On Wednesday we took a day trip up into the mountains from Leavenworth to the Wentachee Lake. The drive up the Route 20 gorge was very beautiful, but the lake itself was a trifle disappointing, if only because there is so little access to it as it is very built up. We may have been better to have driven to Stevens Pass for the day, but it seemed a bit far.
Yesterday we packed up and moved on, we followed the Columbia River North and East, within 10 miles of Leavenworth, as we dropped down out of the mountains, we were once again in desert, even though the road is right on the river bank. We took the 97 Alternate, which is on the West Bank. Lake Chelan was an unexpected find, a beautiful, almost Italian style lake in the middles of the desert. This natural glacial lake is 55 miles long and very pretty. We stopped for a coffee at a small, but expensive, bakery in Chelan. Lots of orchards and grapes here, supported by the Columbia River waters.
We stopped at Chief Joseph Dam for a picnic lunch. Here we crossed the Columbia and the road to Coulee Dam cut across what they called wastelands , a rocky upland that had been stripped of its soil by glaciation. Very similar to our moorlands, but with sagebrush rather than heater. High, lots of bare volcanic rock, all the little delves filled with marshes and grasses. The view of the Grand Coulee Dam and the Roosevelt Lake as we came down from the high plain was quite exceptional. We stopped at Crown Point to admire the view. Here were amazed at the profusion of meadow flowers. We also met some very nice people from Auburn in California, which is where Sally bought her Mother Of The Bride Dress last year, as well as an equally nice couple from Boise, who immediately offered to make us welcome when we arrive there in July, which was very nice of them.
We then moved on to find our campground, it is a National Forest Service Campground, no hookup, so we were a bit nervous about what we would find. What we found was a beautiful site with a view of the lake, where we are surrounded by trees, from which there is a constant sound of birds. There are many orioles, though they are tricky to get good pics of. We plan to stay here for three nights, hoping to relax and enjoy the sunshine before we move on to Spokane and the Glacier National Park.
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