Leavenworth Trip - July 2015

Another inconsistent blog post to keep our far flung family updated; I always promise to do this more but it never happens so I will stop promising! Anyways, this year Canada Day fell on a Wednesday so we decided to take the Monday and Tuesday off as well so we can go on a mini five day trip; for this adventure we chose Leavenworth, Washington. Leavenworth is a cute little "German" town (for you in South Australia it is kind of like Handorf) which is just over Stevens Pass from Everett; it is a 4-5 hour drive from Chilliwack.

We left the Friday night after work and I was able to fulfill one of my camping dreams...Sleeping in a Wal-Mart parking lot. After spending the night at Wal-Mart we headed off and made our first stop at the Monroe Reptile Zoo; as a hater of spiders and snakes I did not find this place much fun - the kids sure loved it though. Our next stop was Stevens Pass where we stopped for a beer and to watch the mountain bikers heading down the hill. It looks to be a pretty decent ski hill with prices much better than Whistler-Blackcomb!

Our campsite was about 25 minutes north of Leavenworth but it was well situated between Lake Wenatchee and the town so it was perfect. It was super hot the whole time we were down there so we spent most evenings in the pool to cool off before bed. We spent one day at Lake Wenatchee where the kids ripped around in their kayak and Chelsey and I tried the paddle board; I suck but its because I am fat and have no core muscles (I ride bikes so I can eat crap and drink beer!)

We also spent a day wandering around the stores in Leavenworth. There were some cool shops and



 some good looking restaurants but also lots of those stupid stores that sell the same old crap - kind of like stores in Vancouver's Gastown selling "Vancouver" t-shits and bear stuffies. The "Australian" store did not sell much Australian stuff which was kind of weird. Don't get me wrong, its an awesome place to wander around but I just wish there were less "junk" stores.

We also spent some time at the Wenatchee River which runs a few blocks down from the "main strip." It was an awesome spot as the river formed a very calm pool with a sandy beach where families can hang out and kids can safely swim. Lots of people tubing and paddle boarding down the river and just having a good time. The drive into and around Leavenworth is awesome. Lots of big mountains, vast forests with little sign of logging and rivers and creeks everywhere - super nice drive.

As always the pictures are below and I hope to one day post some pictures of Leavenworth in the winter as I would love to take a winter trip to the area - apparently it is one of the "Best Christmas Towns in North America!"

Wal - Mart Yo!

Yes that is a two headed turtle

Geocaching!

Scored another geocache