Winthrop Day 6

 Because check-out wasn't until 1:00 and we wanted to stretch out our vacation as long as possible, we went on one last excursion before we left. We'd wondered what was on the street beyond the cut-off to the state park the entire trip. Turns out there is a beautiful set of waterfalls along Falls Creek. So we drove out for one last hike to Falls Creek falls. 

This little falls was right next to where

we parked the truck.

The hike to the first falls was super easy. 

But we were sure there was something else at the top. All we had to do was climb up and find out if we were correct...

We were right! An even prettier set of falls made the steep scamper up worth it!

However, I was not willing to take the same route down. Much to my relief there was a MUCH easier and nearly level (although longer) trail. 

Then it was back to camp to pack everything up, eat a quick bite of lunch and hit the road back home, with a stop at Birdsview Brewing Company. :) 

Winthrop Day 5 - Old Molson

 The weather took a turn on Thursday, and my blisters needed a recovery day, so we drove up to an old ghost town a few miles from the Canadian border. It was also a good excuse to drive through Omak, where the Cummings lived before they left for Africa. 

The scenery was much different than it was on Highway 20 but still pretty. We were really surprised at how many orchards there were! There were fruit trees everywhere! 

Once we were finally on the road to Molson (population 25), I saw an abandoned farmstead on the side of the road with some older buildings out back. I figured it had to be the ghost town and was disappointed when I saw the fence. :( But we stopped and I got out to take some pics before we drove into town. 

I knew the museum was closed for the season but we might as well check out the place.

I was so excited when I learned there was an actual ghost town we could wander through! We were so hungry that we sat down on a bench under the covered shelter to eat before poking around. We were even more excited when we discovered that all the buildings were unlocked and full of fun artifacts!!!

Turns out the town of Molson has a rather sad story...

But tons of cool stuff at the ghost town! 

Wonder what the "Dance Deputy" did??? 

Never seen a stovepipe like this before but we decided

it had to be to increase the surface area for better

heat distribution.

Love how pretty this is! 

Hmmmmm???? Okay.

There were so gorgeous woodstoves! 

and door handles! 

Even the inside of the bank was beautiful! 

Love the textured ceilings and walls! 

Not sure why the refrigeration until for the butcher

was displayed in the back room of the bank??? ;) 

We were shocked by how well this old seeder has held up 

being outdoors all these years! 

LOVE this cookstove!!! 

My mom has these dishes! 

I even got to ring the school bell! I'll bet you

could hear that thing for miles!!!

Then we decided to drive the loop past the lakes instead of going back on the road we'd come in on. It was fun because all along the way we saw more signs about the history of the area...

And soon we discovered how close we really were to Canada! 

That barbed wire fence you can see running

through the middle of the picture is the border!

At one point, our GPS became confused and thought we were 

driving on the actual border... LOL

It's remarkable how much Canada looks like America! ;) 

Then we pulled into a little spot near the town of historic Sidley, B.C...

We didn't stay long because apparently bad things happen

when you do... ;) 

The gravel road wound over hills and through rocks...

Before we headed back to Winthrop for BBQ ribs and hard cider dinner at Methrow Cidery, we stopped at Lake Osoyoos on the border at Oroville, a farmer's market in Tonasket and a farm store in Omak.