When we decided to spend Veterans Day weekend in Leavenworth, Silvette said she didn’t want to go if it was going to be a rainy weekend. If we were going to cancel our reservation, we had to cancel a week ahead. However, the weather forecast kept changing so we didn’t cancel. Wouldn’t you know it, we woke up Saturday morning to a wet and drizzly day. It was just what Silvette had wanted to avoid.
Despite the weather we were in Leavenworth, and we had to make the best of it much like our few days in rainy Belgium in the spring. So we got in the car and headed back to Leavenworth making our first stop Starbucks.
As one might expect on a cold, drizzly morning, Starbucks was quite busy. However, there was no line at the moment we arrived, and we were able to snag a table. We felt fortunate.
After warming ourselves up with coffee, we headed out to check out the town. We wandered around a few of the shops in town, but we weren’t particularly inspired to keep shopping so we decided to walk down to the west end of town. We walked along the highway until we reached one of the newer additions to Leavenworth.
At the end of town is a hillside, and the Leavenworth Adventure Park built a roller coaster of sorts on the hillside. It’s not your typical up and down roller coaster. Instead once you are in the car, it goes straight up the mountain side coming back down through a series of twists and turns. Despite the poor weather, there was a line to get into the ride, and a steady stream of cars coming down the hill. When we were a little closer, the ride didn’t seem as fast and scary as we had expected it to be. Nevertheless, it did seem quite popular. We, however, didn’t take a ride.
After we walked back into town, we decided to get a snack. I had spotted a place called the Gingerbread Factory. Since I like ginger cookies, I thought we would stop in and get something there. Unfortunately the line was quite long. Silvette sat at a table while I stood in line for about 20 minutes. In the end I bought two gingersnaps. They were good, but I’m not sure it was worth it. The place sells all kinds of sweets so it can be a good place to get a desert.
At this point we were casting about as to what to do with the rest of our day. I had planned to visit two state parks in the area. One was west; the other one was east. The weather to the west looked worse so we decided we would go to Pashastin Pinnacles State Park to the east. It was a little farther east than our hotel. However, first we needed to buy a Discover Pass which is Washington’s pass for its state parks.
With our pass in hand, we headed for the park. As we drove east we were pleased to see that it looked like blue skies ahead as the rain seemed to stop. Unfortunately, as we drew near to the state park, we saw a sign that said the park was closed. Apparently this park closes for the winter, and it had closed November first. Now what?
I had also read about the state park in Wenatchee at the confluence of the Wenatchee River and the Columbia River. At this point we weren’t that far from Wenatchee so we decided to drive on to that park. The good news again was that the weather only improved the farther east we went. By the time we arrived at the park, it was pretty much a sunny day. As we entered the Wenatchee Confluence State Park, I noted a sign that indicated it was a free day because it was Veterans Day. I didn’t need to stop and get that Discover Pass after all!
There is a loop trail one can walk around the city of Wenatchee. It’s about ten miles and crosses the Columbia to make its loop. The Apple Capital Loop Trail goes through Wenatchee Confluence State Park so we were looking for that trail. Initially we drove too deeply into the park as the trail was near the entrance.
There were a few other people out on the trail, but it really wasn’t busy. From the parking lot we walked over to the Wenatchee River. There is a pedestrian bridge that crosses the river. From the bridge one can see the mouth of the river into the Columbia River looking east. On the north side of the river is an island so there are nice views from both sides of the island. Looking west one can see a railroad bridge not far upstream from the pedestrian bridge. Being autumn, there was some nice color along the edges of the river in all directions.
Once we crossed the bridge, a nice wide trail led us out into the meadows. There were a few trees around which again had some nice autumn colors. However, there are not a lot of trees next to the trail so in the summer I can imagine that walking the trail might get kind of hot. There was one spot where a stand of trees created almost a tunnel with their arching branches and their yellow fall leaves. It was really pretty.
While the trail does continue on past the park, there is a location that one can use to loop back around to the pedestrian bridge. This section takes hikers closer to the waters of the Columbia River. We had some nice views of the water and the other side. It also takes one closer to the mouth of the Wenatchee River.
After reaching the edge of the Wenatchee River, the trail turns west and follows along the river. The views across the river were also lovely as there was a lot of color on the other side. The bare mountains behind them added a nice contrast.
We walked back across the bridge to our car. It was now late afternoon, and we were hungry. While we had originally planned to have pizza in Leavenworth, we changed our mind and ate in Wenatchee, at Costco to be exact. (Don’t judge; it’s cheap). Then we headed back to our hotel hoping to arrive before it got too dark again.
While our day had not gone as planned, it actually turned out to be a pretty decent day. We enjoyed walking in the park in Wenatchee, and the weather there was definitely an improvement from Leavenworth. Stayed tuned as we have one more full day in Leavenworth before heading home.