Just up the mountains from Wenatchee is the mountain town of Leavenworth. The area where the town is located was a prime hunting area for the Yakima, Chinook, and Wenatchi tribes. Settlers came to the area in search of timber, gold, and furs. The community became a center of logging and sawmills with the arrival of the railroad. Later, the railroad was rerouted and the rails were moved out of town. For decades, the small town fell into decline. In the early 1960s, town leaders began a complete renovation of the downtown area to make the town look like a Bavarian village. In addition to changing the appearance of buildings, community leaders created a series of festivals. The town became an attraction for tourists. Restaurants feature traditional German food and beer. Year-round recreation in the mountains supports hotels and restaurants. The town has a nutcracker museum and dozens of specialty shops.

Before we moved to the northwest, we discovered Leavenworth, stopping at a couple of different campgrounds with our camper as we headed west to visit our son and his family. Stopping in Leavenworth made the last day of our journey short so we could arrive early the next day. Our visits brought us familiarity with the area. We have favorite places to eat and a few shops that we enjoy visiting.

We stopped in Leavenworth on Wednesday evening and enjoyed a walk through Riverfront Park, a natural area on the Wenatchee River where eagles and ospreys are often seen. Folks were tubing in the gentle section of the river and enjoying the warm day.

US Highway 2 heads west out of Leavenworth, following the Wenatchee River through a narrow canyon. The road is winding and travel is slow as it climbs to Stevens Pass at the top of the Cascades before descending into Everett. This summer, there has been a significant construction project to resurface the highway. Because of the tight canyon, the road has to be closed during the day with a detour re-routing traffic around the construction area. We began our day yesterday with a lovely drive on the Chumstick highway to the town of Plain. We followed Beaver Valley Road, winding our way back to US 2 past the construction area. Not being in a hurry, we enjoyed the detour.

It was the second major detour of our trip. On our way east, we encountered a section of Interstate 90 that was closed southwest of Spokane. There had been a series of accidents on the Interstate that forced closure. The detour took the heavy traffic through backroads around the area of the accident investigation. On that detour, we got to see some small towns that we otherwise would not have visited.

If our only interest had been getting from one place to another as quickly as possible, we would have found both detours to be nuisances. They slowed us down. They took extra time. They caused us to change our plans. However, we were on vacation. We had extra time, and in both cases, we appreciated the opportunity to slow down and take a look at some new stretches of roads.

I have a friend who calls such adventures “off-turnpike routes.” Although I rarely refer to Interstate as a “turnpike,” I know exactly what he means. We frequently select routes on backroads rather than following the Interstate. We discovered Leavenworth because we were traveling on US Highway 2 as an alternate route from Interstate 90, which crosses the Cascades south of US 2 and carries a lot more traffic. The two-lane roads have slower speed limits. Sometimes slowing down is just the right mood for the way we like to travel.

Life frequently offers detours. We head out in one direction and end up going in another. The work of a pastor often involves changing plans and heading out in new directions. For years, I had a small note posted above my desk reminding me that “the interruption is my job.” It seemed like every time I set aside a day to do writing and other office work, I would be called away from the office to attend to an emergency. I learned not only to deal with interruptions, but to enjoy them.

When our children were growing up, we sometimes referred to the routes I selected as “long cuts.” Instead of finding a shorter route, I seemed to be skilled at finding longer routes that took more time. I liked to find places that are off the beaten path. The reward for our children often was ice cream or another snack that we might have missed had we stuck to the most direct route.

I’m sure other drivers found the detours to be challenging. They had places to go and things to do, and slowing down was not in their plans. However, we found both detours to be opportunities to explore.

I plan to seek out more detours in future travels.