Leavenworth, Washington

We made it to Leavenworth and it is just like a German town in the Alps.  On the way to the RV park we had to drive through the town and all the buildings have the German architecture with high snow capped mountains as the backdrop.  As we explore the town this next week I will post some pictures.

The RV park is just fantastic.  It sits right on the Icicle River, which is very rough and fast moving at this point.  Due to the size of our rig they put us in one of their new concrete spaces up front, which is closer to the road but we only have a neighbor on one side.  The space is set amongst the pines and have lots of run.  The best thing is the satellite was able to find a signal!

Here are some pictures of our site and the view of the mountains right next to us.

Still in Spokane

We are wrapping up our stay here in the Spokane area and will be leaving Friday morning for Leavenworth, Washington.  Since the last posting we visited a local diner that is listed in our Road Food book.  It is Frank’s Diner and is inside a restored 1900 railroad car.  They are known for their breakfast menu, which is served all day.  We both had breakfast for lunch and were not disappointed, but it was a little pricey.  Here are a couple of pictures

I thought Kevin S. would like this picture.

On Wednesday we went back to the Pine Acres par 3 golf course.  This time we took some pictures.

Check out that swing, such concentration!

 

In the weeds, again!

 

What a beautiful setting to play golf.

We got back to the trailer after golf and Fran pulled hazardous duty in doing laundry.  Unknowingly Fran brushed something from her leg and it was a yellow jacket that proceeded to sting her twice.  OUCH!

Spokane Excursion

We started exploring the area on Friday by going golfing.  There is a nice little 9 hole par 3 course a couple of miles from our RV park.  The longest hole is 115 yards.  The course is called Pine Acres and here is their website http://www.pineacresgolf.com/.  It is really nice how they kept all the pine trees on the course as it did make the short holes very challenging.  Fran was excited to get her second par on a hole!  The best part, no holes with water and no balls were lost!

On Saturday we thought we would take the bikes out for a ride.  As we are near the Mount Spokane State Park that sounded like a nice place to go.  It was a 15 mile, very scenic, drive to the top of Mount Spokane, which still has many feet of snow on it.  They could still be skiing and snow boarding if the ski lifts were open.  Needless to say there was no bike riding, or hiking, at the park yet.  Here are some pictures of the view from where the road ends.

Since we had the bikes in the truck we decided to seek out another park.  We had heard about the Riverfront Park in downtown Spokane so off we went.  It is a small park right downtown next to the river.  We could ride our bikes around but the park was not that large for extensive riding.  The best part was looking at the waterfalls at the park.  The water flowing over these falls is very powerful.

It was spectacular to see these falls up so close.  We had a picnic lunch in the park, then headed back to the RV park.

We have altered our plans a little for the next few weeks.  In looking at our resource material we read about Leavenworth, Washington, which is about 180 miles west of where we are at.  This town is made up like a Bavarian town in the Alps.  Here is their website http://www.leavenworth.org/modules/pages/index.php?pageid=1.  We are headed there at the end of this week and will be staying a week.  From there we will head north into British Columbia, Canada to the town of Oliver.  This town is at the start of the Canadian version of Napa Valley.  There is supposed to be numerous wineries and some very good wines to taste, so of course we are going!  From there we will head onto Banff to meet up with our friends, most likely stopping on the way for a few days at a town that looks interesting.

Spokane, WA (Actually Mead, WA)

We made a short drive from our friends house in Spirit Lake, Idaho to Mead, Washington, which is just outside Spokane.  Our holding tanks had filled up which made it necessary for us to move on.  We will be getting together with them again in a month in Banff, Canada.  Since we are set up to be in Banff in a month we decided to save some money on gas and just stay in the area for the next month.

While in Spirit Lake we did some fun and interesting things with our friends.  Besides Hudson Hamburgers we did go out for dinner on a floating restaurant, Cedars in Coeur D’Alene.  Here is their website http://www.cedarsfloatingrestaurant.com/.  We attended the graduation ceremony for their daughter who graduated from vet school at Washington State as a doctor.  What an accomplishment!

We found a very nice RV park in Spokane.  It is nicely maintained and the rates are very reasonable.  The sites are a little tight but with the landscaping it does give you some privacy.  Here are a couple of pictures.

