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No alarm clocks and a quiet lake setting led to sleeping in this morning. People awoke at different times and congregated on the deck for morning coffee, awaiting the rest of the group to join the early risers. The agenda for the day was somewhat undefined, other than a walk up the road about one block to tour the lake home of Betsy & Allan Rand. Betsy is also a niece of Judy Jensen and the sister of our daughter-in-law, Julie Bishop.  Allan & Betsy bought their Lake Chelan home a few years ago, excited it was only a short distance from their relatives. Betsy was not due to arrive until Thursday night but was eager for us to tour their home to see what modifications they have done to it. So after a leisurely breakfast we walked the short distance  to the Rand compound and got a tour of their getaway home. It is lovely, made more so by the renovations that are underway.

On the walk back  a mandatory tour of the garage that Jim Jensen built was included in our tour. It is locally known at the “Garage-Mahal”. It is every man’s dream-big, well laid out and stocked with all the necessities, although I did not see a recliner or TV! Jim also proudly gave us a tour of his most recent addition to the compound- a high class outhouse he built about six years ago. They certainly do not need one; I guess he simply needed a fun project to occupy his time.

It was now late afternoon and  time to leave the Jensen compound and do some local sightseeing. Luckily Chrissy had a vehicle large enough to carry the six of us so she graciously offered to act as chauffeur. She drove us through the town of Chelan, pointing out items of interest, then to Manson with its more elegant homesteads.  She also wanted to show us one (or more) of the local wineries and we suggested we visit Succession Winery as it is owned by the son of one of Yvonne’s local gym group. It turned out to be much larger and elaborate than I had imagined.  Rather than doing a wine tasting we simply did the Billy Joel “a bottle of red; a bottle of white” routine and sat on their veranda enjoying the ambience of the locale.

Soon it was time to head to a second winery which also features a popular outdoor restaurant. It is called Tsillan Cellars. Education aside: It is pronounced “Chelan” and is the Native American language spelling for Chelan. It was named the 2020 Washington Winery of the year and is the home of Sorrento’s Restorante, our destination for dinner. It is spectacular- vineyards overlooking Lake Chelan, landscaping to be envious of, and a marvelous open-to-the-outdoor restaurant featuring an Italian menu and white table cloth table settings. It is one of the prettiest locations I have ever seen. And luckily the food (and wine) lived up to its reputation.

It was a marvelous way to end our visit to Lake Chelan, as we head home tomorrow morning. Many thanks to Judy Jensen for planning this fun trip for everyone.

 

Our return boat was scheduled to leave Stehekin at 12:30PM but we had to be on the 9 AM bus back “to town”. No problem, as there were a few things to see/do at the ferry landing that we had not experienced upon our arrival two days ago.

Another great breakfast started the day, where I opted, not for the featured egg casserole but asked for an omelet with “the works”. OMG, when delivered it was huge! Luckily Yvonne, who tried a bit of the casserole, said she would help. It was fresh, hot, loaded with fresh vegetables and cooked perfectly. That, and a warm biscuit (with butter & honey) made for a marvelous meal.

Knowing that the bus would make the obligatory stop at the Bakery Yvonne suggested we buy some cinnamon rolls to take to the Lake Chelan cabin for tomorrow’s breakfast-an excellent idea. Upon stopping I hurried in and ordered four of the giant cinnamon rolls to go. And as long as I was there I added two of the sticky buns for good measure, and if our boat broke down we would not starve! Then we made the obligatory stop at The Garden and this time I did tour it as I wanted to buy some of his homemade goat cheese to have as an appetizer once we returned to Lake Chelan.

Once we arrived at the ferry landing (about 10:15AM), to await our boat, we anticipated we would visit the local museum, now housed in the old hotel, do a bit of shopping in the two shops selling local artists’ goods and have a bit of lunch at the local eatery. What we did not know  was: A.  The museum did not open until 12 noon and B.  The restaurant was closed on Tuesday. Shopping was brief and to pass the time until our boat arrived we opted to simply eat some of our survival food, the famous cinnamon rolls!

Our ride back was with the other boat company, The Chelan Boat Company, whose claim to fame is that it dates back to 1889.  Its most famous boat is called “the Lady of the Lake”. The company was bought by another member of the Courtney family, Reed Courtney, and a partner in 2019. We will be riding on one of their smaller boats, “The Lady Express”, is licensed to carry up to 145 passengers. By the time we left the boat was at near capacity. We ventured to the upper deck (for better viewing) and found that the seating was not as nice as on the Sunny Jo; these were simply folding chairs. Oh well, it will do. The ride was smooth and I think most of us managed to doze a bit during the two hour trip back to Field’s Point where our cars awaited us.

Ten minutes later we were at the summer home of Jim & Judy Jensen, located on the shores of Lake Chelan. It would be a disservice calling their home a lake cabin as it is a beautiful authentic log cabin built by Jim & Judy in the 1970s. We were met by Chrissy Jensen, the wife of Lance Jensen, one of the three Jensen sons, who had prepared hors d’oeuvres, cold drinks and dinner for us. Our decadent life style continued for at least another day!

