A Winter Adventure: Mission Ridge Ski Area and Wenatchee, Washington (travel/photo essay, with two book reviews, gluten-free eating adventures, and a little humor thrown in)

We took a trip to Mission Ridge Ski and Snowboard Resort near Wenatchee, Washington in January of 2008. I started this article a year ago and then lost the pictures when Gather upgraded. I found them again and decided to finish the article and submit it to Kimberly Ripley's Gather Essentials for Thursday, as the theme is "travel."

We got away in early January! We chose to go skiing at Mission Ridge, near Wenatchee, Washington. The plan was to go somewhere we hadn't been before, that was further away than the ski areas the guys usually frequent, but within reasonable driving distance. I was able to find a hotel, The Cedars Inn, that had the amenities we wanted at a decent price: pool, hot tub, hot breakfast (as three of us are celiacs and can't eat the usual wheat-filled continental breakfasts), small fridges and microwaves in the rooms, discount ski tickets, and not overly far from the ski hill.

It was our first vacation all together in some time. I bailed out on a family reunion last year to stay with my Mom, when Dad went into the nursing home. I don't ski anymore, our oldest son lives about 3 hours away from us, and let's face it, it's expensive to travel and stay in hotels. Especially when you rent two rooms and eat at restaurants. We've "been there, done that" with cramming all five of us, parents and three sons, into one room. They are TEENAGERS and an almost-21-year-old now. We deserve a little peace, don't we? ;-))

DAY ONE, NEW YEAR'S DAY, 2008

Our Club Wagon is a big gas hog that is now only occasionally put to use for hauling sound equipment or my husband's work stuff, and so we had to bolt in the second bench seat and D. took the van to Les Schwab to get the traction tires put on. Fortunately we can cram a lot of gear into the van, snowboards and skis, parkas and duffles, pillows, blankets, and large male people, too. With a $100 gas-up it was bon voyage, Olympic Peninsula, hello Eastern Washington and the Cascades.

Looking south to Mt. Rainier and Seattle from the ferry (check out the tall buildings in the distance!)...T-Dawg's photo

Here is Dad-Dawg on the ferry, courtesy of T-Dawg...

We made it onto the Kingston-Edmonds Ferry and across Puget Sound without mishap, and stopped for breakfast at a Shari's Restaurant in Lynnwood. This was to bad effect, we soon discovered, as both boys got terrible gas from their rich breakfasts. It should suffice to say that they vowed never to eat at a Shari's again. And I am wondering why the scientific geniuses haven't figured out a way to power vehicles with all that methane going to waste and poisoning the atmosphere. Also, everyone but me (heh heh) drank too much coffee or apple juice. This is not a good idea when traveling, as you might imagine.

We then headed east in order to meet up with our eldest son in Monroe, where he was to have parked his car at the park-n-ride at the Fairgrounds. We drove all around looking for the park-n-ride. Though we had cell phones to communicate with, we drove into two Fairgrounds entrances and across the highway and train tracks before figuring out he was near the third entrance. "I can see you from here!" scolded C-Dawg. "He always gives terrible directions," chortled our younger sons. We noticed there was a lot of broken glass in the park-n-ride, but as C-Dawg drives our old station wagon, we weren't too concerned about the car getting stolen; thieves would actually be doing us a favor. After loading C-Dawg's stuff into the van, we were on our way east on Route 2. This would take us through the Cascade Mtns. by way of Stevens' Pass (here is a thumbnail of the ski area there).

