Wellkommen to Leavenworth --- part two

Roger here...  

OUR LEAVENWORTH CAMPSITE...

We did not talk about our campsite in the last post because there was so much to cover.  I will rectify that now.  I will begin with the doggie greeting outside the campground office.

Our site in the Leavenworth /Pine Village KOA was teeny tiny, but big enough for our small profile.  We had a piney perch above   most of the campground.

The sites were not the traditionally lined (one site next to the other), but despite the trees, they were close together.  We were fortunate to have great neighbors.

(Plenty of room for a Sudoku -- D.)

Speaking of neighbors, Bandido had a great attraction for a certain small dark squirrel who lived in one of the trees on our site.  (He sounded just like Bandido's squeaky toys - much different than other squirrels we've seen/heard in the past.  I think the squeaky-toy aspect made it even more fun for Bandido. -- D.)

Our views from our outdoor chairs enhanced the books that we read...

... especially when looking through the trees at twilight.

This was a busy campground with hard cider tastings, ice cream, coffee drinks, a dog park and very friendly work campers who stopped by to check on us.  We knew them by name.

A particular joy was the well-maintained walking trail down to the Wenatchee River.  We enjoyed this walk daily.

DIANNE'S SPECIAL DAY.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Roger wanted me to write this section outlining my "perfect day."  It really was!   

A perfect day for me would of course include our dogs.   They accompanied us on the walk into town.

Our first stop was to buy me (and Roger too) a Bourbon Maple Latte I had noticed advertised on a previous trip into town.   

It was every bit as good as I had hoped.

We found a shady spot and did a little people watching while sipping our latte.

And the view of the mountains...

Bandido did a little people (and dog) watching too.   Leavenworth is such a dog-friendly town that there was a constant parade of every size and description of dogs with their owners.  We never had to carry water, because we knew many of the shop owners would have water bowls available as we walked along.

Bandido also knew he'd get to lick our empty coffee cups with the frothy cream.  Poquita did, too, but missed the photo op.

Since Covid has reared its ugly head again, we were pleased to see the locals take it seriously.   Masks were mandated in all businesses in Washington state.

Folks wore masks walking inside the stores and outside on the busy sidewalks.  I particularly liked this sign outside one of the ice cream stores:

Since I got to choose the whole day, we next did a little shopping -- not for clothes, shoes, or purses, but for things that I like, like fancy chocolate and some really, really good cheese that we'd had while wine tasting with Robyn and Atul days earlier...

For my birthday, I had to return to the Gingerbread store...

...where I bought a huge cinnamon roll that Roger and I shared for breakfast the next day, a marionberry scone with lemon frosting that I did not share - but I did buy him a chocolate chip cookie.  I bought myself some more gingerbread cookies...

For lunch, I really wanted to go back to Munchen Haus for another German beer and soft pretzel, so that's what we did (I'm a cheap date)...

All in all, it really was a perfect-for-me day!   Now, back to Roger's musings....

WENATCHEE...

We had spent quite some time in the town of Leavenworth.  It was time to do a little exploring of the area.  Twenty minutes down the road was the larger community of Wenatchee.  The dogs went with us.  We focused our time on a lo-o-o-ong loop trail that we only walked for a short distance and the Pybus Public Market.

The paved hike/bike loop trail was nine miles long. 

 It covered both sides of the Columbia River.  

We only walked a short distance, but we liked what we saw.

A portion of the walkway traversed a sculpture garden.

Before long we grew hungry.  We were parked in the Pybus Public Market parking lot.

I ventured into the market to find some lunch, while Dianne enjoyed some time with the dogs at a picnic table by the river.

A great spot for a picnic.

THE PLAIN HARDWARE (OF PLAIN, WA)

Another day we drove 15 miles in a different direction to the tiny mountain town of Plain.  We had heard that the Plain Hardware Store was unique.  It was.  When we arrived, the Saturday morning farmer's market surrounded the store.

The hardware store sold hot soup and coffee drinks.  It also sold really nice clothing.  We both spent some dollars.  For lunch, I bought a couple of hot dogs for us.  The photo below shows me holding them while sitting on chicken manure bags.  (It was a soft seat).

While Dianne did some indoor shopping, I sat outside with the dogs.  A young mom approached me to tell me that her son (pictured below tugging on his dad's arm) thought Bandido looked like an oreo/caramel milkshake.  Creative young man!

 When Dianne returned, she sipped on a toasted marshmallow mocha while I nursed a cup of very hot cider.

Upon leaving Leavenworth we drove east for four days through Washington, the Idaho panhandle, and a good portion of Montana.  Cody, Wyoming was our next destination.  Stay tuned!

PET PICTURES OF THE DAY..

Poquita sleeping on Dianne's lap...

"I love my mommy..."

An oreo - caramel milkshake.

"That was a long walk to town, mom."