Keep Smiling

Keep Smiling

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Winthrop, WA



The recorded history of this area begins when Native Americans 

 lived along the banks of the Methow, Twisp and Chewuch rivers, 

digging camas root, picking berries, fishing and hunting. 

The first white men to visit the valley were

 trappers in the 1800's.


  In 1883  the lure of gold brought the first permanent white settlers to this beuitful valley.
The town is named after Theodore Winthrop, a Yale graduate,
 adventurer/traveler and gifted 19th century author. 
The town was rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1893. 
Waring's (one of the first settlers) original Duck Brand Saloon 
(considered the best run saloon in the country by numerous church publications) 
was built in 1891.
It survived the fire and is now Winthrop's Town Hall. 

Many of the sidewalks are covered.  
Less snow to shovel in the winter :)

The next few photos are the inside of a shop
 that I thought you might enjoy.
 

The shop is a combination of animal heads,
 cowboy decor, fashion, candles, jams and chandeliers. 

I thought that these were so pretty.

Here are more photos that I took walking around town.

The Blues Ranch is the perfect setting for one of Washington's greatest blues festivals. The Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival is the largest and longest running festival in the state of Washington. Over seventy-five thousand people have attended this event in the past twenty-six years.

Next year's festival is scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, July 18, 19, 20, 2014.  - See more at: http://www.winthropwashington.com/event/26th-annual-winthrop-rb-festival#sthash.54jbIzQN.dpuf

 Every July, Winthrop hosts the largest and longest running 
Rhythm and Blues Festival in the state.
They have a wonderful Rodeo each year, 
a huge antique car show 
and 
their Winter Festival is a step back in time.
With town hall parties, hot air balloon rides, hay rides, snowmobile races, 
caroling, free cookies and coco all over town and fireworks :)
the largest and longest running
The Blues Ranch is the perfect setting for one of Washington's greatest blues festivals. The Winthrop Rhythm & Blues Festival is the largest and longest running festival in the state of Washington. Over seventy-five thousand people have attended this event in the past twenty-six years.

Next year's festival is scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, July 18, 19, 20, 2014.  - See more at: http://www.winthropwashington.com/event/26th-annual-winthrop-rb-festival#sthash.54jbIzQN.dpuf

Old fortune telling machines, 

Wooden Indians,

Wooden Cowboys, 
(I've always been fascinated by chainsaw art)

and Wooden Miners.
 

I had to laugh when I saw this sign on the side of a building.
I've actually used Horse Liniment on things like twisted and swollen ankles . . .
it worked very well :)
 

Here you can get a good look at the street lights,
and of the wooden sidewalks that run throughout the town. 

This building looked empty.
Anyone want to open a unique shop?
Look at all the detail and workmanship.
Love it!

Here's a little covered walking bridge,
right in the middle of town. 


Here we are heading home.
Our first camping trip under our belt,
and planning the next :)

The Winthrop area is beuitful, and the people are friendly.
It has many lakes, rivers and campgrounds.
A great place to plan a vacation. 
We will be back :)


Happy Trails,
Your blogging sister, 
Posted by Picasa

53 comments:

  1. Great pictures from my neck of the woods! You captured the rustic feel of the town nicely. Glad you enjoyed your stay in Winthrop. Hopefully you were able to stay at Silverline Resort although Pine Near RV Park has been purchased and the new owners are making many improvements. It is conveniently located for sure! Come back and see us in the Methow Valley again. Winthrop has a great Christmas at the End of the Road Celebration over Thanksgiving weekend. :-)

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    1. Hi Sally, we loved our stay at Winthrop. We stayed at the Silverline Resort and it was a trip that will hold many lovely memories for us. Your neck of the woods is incredible. I hope that I remember this, because when we visit your area again, I would love to meet for coffee, if it works out :)

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    2. Sounds great! Would love to meet for coffee. ;-)

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  2. What a gorgeous little town - love the log buildings and the old west feel - LOL you know I am from Australia - all your pics are just so unique and fascinating!

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    1. Hi Sharon, that is one thing that I really enjoy about blogging. You get to see photos that you don't see in tourist magazines and books and you get to tag-a-long on the adventures of real people. I get sick of all the "Rich & Famous" homes, vacations etc. I like to see the small towns and the way people really live, people like me, only in different parts of the world. I am so happy to have you visit and to have a chance to know you better.

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  3. Looks like a place I would like to visit. The inside of that store has so many things to look at, goodness. I love to hear the history of towns. Sometimes wishing I could have lived there at that time.

