June 1st, 2022

Hello Readers,

It has been a while since the last post, but I am back and ready to write about one of my recent travels. Last weekend I traveled to Leavenworth, Washington. This city has an interesting history that I am going to talk about so it can be understood how this interesting Bavarian town came about and why it has become such a touristic city for people.

Three tribes used to reside in Leavenworth and fished Icicle creek and Icicle River for food. Then, in the late 1800s, the gold rush started, and miners and hunters came to this area. Since it became an area bustling with activity, the town was named Icicle flats after the creek and river just beside the town. But once the logging business started going downhill, Icicle flats became almost a ghost town and activity disappeared as less and less people resided there.

But, in the 1960s the leaders of Leavenworth decided they needed to bring in more tourists, so they knew that something had to be done. Due to the amazing landscape including the Wenatchee mountains, they thought a place that had a similar landscape was Bavarian Germany. So, taking inspiration from that area of the world, the town was converted into a Bavarian town.

Over a million tourists visit Leavenworth every year. The town has become a favorite for many tourists due to that fact that it is an amazing Bavarian town in the middle of the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

I had visited Leavenworth before and there is another article talking more about the city and the buildings in this town. But this time around, I decided to take a hike in Leavenworth’s forests, and it gave me a look into how bountiful the nature is and why this area was so sought after by miners, loggers and hunters in the late 1800s. Walking from the city center of Leavenworth into the forest is where the journey started. I walked a total of 5.5 miles just exploring the area. There are two short footbridges which lead to Blackbird Island. These trails are next to the Wenatchee River which then meets with Icicle River which is where Native American tribes fished for salmon and other food sources. I also walked through Enchantment Park which has parks and a baseball field for tourists and residents to enjoy the summer days. This is where it can be seen the mix between German Bavarian culture and Pacific Northwestern nature.

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I hope you enjoyed reading about the history of Leavenworth and how the history of this city can still be experienced simply by enjoying the nature. Keep a lookout for many more articles coming this summer as I take a big trip to many different parts of the world.

Hope you have an amazing summer with many travels,

Sincerely,

The Eternal Traveler