Beyond the Borders of Switzerland: Visit to Washington State, USA during COVID 2022

January-February 2022 -- My son has been living in Washington State since over 10 years now, and has purchased a house in the small community of Entiat on the Columbia River, some 250 km inland from Seattle on the West Coast. (The Entiat Valley was first settled by the Columbia River Chinook Indian Tribe in the 1800's. Entiat was originally named by the tribe as "Enteatqua", which means "Rapid Water".)

We were planning to visit him in 2020, but then the pandemic hit, and travel was all "up in the air", so we put that trip on hold. Now, in early 2022, Joel asked me to come keep him company for as long as I was able (which turns out to be four weeks) during this cold winter. It was a good time of year to travel here, but there isn't all that much to sightsee, so it is simply a relaxing time of being together.

There were a few nice sunny days although cold and with icy winds, but I did manage a few walks. Most notably, I did a 6.5-kilometer hike into the hills behind his house, for a stunning view over Entiat Lake (part of the Columbia River) and the fabulous snow-covered Cascade Mountains all around. I was surprised at how many deer I encountered (they are Mule Deer, because of their long ears). Although not as surprising as the deer which are always walking through the neighbourhood here. Generally, you could say the region is inhabited by lots of deer! And wild turkeys, and lots of eagles, which I have not been able to photograph....

NOTE: The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest Region of North America, and has its source in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia. The water travels 2000 km before emptying into the Pacific Ocean in Oregon near Portland. The river is USA's fourth largest river by volume.... More interesting information HERE

PART I: Flight to Seattle and Wenatchee:

Leaving Switzerland on January 26, with a view of the Alpine Range above the fog

Approaching Seattle on the Frankfurt-Seattle stretch. This fabulous mountain (a stratovolcano) is Glacier Peak, one of five volcanoes in the volcanic arch in the state of Washington

From Seattle to Wenatchee, it was a 30-minute flight over the beautiful Cascade Mountains.

The small airplane circled three times over these mountains, so I got a long fantastic show!

VIDEO:

Over the Cascade Mountains

Now approaching the Wenatchee airport, which is down below in the fog.

This is the twin-prop airplane which flies the Seattle-Wenatchee stretch. (The airport in Wenatchee is TINY).

Wenatchee is pretty well in the geographical center of Washington State. Apparently, the Columbia River basin is the size of France.

PART II: Joel's House in Entiat

Joel lives on a cul-de-sac on an elevated plateau above the Columbia River. It is a beautiful location, a very quiet and newer neighbourhood, with a partial view of the Columbia River. The property backs onto a fruit orchard and the bare hills beyond. Currently, there are three empty lots on the cul-de-sac (one is his) and so there are not a lot of neighbours at the moment!

Joel's house with the hills beyond, and an empty lot on the South side

Joel's house. I sit a lot on the front entrance as it is very warm there and protected from the wind. It's like being on vacation!

The only other house at the end of the cul-de-sac, to the South

Crossing to the other side of the cul-de-sac, this is the view down onto the Columbia River and part of the long-stretched-out village of Entiat.

Sometimes the deer walk by right behind the house!

VIDEO:

The deer sometimes walk past right behind the house!

On one of the early sunny days, Joel took out his motorized unicycle, to show me how it works

Joel riding his unicycle around the cul-de-sac

VIDEO:

Joel riding his motorized unicycle

Joel's two lovely and well-behaved cats, who keep him good company

By mid-February, the snow is almost gone. This is the view from the back of Joel's second lot which he purchased together with the house. (House on left).

And the view from the second lot. This would be a great place to build a house, no one would block this view!

PART III: Deer in the neighbourhood

On my second day of my visit with Joel, I had just gone out to bring in the garbage cans (Friday is garbage collection day) and all of a sudden a small herd of deer came up from the valley to the South, nonchalantly wandering around the cul-de-sac to nibble on the bushes in the neighbour's yard!

VIDEO:

A small herd of deer walking past the house to nibble on the neighbour's bushes. They saw me with the camera, but it didn't seem to bother them.

(Video is mine, but uploaded to YouTube)

PART IV: A Hike into the Hills West of Entiat

On the first sunny day we had since I came to Entiat (January 31, 2022), I walked up into the hills West of the village and right behind Joel's house. After a paved section, the road becomes a forestry road, which was still covered in flattened snow. I walked about 3 km along this road (and 3 km back), and got a fabulous view over the Columbia River and all the surrounding hills, and was surrounded by dozens of deer, only a few meters off the road I was walking on! Altogether only about 250m ascent, but a good walk with a great view!

