2014 Pacific Northwest Waterfall Tour Kickoff – FAIL

Entiat River March 2014

In March of this year, we took a trip to Chelan, Washington.  It was, sort of, a last minute plan to just get away for a few days.  We happened to find an opening for a room at one of our Worldmark resorts, there, so we jumped at the chance to stay there.  That resort has traditionally been full and difficult to book without advance planning.

Entiat River Waterfalls

Because we wanted to kick off our Pacific Northwest Waterfall Tour, I did a little research to find some waterfalls close by.  I learned that the Entiat River was a haven for a number of beautiful falls.  We weren’t certain of the condition of the roads that high in the mountains, and had some doubts, but we were going to be there anyway, so I didn’t call ahead to the ranger station, or get an additional information about the conditions.

As everything turned out, we could only travel about 20 miles up the river before finding the road to be blocked by snow to further travel.  Unfortunately, the waterfalls we were planning to see are all between the 20 mile mark and the 38 mile mark.  Any further travel would have required snowshoes, cross-country skis, or snowmobiles and a sno-park pass.  We had none of the above.

After a short visit with a local resident who was out for a walk with her children, we turned around and drove back toward Chelan….but not without taking a few photos along the way.

Entiat River with Snow Covered Banks
Entiat River with Snow Covered Banks
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Along the way back, we stopped at a little grocery store/restaurant  near a little town called Ardenvoir to get a bite to eat.  I had read from someone that it was a good little local place to eat, and thought I should check it out.

Just like everything else on this trip, it was bad timing.  The restaurant was closed, though the door was open.  We went inside and found the owner visiting with a friend while doing some maintenance work.  They barely seemed to notice we were there.

When I caught their attention and asked if they were going to be open for lunch, he said, “Not really.  I wasn’t planning to turn the grill on today, but if you really want to eat here, I guess I can.  It will take awhile for it to heat up.”

I said, “Thank you very much, but you don’t need to do that.  We’ll just move on.”

…and move on, we did.  But we will definitely be back this summer.