our tired old bones in some hot, hot water - could there possibly be a chance of it happening here in Washington?

When I got home last night, I did some research and found that they do indeed still exist...

But they are way up the side of the mountain, are privately owned and it doesn't look like there's much chance of a visit - especially since the climb up to them is pretty long and strenuous, even if we had permission. Oh, well! Que sera....

On the way home, Larry said, "This is what retirement should be." Just taking off on a whim, not knowing where you'll end up, and being thoroughly amazed by the discoveries along the way. But always remember to take a swim suit!