Scenic Drive: Central Cascade Backroads through Leavenworth WA

I am late. Technical difficulties infiltrated my uploading today…My apologies. Quality will be low in SD for the next little while, as it will take time to process in 4k.
Date: Sunday, January 28th, 2024
Location: Loop drive east over Stevens Pass, and cutting over to take some scenic backroads, in order to take more scenic backroads, near Plain WA. Then heading along Chumstick Highway and hanging a left before reaching Leavenworth proper, to take yet another scenic backroad, before reconnecting with Highway 2 and on towards completing the loop from Blewett Pass to I-90. Yup. It was a long day. Breathe in…. and… Breathe out. 😅
Lots and lots of camping options around Leavenworth, from full service campgrounds like Thousand Trails and KOA, to Forest Service land with basic sites, or none (just land), to a State Park. It’s there. And it’s beautiful. We have camped in the area for decades, and can’t recommend it enough.
This was indeed an impromptu day trip. The weather was unseasonably warm, and the rain graced us with its presence, causing some focus issues. No bother. Just because Mother Nature decides to dress the world in gray, does not mean that filming is impossible. Besides, things can change. And they did. Roll with it. Make it work. Accept it, and carry on. Even… when you thought you got some great shots… but you didn’t. Because mistakes happen. Sigh. But I worked extra hard to creatively make this work, and I think it turned out pretty OK.
Plain is where we have spent most of our time over the years, with its one market, one hardware store, one gas pump and one restaurant. And the Wenatchee River is our favorite float, putting in at the bridge shown in the video. There are many cabins for rent in the area, and I thought it would be fun to show a peek at a few of these little getaways as they can absolutely provide a quintessential experience of mountain escapism. We love it here.
I hope you needed a road trip today. I hope you needed some snowy mountain forests and some orchards resting deep in their winter slumber…and a snowman to make you smile. He looks like ET, by the way.
And there you go. Remember to make time to see stuff if you can. You don’t have to go far, you just have to go. Otherwise, watch some videos-that’s good too. Thanks for reading and watching, and I’ll catch ya next time!♥️