Winthrop, WA--Part 2

Here is a bit of the scenery we saw as we drove east on Highway 20 from Marblemount to Winthrop. 

There's a lot to see and do in this part of the Methow (pronounced met-how) Valley.  Right across the street from Pine Near RV Park, where we stayed, was the Shafer Museum, where the log cabin that is known as "The Castle"  was built by Guy Waring, founder of Winthrop.  This museum operates by donations and is well worth a visit.

Mining drew settlers to the Methow Valley.  As the sign says, few miners struck it rich, but many stayed on to farm and ranch with their families.

The town has a pedestrian suspension bridge at each end of town, crossing the Chewuch River.  This river merges with the Methow River, which eventually merges with the Columbia River.

On the west end of town is "The Barn", an event center and city park.

On Saturday morning we drove a few miles east and went to the Farmer's Market in Twisp.

Twisp, WA, is a small "artsy" town, as opposed to Winthrop being a small "cowboy" town.

We ate lunch back in Winthrop at Duck Brand Restaurant, one of the original restaurants in the area.  Guy Waring, who founded Winthrop in 1891, came west after he graduated from Harvard.  He hated liquor, but he opened Duck Brand Saloon so that he could "control" the alcohol and boot out the drunks.  The original location of the saloon is now the town hall.

Waring's Harvard classmate, Owen Wister, spent his honeymoon in Winthrop in 1898.  Four years later, Wister completed "The Virginian" and the first western novel burst open an unsuspecting nation.  Waring named Winthrop after the colonial Governor John Winthrop of Massachusetts.  

Suspension bridge at the southeast end of town, along a multi-use paved trail.

The trail led to a hockey rink/soccer field.

On Sunday, our last day in Winthrop, we drove northwest on Highway 20 to the village of Mazama.  We were looking for a hiking trail which featured a third suspension bridge.  We found the trail, but not the bridge.  It's a beautiful area and in the winter this area is noted for Nordic skiing.

These skiers were keeping up their skills, even though it was summer.  Their skis were on rollers.

Community trail in Mazama.

We parked at the trailhead and ate our picnic lunch while we listened to  an "armchair church" podcast in the car, with this as our view.

We didn't take the uphill hike to this fire lookout station.

The tepees at Pine Near RV Park were popular with families.

After four nights in Winthrop, we headed south to Wenatchee for a couple of nights.