Exploring Leavenworth -
We didn’t have much on the agenda today, so we figured we’d wander around Leavenworth’s “Little Bavaria”.
Lynn slept in until 8 a.m., which is practically noon for her, but the lingering soreness from the bike crash made it a slow‑moving morning. It was chilly out, so she skipped the walk, especially since the air quality was still unhealthy with an AQI of 185. Kirk was up late too, around 10 a.m., and made breakfast: sausage/egg/cheese muffins using the maple sausage from C & J Meats in Moses Lake. The sausage was excellent. The rest of the morning was spent cleaning up and doing chores.
By noon, we headed toward downtown Leavenworth (Little Bavaria), about 30 minutes south of the campground. On the way, we passed the Fire Camp for the Little Giant Fire — a massive setup of tents, trucks, canopies, and equipment. Oddly enough, it was comforting knowing the fire crews were stationed so close; if the fire pushed toward us, this area would likely be one of the first defended.
We rolled into Leavenworth around 12:30. Parking was tight — not because the town was overly crowded, but because our beast of a vehicle didn’t fit in most of the available spaces. Eventually we lucked into a side‑street spot for $13.50 for three hours. For a Friday afternoon in summer, it actually wasn’t too busy, which made wandering around feel relaxed instead of chaotic. The weather finally cooperated too; the sky opened up just enough to give us patches of blue and bright white clouds after days (and honestly weeks) of haze!
We wandered through the quaint Bavarian‑themed town and came across some truly odd finds, including a flyer for lost toenail clippings — clearly in need of proofreading and basic grammar — that somehow turned out to be a request for a horse! An obvious gag but kinda gross! We didn’t buy much, but we enjoyed poking through the shops, and before long the schnitzel cravings kicked in.
We ended up at Andreas Keller, the well‑known schnitzel spot tucked in a basement off the main street. Kirk ordered the schnitzel cordon bleu, Lynn went for the classic pork schnitzel, and both were fantastic — generous portions, a bit pricey, but that’s life in a tourist town.
Around 2:30 p.m., we headed back toward the RV and made a quick stop at the bridge and dam we’d noticed yesterday off Hwy 2. The bridge is the Penstock Bridge — also known as the Historic Tumwater Pipeline Trail Bridge — originally built in 1907 as the pedestrian and utility walkway for the old Tumwater Power Station (now long out of operation). It’s one of the oldest surviving bridges in Washington, a striking iron structure spanning the Wenatchee River, beautifully set against the canyon walls and pine forest. Scenic, quiet, and unexpectedly impressive.
Our other roadside stop was Tumwater Dam, where fish are counted as they move upstream through the ladders. We wandered the grounds, watched the little waterfalls spilling over the stepped spillway, and learned how the site tracks fish as they pass through. They even have a sign with a website showing real‑time fish counts, and of course Lynn checked it once we got back to the RV. For August 2026 (8/1–8/14), 241 fish have been counted. Year‑to‑date from 1/1–8/14/26, the total is 14,804 fish across seven species. Fascinating stuff.
Rain started (much needed) as we continued driving back to the campground. Nothing looked familiar — the GPS had sent us on a completely different route from whence we came. Beautiful scenery, but confusing at first. A small iron bridge and all those pine tree‑lined roads we didn’t remember from yesterday had us wondering if we were losing it. The GPS gives us trouble sometimes, but we do end up seeing some spectacular scenery on our unexpected “detours.”
We got back to the RV around 4 p.m. The weather was perfect — 76° and breezy in the shade. Still smoky, but pleasant enough to sit outside. Unfortunately, while we were gone, a new RV neighbor had backed right up to our site. So close we couldn’t open the back door, which meant the bike was staying put (not that we planned to ride in this smoke anyway). To top it off, their family members were tent‑camping in the site next to us and kept walking through the back of our RV space. Camping etiquette says you don’t wander through other people’s sites… but technically, the invisible lines were blurred being back to back. With so many empty sites, we wondered why they’d book a site so close to ours.
The rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing, Lynn booking our Reindeer Farm tour for Monday, and watching TV. It was also a Puzzle Palooza (City of Yorba Linda) competition night for our family team, so Lynn cheered them on from afar. They didn’t snag first place this time, but it was still a fun puzzle, even if the manufacturer’s wonky pieces weren’t a hit.
We finished the day with good food, good weather (except the smoke), and questionable campsite etiquette — but still managed to enjoy ourselves.
Weather – High 75, Low 54. Winds 1-8/15 mph. Rain = 35% (0.1″). No humidity. AQI 185 (Unhealthy).
Traffic – None.
Food – Andreas Keller Restaurant – very good schnitzel.
Notable – Little Bavaria, Andreas Keller Restaurant, Penstock Bridge, Tumwater Dam.