Heading up the hill above the orchards

A look down at Joel's neighbourhood

A large section of the forestry service road is still covered in snow

A look down at the Columbia River Valley and the location of Joel's house.

One of many groups of deer I saw on the way up the hill

VIDEO:

First of two videos of deer I saw on my hike

(Can be watched in the blog or on YouTube)

More deer on the snow-covered slopes

Beautiful hills to the South

VIDEO:

Second of two videos of deer I saw on my hike

(Can be watched in the blog or on YouTube)

Another look down at the Columbia River

Following the forestry service road

More deer watching me carefully!

Lovely afternoon sunshine on the snow-covered hills

A look at the river on the North side of Entiat

Heading back down as the sun is getting ready to set.

The 3-km walk into the hills above Entiat (and 3 km back)

PART V: A Walk along the Entiat City Park Riverside Promenade

February 7th was another beautiful day, although very cold with an icy wind blowing. This time I decided to walk down to where the Entiat River enters the Columbia River from the Entiat Valley (Entiat means "Rapid Water"), and walk along the river through the Entiat City Park (a campground in summer). The whole loop and back to the house was just over 6 km.

I hadn't taken Joel's camera along, thinking there wouldn't be much to photograph, and then I saw four eagles flying quite low.. I was so disappointed not to have a better camera than my phone camera with me!

This is the Entiat Valley which runs perpendicular to the Columbia River. This is the Entiat River (looking westward), which joins the Columbia here at this point.

The highway and railway bridges where they cross the Entiat River as it joins the Columbia River.

Heading North along the Columbia River. This path obviously does not get cleaned in winter (they also usually don't have this much snow).

Looking South down the Columbia River

I headed out on this very unsteady quay for a better look down the river

VIDEO:

Panorama looking South down the Columbia River

(standing on the quay, which was tossing quite a bit!)

This monument is a dedication to Chief Chilcosahaskt of the Entiat Tribe (1788-1904) and the sculpture is called "Greeting the Morning Sun".

The Columbia River Valley is actually a depression here. At the top of those hills on the East side of the lake is a huge level plateau with lots of farmland, not another valley.

Another look South from the Entiat City Park

Entiat even has a Museum (!!!) and loads of Canada Geese who leave their disgusting droppings everywhere (covered the entire walking path!)

Crossing the railway tracks and highway to return up the hill to Joel's place.

The 6-km round tour walk along the Columbia River

PART VI: A Drive down the Entiat Valley

On Thursday February 10th, I took a drive about 17 km up the Entiat Valley to the West, which wasn't quite as stunning as I had thought it would be. There are few farms and houses scattered in the valley, and most of them are still caught in the winter shadow of the mountains to the South. I am not so fond of the landscape when the snow is melting and the hills are very brown. I tried a few side roads in the hope of doing a walk along a forestry service road, but any trail worth walking on is still covered in snow (soft and too deep). But I did see more deer, and wild turkeys, and a bald eagle. The best part was when I got home and the local deer walked past the houses again!

Heading west along the Entiat River Road. The community of "Road's End" sounded fascinating, but I only made it to Ardenvoir, one quarter of the way!!!

In the ten miles I covered, the valley was dotted with a smattering of homes and farms, many of them still in the shadow of the mountains.

I tried a side road which soon became a muddy forestry road, so I turned back. I did see some more deer though!

Just before the small community of Ardenvoir is their local store and post office!

On the way back I caught sight of wild turkeys along the road. Joel had told me about these. I also spotted a bald eagle, but have not been able to photograph any yet.

10 miles or 17 km. into the Entiat Valley, and I'd already had enough of driving! There really wasn't much to see!

After getting back home, I was still able to sit in the sunshine for a while. And all of a sudden, the deer walked by, yet again! They observed me for a while, and then they disappeared over the rise. I followed them to see what they were doing. Even though they knew I was there, they did not run away!

Here in front of the house is a wind-protected spot where I can enjoy the sunshine for most of the day! Sometimes it gets almost too hot here! And what a view!

A quick look down at the Columbia River again, with some of the snow melting (this is the rise which the deer later descended).

Most of the snow is gone from the hills behind the house now where I had walked up to at the end of January

From my spot in front of Joel's house, I watch as the deer saunter past

As the deer disappeared over the rise, I followed them to see what they were doing. Well, they checked me out as well! (Below on the left is where the Entiat River enters the Columbia River)

How cute is this!

And these two don't seem to be bothered by me at all....

VIDEO:

Is this a mama grooming a baby?

