The Cascades - Washington State - page 289

you pick up U.S. 2 heading east. From U.S. 97, the main north-south route
along the east side of the Cascades in the central part of the state, head west on
U.S. 2. Wenatchee is at the junction of U.S. 2 and U.S. 97. Wash. 28 connects
Wenatchee to the eastern part of the state.
Wenatchee's Pangborn Memorial Airport ( & 509/884-2494; www.pangborn
airport.com) is served by Horizon Air from Seattle. Amtrak trains stop in
Wenatchee en route between Spokane and Seattle.
VISITOR INFORMATION For more information on this area, contact the
Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Center, P.O. Box 327, Leav-
enworth, WA 98826 ( & 509/548-5807; www.leavenworth.org), or, when
you're in town, drop by the Visitor Center, 220 Ninth St., which is inside the
Obertal Mall. For more information on the Wenatchee area, contact the
Wenatchee Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau, 116 N. Wenatchee Ave.,
Wenatchee, WA 98801 ( & 800/57-APPLE or 509/663-3723; www.wenatchee
valley.org).
GETTING AROUND Car rentals are available in Wenatchee from Hertz and
Budget. Although it is not very convenient for exploring this area, the Link bus
system ( & 509/662-1155; www.linktransit.com) services the Leavenworth,
Wenatchee, and Lake Chelan areas.
FESTIVALS During the annual Maifest (mid-May) and Washington State
Autumn Leaf Festival (late Sept), Leavenworth rolls out the barrel and takes to
the streets and parks with polka bands, Bavarian dancing, and plenty of crafts
vendors. In June, more music hits town with the Leavenworth International
Accordion Celebration. In mid-September, the Wenatchee River Salmon Fes-
tival celebrates the annual return of salmon to the river, and in October there's
Oktoberfest. In December, the whole town gets lit up in one of the most
impressive Christmas Lighting Festivals in the Northwest. Nearby Wenatchee
celebrates its apples each year with the Washington State Apple Blossom Fes-
tival, which includes more than a week of festivities in late April and early May.
EXPLORING LEAVENWORTH
Leavenworth's main attraction is the town itself. Back in the early 1960s, this
was just another mountain town struggling to get by on a limited economy. Sure
the valley was beautiful, but beauty wasn't enough to bring in the bucks. A few
years after a motel with alpine architecture opened in town, Leavenworth
decided to give itself a complete makeover. Today nearly every commercial
building in town, from the gas station to the Safeway, looks as if it had been
built by Bavarian gnomes. What may come as a surprise is that they did a good
job! Stroll around town and you'll convince yourself that you've just had the
world's cheapest trip to the Alps. People here even speak German.
Any time of year the town's most popular tourist activity seems to be shop-
ping for genuine Bavarian souvenirs in the many gift shops—you'll find cuckoo
clocks, Hummel figurines, imported lace, and nutcrackers. In fact, if nutcrack-
ers are your passion, don't miss the Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum, 735
Front St. ( & 800/892-3989 or 509/548-4573; www.nutcrackermuseum.com),
which has more than 4,000 nutcrackers of all shapes and sizes. The museum is
open May through October daily from 2 to 5pm and November through April
on weekends only. Admission is $2.50 for adults and $1 for children ages 6 to 17.
At press time, there were also plans to convert a beautiful historic Leavenworth
home into the Upper Valley Museum and Leavenworth Audubon Center, 347