After a stunning, three-hour ride through the Cascade Mountain range, we arrived early this afternoon in Leavenworth, "The Bavarian Village". Leavenworth has an interesting history, tracing its foundations back to the early settlers. Its main economies of logging and agriculture suffered in the first half of the century, following the economic depression and war years. In the 1960's, community leaders began a transformation of the town to attract tourists, and Alpine-like facades were added to the buildings. Today, the village is a big tourist attraction year round, boasting superb shops (none of the usual trashy-tourist souvenirs here), lots of good eating and watering holes, and a large number of hotels (including the inevitable Hotel Edelweiss). We can recommend our hotel, “Howard Johnson”, which is excellent and has free Wi-Fi and internet access. Later in the year
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