http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2010/05/01-08may10-monroe-wa-casinos.html
Saturday morning we moved to a RV park that we hadn’t stayed at before in Bothell, WA. Once again Dan had to fly out for a short term consulting job (this time for half a day in New Orleans, LA). We have never really been totally happy with the RV parks in north Seattle that Dan has abandoned Corrie at in the past, when he leaves for consulting jobs. This park was much nicer, located around a small lake, with much more room between RVs. After Dan’s return we headed back to the Evergreen State Fairgrounds RV facility on Wednesday, 19MAY.
After a week of less then sterling weather we decided to head to Kittitas on Thursday, 27MAY, for Memorial Day weekend at cousin’s Steve Kiesel & wife, Bonnie.(http://theryanrvexpress.blogspot.com/2010/04/20-30apr10-kittitas-everett-wa.html)
Friday Dan smoked a boston butt pork roast to make pulled pork BBQ. During the day we took a drive to check-out a multi-million resort called SunCadia. This is a development being built on over 6400 acres, which will eventually have three golf courses, a couple of major lodges, and the opportunity for 2300 lucky families to own a piece of it. So if you have a couple of hundred thousand dollars lying around, you might want to check it out. After seeing how the other half (or is it the top five percent?) live it was back to Kittitas for some excellent BBQ pulled pork & BBQ roasted corn.
http://www.suncadiaresort.com/
Saturday morning Steve & Dan took off in the Jeepster for another of their four wheeling excursions through the canyons of the surrounding hills. Once again they made it back unscathed & without rolling the Jeepster! That evening it was Steve’s turn to BBQ, & we were treated to excellent BBQ grilled salmon & fresh local asparagus. That evening another attempt was made to come to a consensus on the rules of Mexican Train Dominoes. Although one hundred percent agreement could not be reached, we were still able to enjoy playing a few games.
Saturday morning Steve & Dan took off in the Jeepster for another of their four wheeling excursions through the canyons of the surrounding hills. Once again they made it back unscathed & without rolling the Jeepster! That evening it was Steve’s turn to BBQ, & we were treated to excellent BBQ grilled salmon & fresh local asparagus. That evening another attempt was made to come to a consensus on the rules of Mexican Train Dominoes. Although one hundred percent agreement could not be reached, we were still able to enjoy playing a few games.
Sunday morning we all took off on another scenic drive, this time over Blewett Pass to the towns of Cashmere & Wenatchee. First stop was for breakfast at Mineral Springs café. This café was an old forest service building made of huge timbers, that was cut into sections & transported to the side of US highway 97 to become a café. After a filling breakfast, we continued our drive over Blewett Pass. Looking at the map Dan discovered that the “original” road over the “original” pass still existed, & suggested we go that way. Turns out that even though maps may still show the old road, the state has done little or nothing to maintain it since the new highway opened! In fact, this paved road was often much worse than the dirt roads Dan & Steve were four wheeling on yesterday!
Next stop was Cashmere, WA, for some aplets & cotlets. What are aplets & cotlets? – Back in the 1920s two Armenian immigrants, Mark Balaban & Armen Tertsagian, who lived in Cashmere decided they needed another use for the excess apples after harvest time - Why not use apples to make Rahat Locoum, the popular near eastern candy they had loved as children? After much "research and development" on the kitchen stove, they perfected a delicious apple and walnut recipe. The candy was a success, and soon Armen began traveling throughout the Pacific Northwest selling the "Confection of the Fairies", also known as Aplets. A few years later Cotlets, made from apricots and walnuts, was introduced.
But what really put aplets & cotlets, & Cashmere, on the map was "Tiny's" Fruit Stand at Cashmere, Washington, on Highway 2. Richard "Tiny" Graves was born in 1930 and died of a heart attack (or cerebral hemorrhage) in 1971 at the age of 41. He stood 6-foot-3 and weighed 440 pounds. Supposedly he had such a hard time with overheating that his office was in a walk-in cooler and he would plow snow while wearing his trademark Hawaiian shirt. He started "Tiny's" in 1953 at the age of 23, & immediately plastered tens of thousands of bumper stickers all over the western USA that simply said “Tinys Cashmere Washington”. Dan remembers seeing them stuck on fence posts in the middle of nowhere in Nevada & Montana in the 60s. As you got closer to Cashmere you would see billboards with a picture of a bright red apple with the happy little worm wearing a black derby telling you to buy aplets & cotlets at Tinys. Sadly the original Tinys burned down, but the factory started by the Armenians is still located in Cashmere & we were able to check out many free samples!
But what really put aplets & cotlets, & Cashmere, on the map was "Tiny's" Fruit Stand at Cashmere, Washington, on Highway 2. Richard "Tiny" Graves was born in 1930 and died of a heart attack (or cerebral hemorrhage) in 1971 at the age of 41. He stood 6-foot-3 and weighed 440 pounds. Supposedly he had such a hard time with overheating that his office was in a walk-in cooler and he would plow snow while wearing his trademark Hawaiian shirt. He started "Tiny's" in 1953 at the age of 23, & immediately plastered tens of thousands of bumper stickers all over the western USA that simply said “Tinys Cashmere Washington”. Dan remembers seeing them stuck on fence posts in the middle of nowhere in Nevada & Montana in the 60s. As you got closer to Cashmere you would see billboards with a picture of a bright red apple with the happy little worm wearing a black derby telling you to buy aplets & cotlets at Tinys. Sadly the original Tinys burned down, but the factory started by the Armenians is still located in Cashmere & we were able to check out many free samples!
We continued our drive through Wenatchee stopping at place called Crescent Bar located on the banks of the Columbia River, literally backed up to the cliffs of the gorge, where Steve & Bonnie ran across old friends of theirs from Steve’s days as a lineman. Turns out Crescent Bar was selling cheap leases for those seeking a weekend get-away location back in the 70s. But now it is a highly desired location, & the original owners in their non-descript RVs, trailers & park models are surrounded by wall-to-wall condos & a new golf course. And there is a sad rumor that the original owners may lose their leases.
http://www.crescentbarresorts.com/
We made it back to the homestead in Kittitas in time for some farm chores, & decided not to cook dinner but just finish off the leftovers from the last three days. Early Memorial Day morning we decided to head back to Monroe to beat the expected backups on I-90 that occur without fail at the end of summer long weekends. We made it back without problem, but by the afternoon there was an 1-1/2 hour delay getting over the pass! And while the weather in Kittitas wasn’t warm & sunny, it was much better than what the Seattle got! All-in-all, it was a great time once again free loading at the Kiesels!
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