Tag Archives: Highway 2

On the Road Home

On Monday June 15th we chose to drive home from Bothell on Highway 2 to Wenatchee then switching to a smaller Highway 28 for the central part of Washington state. This route was more desolate than taking 2. We had more rain driving home but not a driving rain so that was nice. Going over Steven’s Pass we enjoyed views of the Wenatchee River. We left our kids’ home early, just after six a.m.

Such power in that water.

We stopped in Leavenworth at the Starbucks to get a cup of coffee and because of COVID-19 their bathrooms were closed. We got our snack and a cup of coffee and continued on to the little town of Cashmere (home of Aplets and Cotlets Liberty Orchards). We stopped at the city’s 9-11 Memorial and I’ll share those photos come September.

One more post will be coming full of photos of time on Highway 28 before we reconnected to highway 2 in Davenport, Washington.

The state of Washington as of today (Friday June 26th) is imposing mandatory face mask wearing in public spaces for the whole state. Sigh…

But…be encouraged!

Remain Unshaken

. . . In order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.

Hebrews 12:27

We have many things in our possession at the present moment that can be shaken, and it is not good for a Christian to rely upon them, for there is nothing stable beneath these rolling skies; change is written upon all things. Yet we have certain “things that cannot be shaken,” and I invite you this evening to think of them—that if the things that can be shaken should all be taken away, you may derive real comfort from the things that cannot be shaken and that will remain. Whatever your losses have been, or may be, you enjoy present salvation.

You are standing at the foot of Christ’s cross, trusting alone in the merit of His precious blood, and no rise or fall of the markets can interfere with your salvation in Him; no breaking of banks, no failures and bankruptcies can touch that. Then you are a child of God this evening. God is your Father. No change of circumstances can ever rob you of that. Even if by loss you are brought to poverty and stripped bare, you can still say, “He is still my Father. In my Father’s house are many rooms; therefore I will not be troubled.” You have another permanent blessing, namely, the love of Jesus Christ. He who is God and man loves you with all the strength of His affectionate nature—nothing can affect that. The fig tree may not blossom, and the flocks may dwindle and wander from the field, but it does not matter to the man who can sing, “My Beloved is mine, and I am His.” Our best portion and richest heritage we cannot lose.

Whatever troubles come, let us play the man; let us show that we are not like little children cast down by what happens to us in this poor fleeting state of time. Our country is Immanuel’s land, our hope is fixed in heaven, and therefore, calm as the summer’s ocean, we will see the wreck of everything earthborn and yet rejoice in the God of our salvation.

C.H. Spurgeon

Highway 2 ~ Grant and Douglas County

On our road trip to the Coast on June 12th from Lincoln County we moved into Grant for a few miles before heading into Douglas County.

I think this is Banks Lake.

Douglas General Store

Historic Douglas Church is getting a new front porch.

Douglas

Douglas is one of the oldest towns in the county. The town was platted in 1886 and entered the race for the county seat. In 1891 the general store burned down and it was by luck the fire didn’t destroy the whole town. 

The Great Northern Railway laid track across southern Douglas County in 1893. The line went through Douglas rather than Waterville, spurring growth in Douglas and prompting Waterville residents to build a five-mile branch line to connect with the Great Northern at Douglas.

Today Douglas is a small community on Highway 2.

Historic Douglas Church

The Douglas Church was dedicated in 1915 as St. Paul’s Lutheran Church and served the Douglas Community for some 53 years. It was closed in 1968 when the Waterville and Douglas Lutheran Congregations united in a newly built church in Waterville. 

The Douglas Church building remained unused and neglected until it was purchased by the Douglas Community Historical Association, in 2006. The non-profit initiated a complete restoration of the church building and it is currently used for weddings, family reunions and community events.

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Waterville

After Waterville we are heading downhill toward the Columbia River.

When we cross the Columbia River we enter into Chelan County and start our climb over the Cascade Mountain Range through Stevens Pass. I’ll share our views on our return trip from Chelan County, Douglas and Grant counties.

I came across this quote by Samuel Davies, 1755, from Grace Gems on The Justice of God and the Sins of our country. The language is 1755 but the conditions seem to be 2020.

“O my country, is not your wickedness great and your iniquities infinite? Where is there a more sinful spot to be found upon our guilty globe? Pass over the land , take a survey of the inhabitants, inspect into their conduct–And what do you see? What do you hear?

You see the gigantic forms of vice bedding defiance to the God of heaven- while true religion and virtue are forced to retire to avoid public contempt and insult.”

We had an amazing summer storm pass over our property yesterday afternoon. We were able to determine all the low spots on your property with mini rivers springing up. The rain came down so heavy for a period that our gutters just overflowed instead of directing the water to the downspouts. I won’t have to water for a few days…maybe even a week since we have more rain in the forecast for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday!

