Thursday, July 7, 2011

Leavenworth Thousand Trails Park

Well, this is a beautiful park, but they aren't sure what they have at their facilities...they advertise pickleball, but depending on who you talk to, "No, we don't have that any more." ..."I think we do, let me check with someone..." Yes, they have pickleball, but the courts are in a state of disrepair, they don't know where the nets are, or even if they have them. They have beautiful tennis courts, but nobody is on them. There is a disc golf course here, nine holes--whoopee! (Don't get too excited, Sparky, the sprinkler system seems to be running 24/7 around the baskets on the course.) I asked about that, and nobody can tell me when the sprinkler system is NOT running so we can play! The pool hours are very vague, they are not posted and it's not clear what time the pool closes, the office people couldn't give me a definite answer on that one, either!  Guess I will just have to check out different times of the day for a swim and see if the pool is open. The pool is gorgeous and one of the biggest ones we have seen anywhere in our travels. The grounds around the buildings are full of weeds and the park is so big, it seems they are having trouble keeping up with some things. It must be difficult to manage this size park here....

The park is divided into three sections and  getting around the park is not very big rig friendly in some places.  Eldy had to back up our rig and then pull forward going around a corner at one point, but once you pick a site that's big enough for your rig, there are few problems getting into most sites. There is a limited number of 50 amp sites and quite a mix of full hookups and partial hookups. It's like camping in a state park...you can smell the pines quite strongly, and when the winds blow, you can hear the wind whistling through the trees. The mosquitoes are bad, but bearable with bug spray....guess they had a really wet late spring, so the skeeters are out in full force.

beautiful family lodge
Are there any good things about this park? Absolutely! It's beautiful, they have lots of things for families here--putt putt golf, tetherball, tennis courts, basketball court, huge green grassy areas for playing, playgrounds for the kids and lots more. There is a VERY nice family lodge/clubhouse. We really like our site and the park is quite big so you can ride bikes around and get a nice workout circling in and around the three sections of the park. There is a beautiful lake section, a meadow section, and a forest section. We are 20 miles from Leavenworth, the town itself, so it's not a quick jump in the car to the grocery or stores. We're really going to have to plan if we head to town. (Un-hunh! That's why we are staying here for a week, explains the wily E. Hopefully, we'll save a little money!)
Lake section
We went from 88 degrees yesterday with no wind, to 66 degrees today and LOTS of wind, but being in the pines in the woods section of the park keeps the wind down in our site...we spent a relaxing day today. I met my brother, Charlie, for breakfast in Leavenworth, and then got a great haircut from his fiance, who owns her own salon, Kristina's, in Leavenworth. She is an excellent stylist! The drive in on highway 2 east from the Thousand Trails park is SPECTACULAR! The Cascades are in the background, there's a rushing river with strong rapids running along the length of the highway all the way to Leavenworth. Not sure of the name of the river, Charlie wasn't even sure! (He lives in Yakima). I'll try to get some photos tomorrow.

We'll be spending a little less time than we thought with them, because Charlie has to move this weekend...but it's great to see him and we'll sandwich in visits whenever he can spare some time....It's going to be a "slow down" week for Sparky and Eldo...time to plan for our 1400 mile trip next week all the way to Arizona for the family reunion. Eldy really shines at the preparation necessary to figure out how many miles a day, what park to stay in, and how much it's going to cost. He consults maps, the computer, apps, and his calculator, among other things. He worked for four hours today on our trip next week, bless his heart! He gets so engrossed in what he's doing, he forgets to eat! (Not me! exclaims Sparky. I NEVER forget to eat!  Sigh! ) I don't have the patience or attention span to do all that figuring and we would be traveling in a lot more haphazard and stressful manner, if trip planning was left to Sparky. ( I KNOW, that's why I do it! says E.) And you do a GREAT job, honey!

See you tomorrow.....IF the clubhouse wi-fi holds up...the air card doesn't work at our site so we are dependent on the wi-fi working here in the park at the clubhouse. So far, so good!
Mama duck was VERY observant of her brood at the small lake here in the park while I took photos...she looks proud of them, I think!

7 comments:

  1. Ducks always look like they are smiling.

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  2. Glad you found some good things about the park too... remember a Bad Day of Camping is far far far better than any Day at Work!

    ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
    Karen and Steve
    (Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/

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  3. Love the duck picture and the park looks really nice too. Stay safe.

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  4. Nice details on the park. Thanks!

    1400 miles whew....did you say in a week???
    I think it took us 6 or 8 weeks to go that far.

    I think Eldy should sign up to teach planning at an RV Rally. I'd sure take the class.

    Sherry
    www.directionofourdreams.blogspot.com

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  5. Hi, I just visit all you bloggers..I enjoy all your stories..Our RV Adventures are headed your way tomorrow from what I read this afternoon..Just in case neither of you know...Take care.
    UPRIVERDAVID

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  6. Does the park have 1000 trails? Now that's big. I think you get to add one stroke for each sprinkler/water hazard. Have a safe trip back to AZ.

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  7. Thank you for the great information! We are planning a trip there at the end of the month - I just happened upon your blog by accident, but plan on keeping up with you more! I was wondering about the "hotel rooms" they have -- they seem a little sketchy to me...but I suppose only time will tell!!

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