Tomorrow the agenda calls for some local sightseeing and wine tasting, as the Lake Chelan area has become one of the latest hot spots for vineyards and wineries.

We slept comfortably through the night with the screened windows open and a fan bringing in cool mountain air, and not a mosquito in sight! Breakfast is served from 7-8:30 so we could not leisurely extend our sleeping time. Breakfast was another amazing meal with an egg casserole, fresh fruit, bacon, sausage and absolutely heavenly biscuits with a big pot of local honey and a plate of a 1lb slab of butter. Could it be the mountain air that caused me to load up my plate?

Judy had reserved a CanAm off-road vehicle for 4 hours so we could explore the area. Because it was located back in town we had to catch the “white” bus back to town when it left at 9 AM to deliver people returning to the ferry and pick up newly

arrived tourists. Jake would simply stop and drop us off at the rental agency to pick up our vehicle. The other riders with us were mostly young backpackers; I am certain we were the oldest people on the bus! As mentioned in the previous post the bus stopped at Rainbow Falls so we decided to get off and walk the short distance to view the 392 ft, two tier waterfall. The second tier is 312 ft high. Normally in the spring one can get a good dousing from the mist but we were spared as it is late in the season and water flow has been reduced. It was still an impressive amount of water however. Back on the bus with a quick stop at the Bakery for the other passengers (we passed as we were there yesterday and had already eaten a big breakfast), then the Garden (I passed) and finally we were dropped off at the rental shack near the ferry terminal.

Speaking about backpackers we chatted with a few on the bus as we progressed to Stehekin. The backpackers were young and hearty! Most have been walking the Pacific Crest Trail which runs 2,653 miles from Mexico to Canada! Stehekin is one of the populated areas where hikers can replenish their supplies and simply rest a bit before continuing on the last 70 mile leg to Canada. One young man said he has been on the trail since April! We were astonished when he told us he was married with an 11 month old child who was at home with his wife. When we asked why she was not with him he said she will be doing the hike next year while he watches their child. Boy, this is certainly a new generation! Another young couple said they had started to trek earlier this year but fires in California forced them to abandon the hike in California, travel north to Canada and trek south as far as they can, then complete the rest of the trek in the future. The several buses that run this road will stop and pick up any hikers if waved down. Rides are free but a tip jar sits by the front door.

Ted, the youngest of our group, was our designated driver for the off-road vehicle excursion. We piled in and off we went seeking some of the local sights. Our first stop was the one room school house (grades1-8) that was used from 1921-1989 until a newer school was constructed. The old school house is now a museum open to the public. We wandered through it, seeing the old school desks (that we all remembered from our school days), historical pictures and even some examples of school projects. There was more than one “I remember that” from our travel group.  By the way, there are 11 students presently attending the school. High schoolers must either go the Chelan to continue their education or be home schooled.

We next drove to the other “major” attraction in the area: The Buckner Orchard. The Buckner Orchard is one of the Stehekin area’s oldest homesteads and dates back to 1889. The homestead cabin is still there,  along with several other buildings, old farm equipment and hundred-year-old apple trees whose fruit is still harvested each year. The land was sold to the National Park in 1970. A gentlemen cutting the lawn turned out to be a distant relative and we spent some time hearing about the orchard, its trees and history. Our discussion period was limited because of a hoard  of mosquitoes that prompted us to move on. He told us how to drive to the nearby Stehekin River via a dirt path on the property. This was the closest to “off-roading” that we did!

 

By now it was decision time as lunch loomed. Do we stop at the Bakery or head back to the ranch for lunch ? We wanted to travel north  of the ranch to High Bridge and then to the “end of the road” so it was decided to eat lunch at the ranch as it was on the way to our destination.  Lunch choices were make you own sandwich or try the hot casserole called “cheesy cowboy casserole”, which likely consisted of all the leftovers (meat & vegetables) from last night’s dinner. It was excellent!

Visits to High Bridge ( basically a bridge high above a raging Stehekin River) and the end of the road (caused by landslides year ago) completed our touring excursion. High Bridge is important as this is where the Pacific Crest Trail crosses the river. Hikers, who want to pause their hikes congregate here and wait for a ride to/from town as they start, stop or continue along the Pacific Crest Trail.

 

Our vehicle was due back by 2:30, so off we went to bring it back-safe and sound, I might add. To get back to the ranch we simply had to wait by the road and wave down the white bus who would be returning to the ranch after meeting the ferry in Stehekin. We had to wait a bit but it arrived and soon we were back at our cabins for a quick nap and preparing for the evening cocktail ritual. By the way, until very recently there was no internet service in Stehekin. This has changed with the advent of the Starlink satellite service. We were told you had to go over to a nearby log to get a clear view of the sky to get service. Sure enough, it worked, so part of the daily ritual was to check up on our emails and world events.

