The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest is a dense Washington forest with extensive networks of…read moretrails and raging rivers. We visited the forest in June when the snow was melting and there were brief rain showers everyday. Most creeks and rivers, especially the Wenatchee River, were overflowing their banks, with river water above the level of green grasses and bushes. The highly variable nature of the rivers made me wonder how difficult it would be for the home owners living just a few feet above their June high water mark. On a Wenatchee River rafting trip, a guide pointed out a high water mark when the river was at record levels during her lifetime. This must've been 10-15 feet above the already high water and would've destroyed many homes. Many of the trails in the National Forest are very long, requiring camping gear to complete the trail. Unfortunately, I did not have the time to complete any of these multiday treks, but I was satisfied with a taste of the trails in the area. The trails were generally quality from the start so I was never worried about only getting in a 3 mile hike if time was limited. Even a 3 mile hike would turn into a good workout because most of the trails had a steep incline. We were essentially stair climbing on many of the trails. It was hard but we also benefited from the incredible views. The views near the Leavenworth area were fruit trees and grapevines on the valley floor, steep pine trees ascending the mountainsides, with snowcapped peaks on the tops of mountains or on mountaintops in the background.

Visited the forest with a friend while there this summer…read more The forest is over 4 million acres in size. I saw info posted that you can get a permit to cut your own Christmas tree and gather mushrooms out here. Be careful as a lot of this area is closed now and has been closed for some time due to forest fires. Check to see what is open and when before going to visit.

I've been to a lot of Senior Centers and this one is by far one of the better ones!…read more They have so much going on inside from coffee, breakfast, and lunch everyday, to all ages dancing nights...among many other events that creates a beautiful comradery amongst the members. As a younger man, I enjoy my time hanging with the seniors because I just love listening to their stories about life and the jokes they share with one another to keep the spirits up. If you're thinking about joining it's incredibly affordable too, only $35/year for an individual & $55/couple I purposely left out many other great activities & events they have going on with the hopes you'll join us for coffee one morning and then you can find everything out for yourself :)

Prior to being the 9/11 Spirit of America Memorial, this site was dedicated to war Veterans from…read moreCashmere. Now their memorial section is pushed off to the side and the vast majority of the memorial is dedicated to the terrorist attacks that occurred on the 11th of September 2001 in the United States of America. Considering the war veterans from Cashmere include veterans from wars such as World War I and World War II, to me the memorial came across as pushing the 11th of September attacks as more significant than either world war. Does Al Qaeda really transcend World War I and World War II in importance? Does the Taliban? I would have appreciated more memorial space for the veterans with ties to Cashmere. One thing this memorial did not address was the discrimination Muslims experienced following the attacks, this was completely omitted from the memorial. For full transparency I describe my religion as the following: if one were to assign my daily activities as of recent to certain religions, one might describe my religion as proportionally two parts Roman Catholic and one part Islamic. My best friend in middle school (2004-2006 time span) was a Muslim, her parents were Muslims and my parents were Christians. So for me, the terrorist attacks led to social tensions based on religion, both with this friend and others, because of how our families interacted following the attacks. I guess this is a long-winded way of saying this memorial seemed a bit one-sided in its coverage of the 11th of September terrorist attacks and their lasting societal effects. I decided to visit this memorial in part because of my experience the day of and the days following the attacks. One of my friends in elementary school (I was 9 years old when the 11th of September attacks happened) had family in the vicinity of the attack sites on 11 September 2001. Earlier in the year I had experienced terror when the Nisqually Earthquake hit Seattle in February 2001 (I was 8 years old then) and a building collapsed and my mom, my sister, and I were unsure if my dad had died, be it from the collapse or something else earthquake-related. This came out in the classroom day of the earthquake because my mom and sister were trying to keep me updated. Fast forward to the 11th of September 2001 attacks and my friend was experiencing the terror of not knowing if her family member was alive following the attacks. Most of the people in our class had heard about the attacks on the news, I had spent the morning getting ready for school and taking pictures of our pet cats and was oblivious until I learned about them from my friend in class. We ended up bonding that day and the following days as I listened to her and sympathized with the fear accompanying the uncertainty of not knowing whether a family member is alive or not. Later in our friendship I even attended her bat mitzvah (a Jewish coming of age ritual), not long after she moved away. Sometimes friendships develop in the most unusual of circumstances and ours was fostered by our experiences handling fear. So I came to this memorial on Sunday the 5th of September 2021 to see what the tie between the 11th of September terrorist attacks and Cashmere was. Turns out the tie was not a human one. The City of Cashmere was entrusted with being stewards of a piece of one of the two tower buildings and a stone from the crash site of Flight 93. On the surface it comes across as a bit of a random selection, choosing Cashmere for this considering the lack of human connection. I would have appreciated more transparency in the memorial about how the decision was made.

Pretty cool that they have 9/11 spirit memorial park all the way in Cashmere, WA. It is clean and…read morehave large parking lot. Good place to chill. This park is good for kids because it has large fields for kids to run around and you can access to the river too.

Had plenty of room for delivery, especially since the item had to be brought to my door (too…read morelarge), was complete laziness from the driver. I decided to go to the office, the guy behind the counter who I originally stayed on hold for 10 minutes before driving down, was on his cell phone browsing, well he said they have rules they have to follow and said a postmaster would contact me the next day. They didn't make any attempt to redeliver the following day and the call from the postmaster never happened. This is my first experience with Cashmere USPS.

What a ridiculously adorable post office!! It has all the necessary tools you need to get your…read moreUSPS needs taken care of, plus mailboxes to lease. All in this little itty bitty building nestled in this quiet little town of Carnation. That and everyone who works there is *crazy* nice!!! Nothing like the post offices of past homes (Renton on 4th!! how I loathe the!! I couldn't even write a review because it constantly came out too mean). It makes a world of difference when someone is nice. And the people at the Carnation post office are genuinely nice. When I moved in, I had to put a hold on my mail because I needed to get a mailbox at one of those mailbox blocks (I moved to a rural area) and it took a little time. By the time I picked up the mail I had a TON of it. Was there a problem with the post office - no, not at all. There were smiles on faces. AWESOME!! Were there ever smiles on faces in Renton?? no how do I feel about Carnation so far? All sorts of warm and fuzzy inside. Oh yes I do indeed!!

I entered the 2026 "Love From Leavenworth" promotion run by the Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce. I…read morereceived an official email stating I was the Grand Prize winner (about a $1,500 package) with instructions to claim it. About 30 minutes later, I received a second email saying the message had been sent to everyone on the list by mistake and that I was not actually the winner. The Chamber later confirmed this was a mass error. While mistakes happen, sending a definitive "you've won" email to multiple people is a significant oversight. What was more disappointing was that no goodwill resolution or compensation was offered to those affected--just an apology. I'd encourage the Chamber to put stronger safeguards in place and consider how situations like this are handled going forward.

Be sure to stop. The staff was so welcoming and full of specific recommendations to fit our…read moreexpectations for the day. Be sure to stop back with $100 in receipts for a lovely free gift and entry into their drawing Free parking too

Best place ever to get you passport and mail Staff is…read moreexcellent they know their stuff