The weather was cold and cloudy ,so we didn't have to endure snow glare as the road climbed into the Cascades toward Stevens' Pass, passing through the towns of Sultan, Goldbar, Index, Baring and Skykomish, and roughly following the Skykomish River. The landscape took on that magical fairyland appearance with the snow-laden trees nestled in the shoulders of the hills and mountains. The traction tires worked well on the snow-covered roads. The main hardships were the men's weak bladders and T-Dawg's bathroom humor. Even at the advanced age of 15, he has not yet emerged from this trying stage. To go along with this negative attribute, he still enjoys teasing his older brothers from the rear seat. Do you know the game of mosquito? Tickling and hugging can also be satisfying tortures to inflict on one's elder brothers. An emergency pee-stop was made at the Stevens' Pass Nordic Center (a few miles past the summit and the Stevens Pass Ski Area). It's a little nerve-wracking to slow down in enough time to make a turn, off a snow-covered road. We missed a few possibilities, to the despair of the boys.

The Bavarian-style town of Leavenworth lies on the Eastern side of the Cascades. We took a short detour to drive through the business area. If you enjoy things German, you will like Leavenworth. It's a popular tourist destination with all the boutiques, gift shops, cafes and restaurants you could want, with buildings all conforming to an Alpen style of architecture. Even the Safeway and gas stations are painted with Bavarian-style florals. The boys got very tweaked as their dad drove slowly through town, turning his head this way and that to check things out. Oh, the shame, with teenage girls parading nonchalantly about the bustling town!

Beyond Leavenworth, and past the next towns of Peshastin, Dryden, and Cashmere (the latter named after the dramatic landscape of Kashmir) and following the Wenatchee River, you see the mountains level out into a less jagged and definitely drier landscape, though there are still plenty of hills. The trees become sparse and the hills would be brown and barren if it weren't for the lovely snowcover. I had never before seen this landscape covered with snow. The glory of green hills in springtime must also be something special.

All in all our trip took us about seven hours, including stops. It was getting dark as we arrived at our hotel around 4:30 p.m., the Cedars Inn in East Wenatchee. The lobby was quite festive with a Christmas tree to the left of the desk and a Christmas village display lit up on a table opposite the door. My spirits perked up. This was a large, light and open lobby and it was apparent that our breakfast would be served here, as there were counters with drink dispensers and food containers, tables and chairs and other attributes of a dining room. There was also an additional dining room off the lobby. To the far right and through some doors was the triangular pool. A bit small, but workable. Through another door off the pool area, you could see a hot tub in a small courtyard.

We checked into our rooms and grabbed some coffee in order to relax for a little while. We all needed some exercise. Too bad the boys forgot their swimsuits, despite reminders! Since they had gift cards and cash burning holes in their pockets, we decided to go and walk around the Wenatchee Valley Mall, which was only a short drive away; maybe we could find swimsuits there. Before leaving, we asked the front desk staff where we could go for the best Mexican food. They said they never ate anywhere but at Casa Tapatia, so that was our dinner destination. Everyone got something at the Mall except Dad, but no swimsuits were found. I've been looking for a new pair of athletic shoes, and found a wonderful pair of brown and tan ones with neon pink and blue accents at Macy's for less than half price. If they glow in the dark, so much the better! We then got back onto the mall drive and headed over to and east on Grant Road to our dinner destination.

Casa Tapatia lived up to our expectations. Of course they took one look at our gangly gang and planted us in the back of the restaurant, but we're used to that. Burritos, enchiladas, camarones al mojo de ajo, all were delicious and generously-portioned, with plenty of beans, rice and tortillas, and most plates having a bit of salad on the side. Gluten-free people can almost always find something to eat at a Mexican restaurant, and this one was no exception. One must ask questions about the various sauces, and make sure to get corn tortillas instead of flour ones. Despite their big appetites, the boys all had extra food to box up for a snack. The staff was very friendly and attentive.

As we drove back to our hotel, we checked out the movies at the Columbia Cinema Theater for possible viewing the next night. Columbia Cinema Theater is also located on Grant Road and shows five different movies every day. Four of these had show times close together, so if we couldn't all agree on one movie, we could split up into two groups.