After last night’s great meal the cocktail hour discussion included speculating about tonight’s dinner, and, more importantly, what would be on the dessert menu!  When the dinner bell rang we responded like Pavlov’s experimental subjects and joined the other hungry residents of the ranch for yet, another marvelous meal which featured a marinated flank steak with chimichurri sauce. And the dessert menu did not disappoint, with many new pies and cakes to choose from.

We ate tonight in the outdoor, screened-in room and lingered afterward reliving today’s adventures until it was time to retire. Tomorrow we retrace our steps to civilization!

 

Stehekin, Washington is at the northern tip of Lake Chelan in eastern Washington. You can only get to it by boat or float plane. It is considered to be “off the grid” and holds an aura of a place you need to experience.  We had never been there so I guess I can say it has been on my bucket list since 1963 when we first came to Washington.

Our son, Steve’s wife (Julie) has an Aunt (Judy & Jim Jensen) who have a summer home on Lake Chelan and they suggested we spend a few days in Stehekin followed by a couple of days at their home on Lake Chelan. What made it even more fun was Judy’s baby brother and his wife (Ted & Judy Dengler) would be visiting from North Carolina and would join us. We first met the Denglers at Steve & Julie’s wedding 21 years ago but had not seen them since, so it would be a nice reunion.

Judy Jensen acted as the trip planner for this excursion so all we had to do was show up. It is a leisurely 3.5 hour drive through the mountains to Lake Chelan from the Seattle ferry terminal. We were to be at the Fields Point Landing( #2 on map) by noon for a planned boat departure at 1 PM. Several boats provide ferry service to Stehekin. Although listed as separate companies the two companies are owned by members of the Courtney family, a famous local pioneer family who date back to the early 1900s. Our trip “up lake” would be on a boat owned by the Stehekin Ferry Company. As promised, the “Sunny Jo”, a 32 passenger, 57 foot catamaran showed up and the 6 of us boarded the boat for a leisurely 2 hour ride to Stehekin. Our gracious hostess, Judy Jensen, had even provided box lunches to keep us happy as we headed into the wilderness.

By 2:45PM we pulled into the Stehekin dock where we were met by a “vintage” old white school bus that would take us to our ultimate destination, the Stehekin Valley Ranch, located 9 miles from the ferry landing. I was somewhat perplexed when I read the 9 mile trip would take one hour. How could that be?  Are the roads that bad?  I soon found out. The only other passenger on the bus besides the 6 of us was a delightful young lady (one of many we later got to meet) who we learned was one of the workers at that ranch. It was her day off and she had ventured to Stehekin to visit a friend. Two miles up the road the bus pulled into the parking lot of the famous “Bakery” for a 15 minute stop. The bakery is famous in the state of Washington (and probably elsewhere) for its home baked goods-pies, huge cinnamon rolls and sticky buns, and cookies of various types.   This would be the first of multiple stops there while we were in Stehekin, for which we were thankful! We left the bakery after having snacks and continued on our journey to the ranch.

A few more miles up the road we made another planned, 15 minute stop at the “Garden”, a local pea patch of sorts run by a barefooted gentleman who grows vegetables, raises flowers, sells honey from his hives and makes/sells goat cheese. We were offered a third stop at Rainbow Falls, but passed as we knew we would be seeing it the next day and we were eager to get to the ranch. So now you know the “rest of the story”, as Paul Harvey used to say:  Why it takes one hour to make the 9 mile trip from the ferry terminal to the ranch. The bus stops at each of these locations on every trip down the road-going and coming.

The Stehekin Valley Ranch was started in 1983 by one of the Courtney boys (Cliff) whose father, Ray, had purchased the 20 acres in the 1950s. It is only one of two “hotel” opportunities in the Stehekin area. They are only open from June-October as winter brings 4-6 feet of snow to the area. By the way about 85 people live in Stehekin year round-obviously a hearty bunch! Judy had arranged for us to have the larger (sleeps 6) cabins, while they slept in the newer (but smaller) “wagons”, basically tiny houses on wheels. There was indoor plumbing in all units and lighting but we were asked to limit electrical use (no hair dryers) as the entire ranch runs on solar power. There was no AC, but Stehikin is at 1,220 ft elevation and the nights were pleasant.  Fans were available in the units and we found sleeping was not a problem even though daytime temperatures were near 90 degrees..

Wine and cocktails (we were told to bring our own as none are sold there) on the porch was enjoyed before dinner. Then at 5:30, the dinner bell was sounded and we experienced the next fun activity-eating homemade meals in the “cookhouse”, a sawdust covered floor with picnic benches and a roaring fire where huge coffee pots were brewing.  Meals are served cafeteria style. Each night there is a set menu but with an option for several other items if you did not like the main course of the evening. There is always salad makings, a hot vegetable, a starch and heavenly homemade bread or biscuits. But you had to be careful to not overdo dinner as the dessert table beckoned! Tonight there was a choice of at least 6 different freshly made pies and a couple of cakes. and of course, the ladies serving them offered you a side of Tillamook ice cream and/or whip cream. Who could resist?

Our day started very early so everyone was eager to call it a day. Thus ended our travels to the wilderness area called Stehekin. Tomorrow we are touring the area.