| It doesn't get the attention that Seattle does, or | | | | The centerpiece of the Shafer Museum is the log |
| Mount St. Helens or the San Juan Islands, but | | | | home once owned and occupied by Guy Waring, |
| Washington's Methow Valley is a traveler's gem | | | | who had run Winthrop's General Store back in the |
| tucked away in the North Cascades about as far | | | | 1890's. The home, which is elaborately furnished with |
| away from "civilization" as you can get in the | | | | authentic period pieces, was the dream home he built |
| Evergreen State. | | | | for his wife. More buildings were added over the |
| For many decades, the town of Winthrop was | | | | years including a print shop, general store, |
| content to be the modern equivalent of a 19th | | | | schoolhouse and several others, each fully furnished |
| Century mining town, albeit without the mining. Horse | | | | with antiques. The Shafer Museum is just a $2 |
| farms and agriculture had replaced the gold mining of | | | | donation, and probably the best value you'll find in the |
| the 1890's. The town still looked the same with its | | | | Methow Valley. |
| aging buildings reminiscent of the frontier outpost | | | | Winthrop is Tourist Central, but your drive through |
| Winthrop had once been. | | | | the Methow Valley is really more about the rural |
| But then tourism happened to the Methow | | | | lifestyle you see on display in the passing scenery. |
| (pronounced MET-how) Valley. The North Cascades | | | | There are lots of horse farms and lots of churches. |
| Highway was completed in the late 1960's, opening | | | | It's a simple life in these parts, and most homes have |
| the flood gates to motorists who got wind of | | | | a little ground because they're spread out from |
| breathtaking scenery in the new North Cascades | | | | Pateros to Winthrop, a distance of some 40 miles. |
| National Park. Prior to this, the Methow Valley had | | | | More population is concentrated in the few miles |
| been a five-hour drive from the Seattle metropolitan | | | | between Twisp and Winthrop, but even if you add |
| area; with the new highway, the new route cut an | | | | up the souls in both of those towns it still comes to |
| hour off that and created a "loop" drive - now called | | | | only a few hundred. |
| the Cascade Loop - that over the years has become | | | | The Methow Valley is not thickly forested like you |
| recognized as one of Washington's most scenic | | | | find in Western Washington. But it does have enough |
| highways. | | | | patches of Douglas Fir and other vegetation to be |
| Local residents realized there was gold in them thar | | | | far from baron. The mountains - just a few miles |
| tourists and, with the help of one very generous | | | | distant on either side of the Valley - are always in |
| benefactor, went about the business of turning | | | | view. And when you get near Winthrop, the North |
| sleepy Winthrop into bustling Wild West Theme | | | | Cascade Mountains start to rise up in dramatic |
| Town Winthrop. Kathryn Wagner was the widow of | | | | fashion offering a tantalizing hint of the spectacular |
| a local sawmill owner and provided the backing local | | | | scenery just a few miles farther over the North |
| business people needed to completely revamp the | | | | Cascades Highway. |
| downtown area. Wagner offered matching funds to | | | | In the Winthrop area, the best view of the Cascades |
| businesses that would step up and convert their | | | | is from Sun Mountain Lodge, one of several inns and |
| storefronts to a Western motif. Town leaders only | | | | resorts in the area, but the only one perched on a |
| needed to look as far as the town of Leavenworth - | | | | mountain where the snowy peaks and green |
| the Bavarian theme town, also in North Central | | | | meadows start to look like they came out of the |
| Washington, that had successfully re-invented itself a | | | | Sound of Music. The lodge is one of the more |
| few years earlier as a tourist destination - to see | | | | luxurious escapes in the Methow Valley and offers all |
| what a change in décor could mean to the local | | | | of the amenities that world-class travelers expect. |
| economy. | | | | Down in the Valley, the accommodations range from |
| Gradually, and with some reluctance here and there, | | | | small bed-and-breakfast inns to riverside cabins to |
