Visiting Cashmere and Leavenworth Washington

Cashmere and Leavenworth, Washington

While in Washington State we visited the Nutcracker Museum in Leavenworth, Washington.  Yes, there is a nutcracker museum. (the nut cracker is the one on the left)

The museum is located in the town of Leavenworth, Washington.

The entire town is built on a Bavarian theme and is a very busy place. It was originally a railroad town.  When the railroad moved its headquarters to Wenatchee, the town essentially died.  Two businessmen decided to see if they could recreate the town as a "theme town" and the current tourist destination was born.  There are lots of wineries that offer tastings, many restaurants and some that serve German cuisine. 

Inside the Nutcracker Museum there are thousands of nut crackers from around the world. And yes, collecting nut crackers is a thing.

Believe it or not each of these has the purpose of cracking open nuts. Who knew?

There were thousands more of these. If you get to Leavenworth make sure you see the museum. Yeah, it sounds a little "nuts."

The town is Bavarian clean and there is music in the park on weekends. It is also a major rafting and kayak center for floating either the Icicle River or the Wenatchee River. There are many hotels and several overpriced RV Parks. There are restaurants with German food and American food. We also saw many winery tasting rooms and tasting costs around $10 for six wines on average. 

We visited Leavenworth from our RV park at the Chelan County Expo Center (Aka: The County Fairgrounds). 

Chelan County Expo RV Park -  RATING - 3/5

WIFI - Works very well

AT&T - Yes, 4-5 Bars but a little slow

VERIZON - Yes, 2-3 Bars but a little slow

SERVICES - FHU'S

COST - $27.00 Nightly no discounts

REVIEW - This is a fairgrounds RV park. There are no trees or protection of any kind from the sun.  You are basically on a large flat spot. There is plenty of room here so if you need a spot for the night it is very convenient for that and most likely available unless the county fair is going on.  Most people stopping there are parking for one or two nights.  The downtown of Cashmere is within 2 miles and has grocery shopping and quite a few restaurants. The camp hosts are jovial and very helpful. Nice folks.  Check in between 12 and 6 pm. Check out was 11 am but flexible. The sites are quite big and you have room for a 40' coach and toad or even a stacker.  Reservations online are available but when you check in the hosts will let you pick your site. Sites are mostly level though I did have to put blocks under the driver side wheels because the site I picked was rutted.  Grass is sparse but keeps the field from being a dust bowl.  Wenatchee, Washington is 6 miles away and is a larger city with everything you need.

Our site was in Row 4 and 5 (they let you use two sites as a pull through when it's not busy, they are two back-ins when the are busy.  We were in space(s) V, near the back of the park.  

Cashmere, Washington and the Pioneer Museum

Cashmere is a nice little town and the main industry there is fruit. The economy is geared to growing apples and pears. There are several large fruit storage and distribution centers in Cashmere. The entire countryside is farmed for fruit. The close proximity to the Wenatchee River makes it an ideal place to grow because there is truly an ample supply of water from the free flowing Wenatchee. 

As tourists we always look for things to do that are both cheap and interesting.  The Pioneer Museum in Cashmere was one of those places. This Museum has curated a vast collection of Native American and pioneer objects of interest. It is an amazing collection given the size of the town.

There is also a large taxidermy display here.

Weapons and peace pipes.

Giant Apple Pies

Examples of Native American tools

Examples of  Petroglyphs 

Native Americans spear fishing for Salmon on the Wenatchee River

If you are in the Wenatchee, Washington area, make a point of  stopping in Cashmere for a visit  and take the time to tour this wonderful museum.  

Our visit was made from our campsite at the Wenatchee River County Park six miles east of Cashmere. 

Wenatchee River County Park  - RATING - 4/5

WIFI - Works but slow especially early evening

ATT - Yes, 4-5 Bars but for some reason is slow

VERIZON - Yes, 2-3 Bars with excellent speed
SERVICES - FHU'S available, they also have sites with water and electric only and dry camping spaces, Laundry Facility, VERY CLEAN Showers and Restrooms, Volleyball Court & Basketball Hoops, Horseshoes, Golfing Cages, Indoor & Outdoor Workout Center, Outdoor Table Tennis / Ping Pong Table, Playground & Swing Set, Free WIFI (Best Effort).  No Tents

COST - $38 for FHU; $33 for water/electric;  $28 for dry camping, nightly no discounts.  They also offer one section of seasonal sites.

REVIEW - This park is a true gem. It is clean, clean, clean. Restrooms and showers sparkle, sites are very long 60.'  We fit our 40' coach, dolly and toad on it with the toad head in.  They sprinkle the lawns nightly so move your lawn furniture to a dry location in the evening. There are plenty of mature trees, so it's generally shady, which was great after a few days of 100 degree heat with no shade.  The grass is green, mowed and well cared for.  You are about a 100 yds from the Wenatchee River from just about any site in the park. The Wenatchee is free flowing and quite beautiful. This is a great place to camp with your family.  Each site has an aluminum picnic table and a fire ring. As of this writing there is a burn ban.

The park is gated and you are given an access pass to scan at the gate and gain entrance. The staff is very helpful albeit a little firm.  Our neighbor was given a warning that he had a door mat on the lawn at the entrance to his fiver. There is plenty of shade here but make sure you vet the site you choose by calling as ours had a tree three days prior to arrival. When we got here they had cut it down.

Our site was #46  (Water/Electric) 

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