LEAVENWORTH AND ICICLE VALLEY

 Willekommen to Leavenworth... home of Matt, Ellen and the boys.

We drove up to the top of a mountain and looked down at the beautiful valley below. The valley is covered with pine trees, rivers, meadows and homes of some of the friendliest people on earth... and I think Matt knows all of them.

We had a great view from the top. We could see at least three valleys, including Icicle Valley.

Marty and BJ were great hosts... thanks for everything!

The valley below is filled with chipmunks,

 Hawks, eagles, owls, ducks, geese and many more birds that love eating....

...the salmon and other fish that fill the rivers and streams (yes, there are about 8, 20# salmon in this picture, they are the dark shadows in the stream)... . We didn't get to see the bears that are partial to the salmon and are sited regularly on their way down to the river through the local yards. There are lots of deer and other animals that live in Icicle Valley.

Every valley has a stream that feeds the water from the melting snow into the Icicle River or the Wanatchee River. The water level is very low now compared to the spring runoff season when they fill the banks. Matt and Ellen river raft in the summer and shoot the rapids.

The color in the leaves was just starting to change. Give them a few more weeks and autum will be in full bloom.

We strolled the Bavarian Village, had an ice cream cone and then went for a walk along the river and over to Blackbird Island. We rode two pedal karts also.

BJ flagged down a trolley and took the kids for a ride, while the adults enjoyed the shops and sites.

The Bavarian theme permeates the entire city, but the downtown shopping area is the eye catcher. It's just like a stroll down a street in Bavaria, but everyone speaks English.

We took a quick snapshot of the group before we left for the river walk.

We explored a sandy beach on the river and went over a bridge to Blackbird Island. This is the view from the bridge, looking back toward the downtown shopping village area.

Matt, Scott and Todd walked a fallen tree after taking in a view of the river. 

Mom and Scott have a little chat on the riverbank.

James scouts out the best route on the river trail, Scott and Todd enjoyed the ride down the trail.

Kids play on the playground equipment on the river walk.