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    1. Hi Louise, it is a beuitful old west town, I hope you get a chance to visit someday. The people in this area are very much into ranching and living off their land. There are still many true cowboys and cowgirls in the west and many live here in the Pacific Northwest :)

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  4. Whenever I am watching pictures from this part of the World, I love all the pumpkin decorations.
    this shop was a perfect place to spend there a lot of time:)

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    1. Hi Ola, this is a lovely place to spend sometime :)

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  5. Oh Connie, You know how I love these small unique towns!! Would I ever LOVE to visit this one! It's perfect to me.....and I love the chain saw art! The cottage I am moving to has a chain saw artist across the street from me (down 2 houses) His work is phenomenal! The one neighbor had a extra large squirrel carved from a downed tree, one other neighbor has a large pineapple, the chain saw artist has the most beautiful eagle! I'm going to get pictures of these....now that I'm thinking about...our little street, which is small and quaint may have something very unique going on!!! We will have a large dead tree in the back yard...mmmmm I may be needing to think of something here?? Anyway, enough about me....your pictures were wonderful! Also, I'm a covered bridge fanatic....I so enjoyed my visit! Blessings~~~Roxie

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    1. Hi Roxie, I do hope that you do a post on your new neighborhood's chain saw art. It is an incredible medium, if I were you and planing on having one done, I would have a hard time deciding what I would want. Something meaningful to you and your husband, maybe a vacation memory. I think it is cool when neighborhoods have a untied theme of some kind.

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  6. That sounds like such a nice trip! Love all the photos you posted, I wish I could see that shop in real life. Thank you for all your sweet comments on my blog Connie. :)

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    1. Hi Anna, I am happy that you enjoyed the tour :) It is a very unique town, set up in the beautiful mountains of northern Washington.

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  7. Such wonderful photographs and a place like no other I have ever seen. Love the inside of the shop and the way you captured its contents.

    Thank you for sharing all the pictures

    Chrissie xx

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    1. Hi Chrissie, I'm glad that I could show you something new. I believe that you would fall in love with the warm of this community and the pride they take in they area.

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  8. Wow, what a wonderful place! Thank you so much for my tour, I loved it. x

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    1. I am delighted to have you tag-a-long . . . it is very pretty here, isn't it :)

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  9. I really enjoyed these pictures Connie. I would like to visit there for real one day : )

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    1. Oh, I hope you get the chance . . . you would enjoy it, I know :)

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  10. Thanks for the wonderful post. I really enjoyed reading about your visit to Winthrop and your pictures are lovely.
    Ali x

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    1. Hi Ali, it is great having you join me in this little tour. Maybe someday you can visit this area and enjoy it in person :)

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  11. Hi Connie,

    You are so right - I would LOVE going through that shop. Well, actually, going to the town would be so fun! I cracked up when you quoted about the saloon being the best run as stated in so many church bulletins! Tee hee. After my post today (thanks for visiting. I'm hoping I don't get furloughed either) I went to town to take some more photos. Then I went by my storage unit and loaded up the car with things to donate and also to bring back home and go through. I can't believe what I've found so far and have barely scratched the surface!!!

    Keep on truckin' (er, I mean campin').

    Hugs,
    Kay

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    1. Hi Kay, I do believe that you would love this town and all the towns surrounding it. It sounds like you have a big job ahead of you, going through your storage unit and all. It's good to let go of things . . . there is a real freeing it in. I am going to have to do that soon, it's just so much work, that I keep putting it off :) Thanks for visiting :)

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  12. what a charming town. I love it and I would love to visit there. That just looks like my kind of place

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  13. That looks like one cool town! I'll have to ask my aunt if she's heard of it - her kids live in Seattle and she travels outside of Seattle too, when she visits.

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    1. Hi Melanie, please direct your Aunt here, to see this town; I am sure she will want to put it on her list of places to visit :)

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  14. Connie,
    The shops in Winthrop are so delightful. The mannequin is a beauty, I really like that. And the ram? on the wall is a sight! What a wonderful place to visit.

    I hope you are enjoying the Autumn days.

    Love,
    ~Sheri

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    1. Good Afternoon Sheri,
      I just came in for a little break from doing yard work. The autumn air is so refreshing and we are enjoying a warm and beautiful day :) I agree that mannequin is a true beauty. This is a great little town.