We are very near Mt. Spokane State Park so we hope to be able to do some biking and hiking while we are here.  So far our plans are to stay here at least a week, but most likely we will stay longer.

Road Food

I believe I have mentioned in previous posts that we have two books that we look at for places to eat and things to do as we travel.  One book is “1000 Places to See Before You Die” and the second is “Road Food”. While on our visit to Spirit Lake Fran looked at the 1000 places book for Idaho and saw that a hamburger restaurant, Hudson Hamburgers, was in Coeur d’Alene.  Our hosts knew of it but since they have lived here they have never gone, so we went on Thursday.  It is in the heart of Coeur d’Alene and is a little restaurant with a counter that seats about 15 people.  The menu consists of a single hamburger, double hamburger or both with cheese on them.  You can also order a fried egg sandwich or fried ham and egg sandwich.  Soda, ice tea and pie are the remaining items on the menu.  No fries, chips or any side dishes.  On your hamburger you have the choice of pickles and/or onions. 

We watched the cook make the burgers.  A tray of meat is next to the grill and he takes out enough for a patty, forms the patty and slaps in on the grill. Good hamburger but In-n-Out is still at the top of my list.  It was fun to talk to the cook, as he was about 3 feet from us, and watch him cook.  I will say the pie was outstanding (banana cream).

Here is the Road Food link for the restaurant so you can see and read about it, http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Overview/173/hudsons-hamburgers

Spirit Lake, Idaho

We left Walla Walla on Tuesday and drove to Spirit Lake, Idaho where our friends, the Cover’s live.  It is about 50 miles outside of Spokane, Washington and near Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  It was a nice drive especially as you approached Spokane and all the way to Spirit Lake.  Our friends built a house on some acreage in Spirit Lake so we are able to set up in front of their house.  They have set the standard for all our friends who want us to visit. They provided an RV space at their house!

Here is a picture of our rig in their “front yard” and a picture of their house as seen from our rig.

Got below freezing over night but warms up nicely during the day. 

Wine, wine, more wine!

Now that is a title I can handle.

The wine tasting area of Walla Walla is separated into 4 areas, Westside, downtown, eastside and Southside.  On Wednesday we walked around downtown and went to two places.  The first was actually a group of three wineries in one tasting room.  So for the first day we tasted wines from four wineries.  On Thursday we did the Westside section, which is actually outside of Walla Walla a few miles away.  It was a nice drive with around 20 wineries in the area.  We did five wineries on this tour and really liked the Three Rivers Winery, www.threeriverswinery.com.  On Friday we did the Southside section, which also has around 20 wineries.  We went to 5 wineries on this tour and we were really impressed with the tasting rooms and views from the tasting rooms in this section. 

The wines made here use grapes from the Walla Walla area and the Columbia River Valley area.  The Walla Walla wines tend to be much more expensive, $30 plus per bottle as the supply of grapes is limited.  Columbia River wines are in the $20 plus per bottle range.  All the wineries we visited, just like in Oregon, are small and produce 1,000 plus cases, so that also drives up the price.  We bought a bottle, or two, of our favorite from each winery.  Average price probably was around $30 per bottle.  Great red wines (Syrah, Cab and blends stand out).

Back to my previous post Walla Walla, WA.  It is a pop song!  Here are the lyrics:

Hey Witch Doctor give us the magic words
Alright you go uh eeh uh ah ah, ting tang walla walla bing bang
Alright!
Uh eeh uh ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang (x6)
I told the witch doctor I was in love with you. (x2)
And then the witch doctor he told me what to do
He told me.
Uh eeh uh ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang (x4)
I told the witch doctor you didnt love me truth.
I told the witch doctor you didnt love me nice.
And then the witch doctor he gave me this advice.
Uh eeh uh ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang (4x)
Youve been keeping you love from just like you were a miser.
And I'll admit I wasnt very smart.
So I went out to find myself a guy thats so much wiser
And he told me the way to win your heart.
Uh eeh uh ah ah (x3)
Uh eeh uh ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang
Uh eeh uh ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang (x4)