PART VII: Just in the Neighbourhood in other Subdivisions.

Saturday February 12th turned out to be another beautiful day, so I did a short walk to the newer subdivision hidden behind the orchard. Really, what I wanted to do was find out where the deer were coming from, who always walk through our cul-de-sac! So I literally walked the deer trail (which was covered in about 2 cm of deer raisins!). I ran into many deer who walk the perimeter of the orchard, which is totally fenced off. They are so at home among the civilization here.

I would have liked to hike up one of the other hills, but even though the hills are bare, they are basically private property, and many signs warn you not to trespass. This is so different from all the farms we are allowed to walk through in Switzerland!

The deer are often seen to be walking here next to the orchard fence before they cross the cul-de-sac. I wanted to see where they were coming from, so I followed that trail.

The small "hike" I did around the orchard behind Joel's house and into a newer subdivision was only about 2 kilometers. But is it obvious that the deer come down from the hills in the hopes of some juicy leaves to nibble!

Following the deer track; you can barely see it in the grass

The deer trail leads around the orchard, which is actually set on a higher plateau

I wish there were more trails like this to follow! Especially with the deer on them!

Rounding the corner into a newer subdivision, I spotted the next hill which I would have liked to climb. I did try it later, but the access was either marked by "No trespassing signs", or the snow was still too deep to walk on.

I'm still following the deer along the orchard perimeter. Soon they bounded down the hill to get out of my way!

The deer don't seem to mind being right in the midst of the residential areas!

I found a spot with a view of the Columbia River, but could not go higher, as the road here was marked "Private Property"

This is so unlike what I am used to in Switzerland. Here, even barren lands are privately owned. In Switzerland, many of the private properties have easements which provide access for hikers (the owners get compensation from the Government for this).

PART VIII: Another walk to the River and a Train!

Tuesday February 15th I decided to walk down to the river again and through the Entiat City Park in the hopes of seeing those eagles again. No luck on the eagles, but just as I got to the railway crossing, a cargo train passed by! This one was short as cargo trains go here in North America, but the locomotives are totally different than ours.

Also, the weather was much warmer than last time. No icy wind, and almost too hot for the uphill section back to Joel's house...

Good old US MAIL mailboxes

Heading down to the river

Patriotic USA

Interesting artwork

Crossing the railway tracks into the Entiat City Park

Walking along the riverside

A look South down the Columbia River

Of course, another photo of a deer

As I approached the second railway crossing, a cargo train was just heading North

Cargo Trail heading North out of Entiat toward Chelan

VIDEO:

Cargo Train passing through Entiat

(My Video, uploaded to YouTube)

VIDEO:

This was on February 16th, as the deer walked behind the house. They do that a lot, they keep close to the fence which protects the orchard from them!

PART VIII: Loop Hike up the Mountain above Entiat

Wednesday February 23, 2022 -- A cold front moved in and temperatures dropped to about -8⁰ Celsius overnight, and it was icy cold as I started out on my planned 3-hour hike at 10 a.m. in the morning. This was to be the last outing I did before I headed back home at the end of the week, and I was lucky with pure sunshine and no snow (it snowed that same night, all the way down to the house!). This time I tried a loop tour up the hill behind Joel's house, uphill on the Northside and returning by the forestry road on the North, the one I had walked up on my first hike here when there was still a lot of snow and it was frozen and easy enough to walk on. Uphill wasn't too bad, I managed the 450m altitude gain in less than 90 minutes, but it was on the way back down that the icy wind and cold made me want to get back into the warm house as soon as possible.

I saw the now-common herds of deer spread out on the mountain, and this time I also saw three coyotes chasing some of the deer. I was pretty sure I had heard those coyotes howling several times during the nights....

I started at the orchard behind Joel's house and walked up the hill (450m altitude gain) on the South side of the ravine, and returned by the forestry road on the North side. I ran into a bit of trouble at the highest point where a short piece of the road went through private property. This was an 8-km loop.

Early in the morning before starting on my hike. A view of Joel's house with the hill behind it where I did the loop.

A look down at the orchard and the location of Joel's house on the left, and the Columbia River below.

I followed dirt paths like this one all the way up to the tree on the left, and eventually to the road one can see at the right on the other side of the ravine.

There were more deer hiding in the brush here

Another look down at Joel's neighbourhood.

Another look down at Joel's neighbourhood and the newer subdivision below.

The highest point of the loop, looking down at the Columbia River.

I thought this might have been an eagle, but it turned out just to be a falcon or large buzzard maybe.

It sure looked like an eagle!

