That was their tagline. I’d discovered Mountain Home Lodge when I was looking at a list of best places to eat in the state of Washington. (My birthday dinner at Arrowleaf Bistro in Winthrop was one of them!) and I happened upon the name of this lodge in Leavenworth, Washington. It was time for our weekly sanity break from the Cricket and this was in the direction we wanted to go. Besides, the town of Leavenworth was a Bavarian themed village and Oktoberfest was happening, so why not? I booked their cabin cozily named Stuart’s Roost for two nights.
Mountain Home Lodge is a very special place. I’m beginning to realize that out here in the Pacific Northwest there are some pretty cool remote cabins and lodges to hide out from the world in. Mountain Home was 3 miles outside of town. I called when I read online that the road had a 45% grade and was narrow and winding, concerned that the Cricket would not make the trip. Sure enough, we were advised to leave it at the base of the mountain. Three miles later, we emerged into a clearing, a wide swath of meadow with a lodge tucked into the tree line and a few cabins built high on a ridge to the side.
Kathy and Brad were the owners and hosts and were incredibly good at the hospitality thing. The attention they show their guests is unobtrusive but masterful in the level of detail. They have crafted an oasis of serenity and beauty. Every evening, their chef prepares a plate of delicious appetizers and Kathy & Brad pour wine and there is a convivial happy hour of sorts. The lodge has some beautiful hand hewn log furniture and a huge stone fireplace. The view from their deck showcases the meadow and the Enchantment Mountains beyond, the sunsets are spectacular . The first evening we arrived, as we were getting to know the other guests, someone exclaimed that the elk had arrived and sure enough an entire herd of elk, the bull elk hovering nearby, were gathered in the meadow right in front of us.
We had planned on getting a long hike in the following day and Brad took his time to ask what we had in mind for our stay and created a personal itinerary for us based on our particular agenda. Trail snacks were offered, backpacks, sweaters, blankets. Every detail is thought of. Brad & Kathy are incredibly kind and their enthusiasm for their land is evident. Brad apparently grooms his trails and maintains the signs. There was more then 10 miles of trails to hike and we covered all of them that day.
The next day we wanted to use our bikes so Brad mapped out a scenic route for us , even scheduling a lunch stop at Good Mood Food. How did he know we were craving healthy organic food in a town filled with brats and german potato salad? Intuition. It’s what makes a good inn a great inn. Attention and affection for people.
Leavenworth is a wacky town. Much like Winthrop, the town decided that every retail facade(gas stations and convenience stores included) must subscribe to a Bavarian theme. The result is a fantasy village, a walk down the main street and you are transported to a Disney-esque vision of an alpine Bavarian town. Even the local brewpub sported gingerbread. It struck me as a bit odd, the ability to craft a unique identity and brand is crucial to independent, locally-owned businesses, didn’t this shackle business owners? I asked around to a few of them and there seemed to be a resigned consensus that while the rules regarding architecture and facade were restrictive, the town was thriving. Apparently, tourists love all things Bavarian, why fly across the ocean when you can experience authentic alpine culture in a tiny town in Washington State? I had to admit the town was lively and the surrounding countryside, verdant and lush with fields of apples, pears and apricots was pleasing to the eye. Farm stands dotted the back roads and there was a feeling of great abundance in the Wanatchee Valley.
We made sure to stop in the small town of Cashmere, I was 
drawn to the history of the place. The main street sported a throw back bakery with cookies and doughnuts like my grandma used to make, and a true old-fashioned soda fountain, egg creams for $1.50! Armenian immigrants, proprietors of an apple orchard in 1918 began producing a unique confection they called Aplets and Cotlets as a response to a surplus crop, the idea coming from their memory of eating Turkish delight as children. The candy was originally sold at a roadside stand but gained national attention at the Seattle Worlds Fair in 1962. Today, Liberty Orchards, the original company continues to produce the iconic sweet in the town of Cashmere. I purchased a box of Aplets and Cotlets and Mark and I treat ourselves nightly to these wonderfully old-fashioned powdered fruit concoctions.
The cabin was perfect. After 5 days of camping, the lack of privacy and small creature comforts becomes trying and just having space to move freely and take hot showers and a warm room to wake up in seemed like incredible luxuries. I would sit on the porch in the late afternoon and write with a glass of wine, content and inspired. We were here in this place when the massacre in Las Vegas occurred. I am glad we were able to be in contact with our boys, we all needed to talk and express our mutual fears and horror. Being removed from civilization and cut off from television and media, I was beginning to understand why people lived in these out of the way places. Las Vegas seemed very far away and the chances of being caught up in random violence seemed remote in this neck of the woods. I was overcome with sadness and a feeling of such helplessness, the tragedy and senselessness, the frustration and anger at our government, our inept president, the NRA, all welled up within me. And then I stepped out on the deck and watched the sun’s rays through the hemlocks. I was grateful for the moment but also grateful for the space and time to reflect on my role in the world and how I could do better, how I could do my own part in creating an environment for my children to raise their children in. The answers are not forthcoming but my heart is in the right place.
1000 Steps closer to Heaven. It might be an illusion but I believe that nature is one of the answers to our collective pain. Reverence for the trees, the mountains, the water, is as good a place to start as any.