| the town's business people completed the makeover, | | | | motels. There isn't a huge selection of restaurants |
| turning Winthrop into the Western theme town that | | | | but there are a half-dozen or so that offer just |
| it is today. Wooden sidewalks, false-front Western | | | | enough variety for a short stay. |
| buildings, hitching posts and other reminders of the | | | | If you do stay a few days, be sure and take |
| Old West are never far from view as visitors | | | | advantage of the area's recreational opportunities. |
| scavenge the town's stores for a wide variety of | | | | Not only are there numerous trails for hiking - and |
| trinkets and all things Western. In warmer months, | | | | gorgeous vistas to reward your efforts - but there |
| the tourist crowd here is pretty much the same | | | | are several outfitters in the area that offer |
| family-oriented group you might see visiting Knott's | | | | horseback riding and other outdoor adventures. In |
| Berry Farm - although, we're not sure Harleys are | | | | the spring, there is river-rafting down the Methow |
| allowed to park at Knott's the way they do at | | | | River. Mountain biking is a big draw for visitors who |
| Three-Fingered Jack's Saloon. | | | | want to ride trails where they can be pretty much |
| The biggest attraction the hot August day we visited | | | | alone with Nature. |
| was the ice cream. The outdoor ice cream counter | | | | Finally, one of the best things about a visit to the |
| at the town's main intersection was several visitors | | | | Methow Valley is just getting there. If you're coming |
| deep with almost every bench, chair and table | | | | from the Seattle area, you have the choice of a |
| occupied by throngs of tourists clad in tee-shirts, | | | | drive over Interstate 90 and then up Highway 97 |
| shorts and sunglasses. Family groups prowled the | | | | over forest-covered Blewett Pass and through the |
| boardwalks while on recon missions to find | | | | scenic Wenatchee Valley, or you can drive north on |
| momentos of their trip to the modern-day Wild | | | | Interestate 5 and drive Highway 20 east through the |
| West. | | | | majestic North Cascades. Either way takes you to |
| Not all Winthrop residents are thrilled with the way | | | | places many people see only in National Geographic. |
| tourism has changed their community. A woman | | | | AT A GLANCE |
| behind the counter at the Shafer Museum admitted | | | | WHERE: The Methow Valley is in North Central |
| that, while the tourists are great for the economy, | | | | Washington, and is about 190 miles from Seattle. It's |
| the town just isn't what it used to be. Exhibit A: | | | | at the eastern side of the North Cascades National |
| parking. We had to admit we circled through town a | | | | Park. |
| couple of times trying to find a single stall to park our | | | | WHAT: The Methow Valley is a remote valley |
| vehicle. On summer weekends, the cars coming into | | | | stretching from Pateros, on the Columbia River, to |
| town on Route 20 - the North Cascades Highway - | | | | the Cascade Mountains. Running through the valley is |
| slow down to a crawl approaching the four-way stop | | | | the Methow River. |
| at the town's only downtown intersection. | | | | WHEN: Year-round, although the North Cascade |
| But interestingly, walk a block away from Riverside | | | | Highway is closed in winter, requiring motorists to |
| Avenue - the main drag - and the tourists kind of | | | | drive to Wenatchee and then up Highway 97 to |
| melt away. A case in point is the short walk over to | | | | Pateros. The shoulder seasons are less crowded, but |
| the Shafer Museum, perched on a hill overlooking the | | | | both summer and winter are popular because of the |
| Highway 20 traffic. Even on a busy Sunday, we at | | | | area's many outdoor activities. |
| first were the only visitors to the museum, although | | | | WHY: Tourists like to visit the Western them town |
| we were joined later by a large family of vacationers. | | | | of Winthrop, while outdoor recreationists find plenty |
| And the Shafer is nothing to sneeze at - this is an | | | | to keep them busy in the mountains surrounding the |
| exceptional museum that has been built up over the | | | | valley. In summer, the Cascade Loop is a popular |
| years from donations by townspeople. | | | | drive that includes the Methow Valley. |