This is the first difficulty I came to. The road continued behind this "gate"!!! It was only a short piece of road which I needed to cross, so I walked it quickly as the land is barren far and wide and there was no one else to see anywhere.

Here I stand at the "No trespassing" sign, wondering how to get to the gate below. I had seen the trail on the map (the one leading to it), but did not know it would be private property. Since there was no one far and wide, I just went for it.

Up ahead is the road I need to get to, and this short piece, over to the next gate, was on private property

A look back at the other gate. It seems the public road ends here, and all the road on the other side of the gate, the ones you can see when you look at an aerial map, seem to be on private property! There were many signs notifying you of this.

Now I am at the top of the gully (ravine) and am heading back down the hills on the left side. On the right side is the ridge I ascended.

Heading down along the forestry road which I had walked on about three weeks earlier, when it was all covered in snow.

Down below me is a coyote chasing a couple of deer over the hill

The road heading back down to the orchard behind Joel's house

A look down at the Entiat City Park with the riverside walk, where I had walked twice

Back at Joel's house at 1 p.m.after finishing the loop. It took three hours to walk the 8-km loop, including a few photo stops.

PART XI: Return to Europe

Thursday February 24: My flight was on February 25th, and I decided to spend the night in a hotel in Seattle near the airport, so I took the Wenatchee shuttle bus on Thursday at 2 p.m. for the 3-1/2 ride to the airport. It wasn't at all as bad as expected, as all 10 people or so in the van had a window seat. The day was beautiful, and the mountains over the Snoqualmie Pass quite nice with their snow cover, although I wasn't able to take good photos.

From the airport it was about a 15-minute walk to the hotel (easy to do with my small suitcase). The hotel was cheap and was fine for one night, even though the room was "underground" (and relatively cold). I did have to change rooms as the heater wasn't working, and a dog was barking in a neighbouring room but then it was a an OK night.

Orchard country east of the Cascades, just like in the Okanagan, only more wide open

The churches are different than back home in Europe!

The mountains at the Snoqualmie Pass

My hotel room for the night. Below ground, and slightly cold (I had to run the heater quite a bit) and view from below on the parking lot, but OK for one night.

Friday February 25: Lunch at the airport (and the food was relatively expensive!) and a wonderful clear day so I really enjoyed the magnificent view of the Cascades and the Rocky Mountains as our path took us directly over Kelowna (my old home) and Banff. The plane wasn't half full, so most people had three or four seats to themselves except for in front of me were two people. So they both reclined, the first time this happened to me, and it is definitely annoying, especially when you have to tell them to put their seat up for the meals! So I tried to sleep mostly...

It was only about 10 minutes to walk to the airport from the hotel, although inside the compound you still have to walk quite a bit to check-in!

I was shocked at the price of the sandwiches at the airport: $12!!! That's equivalent to 11 CHF, and I thought our 7 CHF sandwiches at the convenience stores here were expensive...

VIDEO:

Taking off from Seatac Airport approximately 2:45 p.m.

Fabulous Mt. Rainier to the south!

Flying northeast past the Puget Sound. The mountains in the back are probably on Vancouver Island

Flying over the Cascade Mountains again. I'm not sure, but maybe that's Mt.Baker?

In just 30 minutes, we were already flying over Okanagan Lake in British Columbia, just north of the border. That is the city of Kelowna below.

VIDEO:

Flying over Okanagan Lake, with the city of Kelowna below, and the Okanagan Lake Bridge.

And now, flying over the Arrow Lakes near Revelstoke

According to my GPS, that lake below on the left is called Trout Lake

There is nothing more spectacular than the Rocky Mountains in winter...

VIDEO:

The Columbia River Basin near Radium Hotsprings (the northern part of the same river that runs through Wenatchee)

Columbia River Basin

That mountain below is called Castle Mountain. This is near Banff

VIDEO:

Flying over Banff National Park

On the very east side of the Rockies now, it suddenly becomes very flat.

Somewhere over the flat prairie land at 3:45 p.m., just an hour after leaving Seattle. From here on in, it's time to try to sleep!

Sunday February 26: The 3-1/2 hour transfer time in Frankfurt was a bit tough. Tired after the long flight, it was hot in the airport, and we had to wear our masks. Then the connecting flight was delayed by an hour because the clean-up crew didn't show up. We had to wait at least 30 minutes in the hot bus on the tarmac before being allowed to board. In Zurich there were issues with transferring of luggage, and I was one of the last to get mine, about an hour's wait! But at this point during COVID, delays are expected. I was glad to get home and into bed!