After our big travel day, we were ready for the news and bedtime. My husband and I had the room with the king bed, which also included a seating area with sofa and coffee table and color TV. The boys had laughed at me when I had called the hotel to check that they had TV's, since they weren't on the list of amenities that I had printed out along with directions to the hotel. "Come on, Mom," they said, if they have to put COLOR TV on their sign or website, it can't be a good hotel!" Apparently they are more experienced than I at these niceties. Our king bed was new and was very comfortable with its pillow top. The boys seemed to have more difficulties with their older beds and lumpy pillows and didn't sleep as well.

DAY TWO

We arose early the next morning to get some hot breakfast, but the chafing dishes were empty. Our expectations of a hot breakfast were merely a fantasy. We were disappointed, as we were looking forward to stoking up for our big day of skiing. If we ate breakfast out, it would mean another $40, and we were trying to economize. The boys made do with their dinner leftovers and I ate some trail mix. Hubby is able to eat wheat so he had some cereal. We then climbed into our van and headed west and south to get to Mission Ridge Ski Resort.

It took us a bit over a half hour to get to Mission Ridge. What a beautiful drive it is. As we climbed the pass, we got glimpses of the Wenatchee Valley around and below us. It appears like a big bowl around Wenatchee, though it also extends north and south. You are right on the boundary between mountains, foothills and plains here. Orchards cover every available flat area. It's a very dramatic landscape. The roads were plowed, but as we got higher into the snow, we slipped around a bit as we fought gravity. We passed a few cars that were having trouble keeping up to speed.

The guys were some of the first skiers of the day. I went to fetch the ski passes while they got out their gear. The discount vouchers had cost $39 each at the hotel. If you don't have one, you pay $42 for half-day skiing and $48 for full-day skiing (until 4:00 p.m.). I am no longer a skier as I am afraid of falling and injuring my not-so-great back. Hey, I did learn how to ski at age 40 and did it on a number of occasions with the family. Now I am content to take walks and stay in the lodge and read my book and drink hot tea, meeting up with the guys when they come in for hot cocoa and lunch.

Here is C-Dawg, ready to go.....

There is a great little service road behind the lodge that winds along the hill back and forth under the ski lift, to the lodge at Midway, halfway to the summit. Though I walked it twice, I didn't get to the end on either day, it was that long, and too cold and windy the second day to follow to the end. I had an adventure the second day when walking back downhill next to the lift; a skier dropped something into a snowbank not far from me. I saw a little black thing sticking up out of the snow. I yelled,"I'll bring it down to the lodge!" and the person yelled back,"thank you!" Another skier commented from on high, "What are the odds of that?" I clambered knee-deep up the snowbank to retrieve the black thing, which turned out to be the wrist strap of a ski pole buried to its hilt. It was handy to use on the way down, as the road is actually steeper than it appears and feels when you're walking up it. When I got to the lodge, I walked to various locations in the building in search of the lost and found. I never actually found it, as the owner of the ski pole, a teen dressed all in pink, intercepted me on the stairs for it, and thanked me.

The boys spent a lot of time on the upper slopes at the snowboard terrain park and playing in the snow. You have to board two ski lifts to get to the summit, and the terrain park is just below and to the north.

The ski lodge has some great views from the windows. You have a lovely view of the mountain to the south, and to the west you can observe the skiers and snowboarders swoop down and get in line for the lift, or stash their gear at the ski stands or ski check. A long counter abuts the southern windows for ski widows and widowers to enjoy the view and work on their laptops. I planted myself along the west window so I could spread out my books and papers and also have a place for the guys to sit when they wandered in. This worked well.

Here is B-Dawg with blue helmet hair...

I decided to take this opportunity to read up on the instructions for my new digital camera. I had a blonde moment.  Okay, blonde hour. I discovered I had needed to plug in the battery first to be able to turn the camera on, so I was unable to to study and tinker with the camera at all! I read and highlighted some information in the book, but most of it seemed like a foreign language. Eventually I looked again at the stuff in the box, and discovered that I had been reading the advanced camera guide. But I have since discovered that the basic guide is equally impenetrable! Who writes these things? Aliens? After feeling frustrated by my incompetence and realization that I wasn't taking any pictures on this day, I decided to turn to my bookbag and read something more entertaining. At least others in the family had cameras along....