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  15. Looks like a great little town - I've always wanted to go there! Love that old Farmer's bank building and the shops look wonderful. Thanks for sharing and hope you have a lovely week. The weather is gorgeous this week here, finally. xo

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    1. Hi Karen, I am so happy to hear that you are having nice weather. When we were in Winthrop it was suppose to be the first day of your trip to drive the Cascade Loop. Then we heard mud-slides and lots of rain. It was so beautiful in Winthrop that we didn't want to trade them for rain, mud and traffic. We'll have to do the loop another time. Our state is so magnificent and we are blessed with beauty all around us. Thanks so much for stopping by and I do hope that someday, you'll travel here. I'm sure you would like it :)

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  16. Hi Connie. So nice to meet you and thank you so much for finding me.. grin..
    Your blog looks lovely and I too look forward to getting to know you..
    May God bless you.. xo

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    1. Good evening Faye, this is very exciting, thank you for following me back :)

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  17. What a fun town to spend the day in! Lots of unique and fun shopping and history...Those chandeliers were a steal at $68 It sounds like you have already gotten your moneys worth out of your camper....Looking forward to more adventures

    Carol

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    1. Hi Carol, well it will be a few more trips before we get our moneys worth out of it, but we see many wonderful trips in our future. Gas mileage is not good in these things, but when you subtract what you would spend anyway in your car, plus the campgrounds parking space versus the hotel room, restaurants versus cooking . . . and then the pleasure of sleeping on your own mattress and not living out of a suitcase . . . well, it is a pretty sweet deal. We are also finding that other campers make warm and friendly neighbors. I have always wanted a trailer or something like this, and Steve has always resisted, but he loves it as much as I do :) Thanks for stopping by, I always enjoy your company :)

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  18. Wow! Thank you for sharing these amazing photos! Winthrop looks just like I imagined a gold diggers town to be, only without the antique shops and yoghurt!
    The buildings are so full of character, and the covered sidewalks attractive and practical.
    It sounds like there is always plenty going on here and the Winter Festival sounds great fun!
    Glad you enjoyed your time there, and thank you for sharing it with us!
    Gill xx

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    1. Good Morning Gil, it is a very unique and fun town to visit. We will certainly go back again :)

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  19. What a lovely town - I wish I lived nearby. Love the inside of that shop, with so many beautiful displays and loved the idea of the winter festival. Thanks for sharing Connie. Have a wonderful week.
    Patricia x

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    1. Hi Patricia, I have heard that in the wintertime, the streets are lined with more snowmobiles than cars. They get a lot of snow up there. The residents of Winthrop just about all either have snowmobiles or cross-country skis, or both. I am sure it is a winter wonderland, "Cowboy Style" :)

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  20. That is such a neat town! Too bad it is so far away from me! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Hi Tammy, It is a very neat little town, maybe someday you'll be in our little part of the world :)

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  21. this is such an awesome and interesting little place to visit, connie. so different from my city living, for sure. glad you are having fun with the camper and thank you for sharing your trip:) we went to a covered bridge festival last weekend and got to see several covered bridges--some we walked, others we drove through-fun!

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    1. Hi Lynn, thanks for stopping by. Winthrop is a very neat little western town and if you life the cowboy life, it's a great place to visit. Regarding your comment: I remember there being quite a few covered bridges in Indiana. Oh, I miss my birth state this time of the year. I remember the beautiful autumn colors. We get some of that, but because we live in a desert area the few trees that we have, have been planted and they are treasured. The things that I miss most about Indiana are the lightening bugs, the fall color and the beach along Lake Michigan. I do hope that you had your camera with you last weekend and that we get to see some of those covered bridges :) Keep Smiling, sister :)

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  22. I see you are still on the road. I have shown your post to my husband - he still is not interested in a travel van. Love the photographs. The mix of architecture is very interesting.

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    1. Hi Donna, well you just keep dreaming, and don't give up. He might change his mind someday :)

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  23. Thanks for sharing your adventures! Such fun to read!

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    1. Hi Donna, I'm glad you enjoyed it . . . it was a beauty drive and the area was gorgeous. We had a great time. Thanks so much for stopping by to visit :)

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  24. Thanks so much for sharing Winthrop with us, Connie! We didn't get a chance to visit there when we lived in WA, but I've heard alot about it. Loved that neat shop! Glad you had a fun trip:)

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    1. Good Morning Donna, we found Winthrop to be a wonderful camping area. I have some friends that go up for the music festival each year and they have been begging me to join them. So now that we have the motor-home, I might just pack my guitar and head up there next summer. They say that they have a ball at this event. In the evening there are campfires all over the area, surrounded by musicians and music fills the air :)
      Sounds like heaven :)

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  25. I've been here! ♥

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