Have you heard...
...the golden leaves falling
...the river lying still
...the whispering clouds
...the swamp rustling
...the robin singing
...birds fluttering in the dry foliage
Saying sweet something to each other
...the sound of your feet on the tar
...squirrels running around dried oak leaves
...the soft setting sun saying goodbye?
A
good thing about living in big cities is the fact that there are so many
incredible places, usually hidden away from tourists, that you can explore. Seattle
is beautiful. Ensconced as it is between the great Cascade and Olympic
mountains and the Puget Sound. It is a must visit city for every nature lover –
the Pacific Northwest offers a sort of variety that is indeed a rarity.
A couple of months back, early April to be precise, we decided to head to Lake
Chelan for a team offsite since one of our colleagues lives there and we’d all
heard so much about the place. The idea was to get away for a couple of days and
bond as a team outside of the usual office setting. A great idea, I must say!
Six of us (literally) jumped into a large SUV at eight in the morning (with two
folks scheduled to join us directly at Chelan) and we commenced our three-and-a-half-hour
relaxed drive from Redmond to the sleepy Chelan county.
The drive was beautiful. Part of which I have been on a couple of times when I visited
Leavenworth last year (we’ll save that for another post). We drove through views
of the towering Cascades, intense greenery, vistas of cherry, apple and peach
orchards to vast rocky stretches with little or no habitation. We reached
Chelan at around noon and met the rest of the team for a (huge) lunch at
Campbell’s.
Lake Chelan, meaning ‘Deep Water’, is a 55-mile long, isolated, glacially fed,
clear natural marvel surrounded by sparsely populated towns. We walked around
the trail/ loop around Chelan’s downtown waterfront marveling at the sight of
the beautiful lake and the verdant valley, in an attempt to (unsuccessfully) work
off the meat and potatoes.
Next stop was Manson. A small town with a few thousand inhabitants, charming
town homes with uninterrupted views of the lake and apple orchards where we rented
a house for a couple of nights.
Team meetings can be intense work, but the vibe of this place made it more relaxed.
The mornings would be about waking up to birds chirping, taking languorous walks
by the lake. After the day’s work, we would end up chattering on the balcony
and grilling for dinner. We spent one evening driving around the town on our
own little wine tasting tour of local wineries and a cidery tour (a definite
change of pace and a unique one at that) which included visiting an apple orchard,
learning about local apple farming and cider making from the gracious hosts at
Rootwood Cider.
Must Visit:
Campbell’s Resort, Chelan
Alta Cellars Winery, Manson
Cairdeas Winery, Chelan Rootwood Cider Taproom, Manson
Best Time to visit:
Summer is great, so is fall, specially around the apple picking time.
Top Tip: Rent a quiet place, stay there for a couple of nights to soak in the rustic charm. Walk around and make friends with the amazing locals who know how to live the good life.
