Are We In Paris?

Another recommendation from the Leavenworth Visitor Center was the Wenatchee Lake/Plain Loop … about 38 miles in all. So, off we went in the car this morning.

The drive is fairly scenic … it goes through heavily wooded areas and in places there are glimpses of the Wenatchee River through the trees. There are mountains as well. But there are no overlooks or pull outs where one can stop and enjoy the scenery. Not that we would have seen much today as the smoke haze was pretty bad. Sigh.

Wenatchee Lake State Park, a short detour off the loop, was packed to the gills. So, we had to be satisfied with just a drive through. In Plain, however, we found a couple of oddities … one of which was a replica of the Eiffel Tower … 50 feet tall … 1/25th the size of the tower in France.

Turns out that the tower is on the property of Mr Watson, an 81-year-old who hails from the UK. He invited us to take a closer look and explained that the tower represents the French contributions to America’s greatness. He has a miniature of the Statue of Liberty set in the middle of pond in his garden as well, but we didn’t intrude that far onto the property.

What’s different about this Eiffel Tower is the statues on the corners of the base … Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S Grant, General George Patton, and Winston Churchill … men who, in Watson’s opinion, have made great contributions to our quality of life.Read more