Wenatchee (the “a” sounds like the beginning of “apple”) was named for Indigenous people who lived at the confluence of the Columbia River and Wenatchee Rivers. Now the area is home to about 110,000 people. Wonderful fruit is grown there: We bought peaches, pears, apricots, and apples.
We wanted to learn more about how apples are grown but the Washington Apple Commission visitor center was closed and when I inquired I was told no local growers offer tours. Why are some orchards shaded? What are the advantages of the various growth habits? How are apples harvested? We did notice apples are grown from lowlands near the river (pictured here) to the tops of hills.This area of striking rock formations is the Peshastin Pinnacles. This is as close as we could get since it was closed due to fire danger.The Bavarian-themed town of Leavenworth hosts several interesting geocaches. We were able to claim another web cam! [They’re pretty rare.]Geocachers sometimes try to find a variety of caches in a day. Because we had found the web cam, we wanted to get as many other kinds as possible. The two earth caches in the area were both in areas closed to vehicles so Jane hiked about 1.2 miles as the crow flies up to one and was rewarded with this view.The hike was along a gravel road but was long and either all uphill or all downhill.We caught this scene on one of our drives.The Wenatchee RiverDave caught this clever cache near the river. The sandstone formations behind Dave were a surprise in an area where most of the rock is volcanic.Stellar’s JaySome geocaches like this one placed just out of Dave’s reach require tools of the trade (TOTTs) but this is the first time we’ve ever used a 12-pack of soda as a TOTT.The bush that sheltered this cache was lost in a recent fire so the ammo box wasn’t too hard to find.Dave had to blow up a balloon inside this fake bird house to release a latch that opened the door to the log.These flower baskets at a restaurant in nearby Cashmere were some of the prettiest we’ve seen.Cashmere has a September 11 memorial with several components.This monument includes a steel section and a cornice section from the World Trade Center.The names of persons who lost their lives in the World Trade Center were engraved on this replica of the towers.Persons who lost their lives at the Pentagon and on Flight 93 are remembered on these monuments.A pear tree was planted as part of the memorial because a pear tree survived the destruction of the World Trade Center.Close up of the first responder sculpture at the memorial.We had to contend with smoke, haze, and clouds while we were in Wenatchee, but we loved it when we could see the peaks of the Cascades.Cascade peaksBasalt forms very interesting columns.In spring, kayakers take the Fall in the Wall behind Dave either by pencilling in (nose first) or boofing (landing flat).Roadside flowers near the Fall in the Wall
August 4, 2022 Vermont’s oldest geocache was closer to our campground near Albany, New York than our campground near Montpelier, Vermont so we treated it separately from other Vermont geocaches. Besides, it was harder to Read more…
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