How’s the beginning of summer in your neck of the woods? We are experiencing some internet difficulty this morning. Google and Gmail are not loading or sending so I won’t be able to visit anyone till things get corrected.

Spring Views on Highway 2

All of these scenes from the road were in Lincoln County. Right after the little town of Almira we moved into Grant County for a few miles.

Any Father’s Day weekend plans? We still haven’t nailed it down here. We are having some warm weather with humidity, just in time for the official start of summer. Still thankful for our air conditioning. Summer Solstice is at 5:44 PM EDT.

On the Road ~ Lincoln County

On our drive to the Coast last Friday our first stop along the road was in the town of Creston which is in Lincoln County. We started in Stevens County crossing south into Spokane County and then headed east through Lincoln, Douglas, Chelan ending up in Snohomish County. We were happy to avoid King County. On our way home we altered our route starting in Snohomish county to Chelan the southern tip of Douglas, then through Grant, Lincoln, Spokane and Stevens County.

Along highway 2 in Creston we stopped at the Roadside Prayer Chapel.

I signed the visitor book.

Right next door to the chapel we saw buffalo grazing.

Here’s an article I found written about the chapel in the Spokesman Review from Spokane, Washington in 2008.

Deb Copenhaver is a legendary rodeo rider. Born and raised in Wilbur, Wash., his riding career took him to famous rodeos in Cheyenne, Calgary, Fort Worth and many other places during rodeo’s golden age of the 1950s.

In 1999, his lifelong achievement won him a spot in the Ellensburg Rodeo Hall of Fame.

But Copenhaver’s faith is as important to him as his rodeo accolades, and it was to celebrate the former that he built a tiny roadside chapel on his ranch property just off U.S. Route 2 Highway 2 near Creston, Wash.

“God gave me a vision, gee, it’s been 10 years ago,” said Copenhaver, 83. “I always had that in the back of my mind. Then piece by piece God started putting it together.”

Copenhaver used cedar poles from a Bonneville Power Administration transmission line, obtained when BPA replaced them with steel towers.

The small log structure is reminiscent of a one-room schoolhouse, with its plank floors and rows of handmade benches – look carefully and you can still find a little sawdust in the corners.

A beautiful mosaic captures the light in a tall window over the rustic wooden cross on the back wall.

Where the altar would be sits a bookstand with a guestbook. Travelers from as far away as Whitefish, Mont., have signed their names.

He dedicated it in September during an annual Christian cowboy camp at his place.

“It’s just there for people to stop by,” Copenhaver said. “Everyone is welcome to come and lay your burdens at the altar and be refreshed.”

Hope you all have a great last full day of Spring and that you can lay your burdens down and be refreshed!

Road Tripping

Be back soon to visiting your blogs. Enjoying quality time with our family on the west side of the Cascade Mountain Range. This side of the mountains is still in Stage Two of the COVID-19 re-entry guidelines. Our town in the northeastern corner of Washington State is in Stage 3. Uploading photos has been so wonderful here in broadband dream land. See you soon!

Photo taken somewhere along highway two in Central Washington heading east towards the Cascade Mountain Range.

Signs on Highway 2

A day late and a dollar short, as the saying goes. These were some signs that stood out to me while zipping along on Highway 2 in Washington State from Eastern Washington to Western Washington on December 6th, 2019. These collages will give me an idea of where along Highway 2 the Dr. Pierce barns were. Billy Burgers was in Wilbur.

We drove through several little towns like Wilbur that were established in the late 1800’s.

Between the little towns the landscape was for the most part pretty desolate.

It was just outside of Waterville going west that we saw the Dr. Pierce Barns.

Bottom right photo is between Orondo and Sunnyslope. We are on the east side of the Columbia river here. This area along Highway 2 is filled with apple and other orchards. We cross the Columbia river at Sunnyslope and start our ascent up and over the Cascade Mountain range through the Bavarian Village of Leavenworth and on into Western Washington.

I’m linking up to Sign2 with Tom The Backroads Traveller. Oops I couldn’t link up successfully.

Speaking of a day late and dollar short I’m way behind in visiting blogs. But I’ll remedy that soon!

Dr. Pierce Barn

Thinking of Tom The Backroads Traveller in posting these barn advertisements.

Sallie at A Full Time Life also has posted one of the Dr. Pierce Barns in Oregon. There is another interesting post about Dr. Pierce on Peachridge Glass.

When I took these photos on December 6th of 2019 traveling to the Seattle area from Colville along Highway 2, I wasn’t familiar with the history of Dr. Pierce Advertisements on barns. You can google Dr. Pierce or click on the Peachridge Glass post to get lots of good information.

I’ll be adding this post to Tom’s Barn link party this coming Saturday. Thanks for your comment, Tom. It made me do a search about Dr. Pierce.

This is another part of road tripping that is so much fun to experience. History along the back roads…