My book of choice was The Palace of the Snow Queen: Winter Travels in Lapland, by Barbara Sjoholm. What more appropriate book to read, when ensconced in a winter landscape? The author fell in love with Norway as a young woman (I actually learned and read about this in an earlier book of hers, Incognito Street: How Travel Made Me a Writer), and later made a number return trips to Scandinavia to explore Scandinavian Arctic life and the current state of Sami culture. This is travel memoir, cultural exploration, and historical and literary research on Lapland that I found very interesting and enjoyable. It's not light reading, however, and not always pleasant; we know what is happening to indigenous cultures everywhere, and Lapp/Sami culture is no exception.

The guys stomped in at lunchtime and we figured out we could eat the chili, but not the french fries, as they don't have a designated fryer for them; three of us could get gluten contamination from breaded foods getting fried in the oil. The guys behind the grill rolled their eyes over our crazy diet. Often people don't understand, and think you're making a big deal over nothing. We should be used to that by now, but I still always feel some discomfort about asking food preparation questions. My sons prefer to let me do it, and I'm okay with that, but I can only hope they are asking the same questions on their own.

Pretty soon it was the end of the afternoon and time to head back down the hill to town. We slid our way down the hill and across the river to the hotel and changed clothes, then took off to find a restaurant. We decided on Chinese food to be followed by a movie, and headed out to the Super China Buffet. What bunch of guys could resist an all-you-can eat dining experience? To our delight, there were separate tables of food: deep-fried, breaded entrees were situated apart from the stir-friend ones, which made our selection a lot easier. Still, one must be careful of teriyaki and soy sauces, which may contain wheat. Following dinner, we decided to hit the movies. We headed over to the Columbia Theater. The boys are heavily into music and they all wanted to see Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, a tasteless spoof of the rock music world, which is R-rated. D and I chose the children's movie, The Golden Compass. It does seem a bit twisted, doesn't it? How we are so careful of food, but regarding food for the mind.....well, older teens do have their preferences.

The Golden Compass is a wonderful fantasy/adventure movie (and book by Philip Pullman) also having to do with northern places. It seems to be set in an alternate Britain with quasi-religious powers being the governing body; the Arctic circle is a destination for the protagonists, where a special kind of dust is filtering down from a portal to another world. Children are disappearing, apparently to the north, nobody knows how or why or who, though these kidnappers are called "gobblers." The lively female protagonist, Lyra, and her uncle have a special destiny relating to this dust. The children of this world have shape-shifting animal daemons that help and protect them, "Gyptians" who are involved in finding the disappearing children, witches, skraelings, polar bear warriors, and hot air balloonists, both good and evil. The children must be found...

After the movie, back to the hotel.....

DAY THREE

Hurray, we actually got a hot breakfast of microwaved omelets on this day. It was decided that we would bail on staying one more night in East Wenatchee, instead spending the day on the slopes and then heading back across the mountains when the hill closed at 4 p.m. It was a great day of play for the men, and more reading for the mother figure. It started to snow in the afternoon, so there was some concern about making it through the mountains on the way home. We left at 3 p.m. Truly there was a LOT of snow flying all the way into Leavenworth and on the passes, but we were able to make our way and not get stuck anywhere.

Here is a tired C-Dawg after a turn driving the van...

We dropped C-Dawg off at his car in Monroe, which was fortunately still in one piece, and said our goodbyes. It would be another three hours of driving and a ferry ride before we got to our home on the other side of Puget Sound.....but we made it!

A cool car on the lower deck of the ferry, taken by T-Dawg...

A vacation to remember!