FALL 2016 ISSUE 02 / VOL. 01 |
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Above: Around Cave Junction, Oregon, the locals like to amuse passers-by with interesting sculptures— as well as sell them.
Above, right: The sign reads: MOTORCYCLES USE EXTREME CAUTION NEXT 2 MILES; the National Forest Service is looking after us.
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From the pass, the road descends almost 4,000 feet to the tourist town of Winthrop, noted for its board sidewalks and over-zealous police force— it’ s rated by the National Motorists Association as one of the worst speed traps in the country. We tiptoed through. Then it was south along the Methow River to meet up with U. S. Route 97 and the Columbia River at Pateros. The Cascades are more or less bracketed by Interstate 5 on the west side, U. S. 97 on the east, the two roads meeting up at Mount Shasta in California. |
The east side of the Cascades is very different from the west, as the eastern fields and orchards run into foothills and then rise into mountains. The well-watered land is immensely fertile, with extensive orchards supplying apples, cherries and peaches to a goodly portion of the country... and beyond. Every couple of miles, fruit stands, some big, some small, offered the produce and“ free samples.”
We were headed for a proper tourist trap for the night, Leavenworth, a small town which once prospered with railroad
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and logging work. After the railroad moved its maintenance yards and the forest was pretty much denuded, the city fathers and mothers decided some 50 years ago to turn the place into a sort of Bavarian hodge-podge to attract tourists. The one German restaurant we tried did not get a thumbs-up from us three, all of whom had served in the U. S. military in Germany.
Morning found us heading south on U. S. Route 97, and then at Ellensburg cutting off onto Canyon Road( State Route 821), which follows the Yakima River— 25 miles of bliss.
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