Question: What can run 50 miles an hour, swim faster than Michael Phelps and control the temperature of its legs so they don’t freeze to death in sub-zero weather?
Answer: Reindeer — or caribou, as they also are called — wonderful creatures that you can meet, mingle with and feed at the Leavenworth Reindeer Farm in Leavenworth, Washington.
And that’s what we are here to do. Feeling a little skittish, I’m standing in the reindeer corral, holding willow branches straight up as instructed until I’m ready to let the reindeer nibble. They are more than ready and know the drill.
“They haven’t had breakfast yet,” says reindeer whisperer and general manager Erika Andersen Bowie, which explains why these complex animals quickly surround the day’s first set of visitors. “People are surprised by how docile reindeer are and how huge their antlers can get.”
Docile, yes, but I can feel their strength when they start tugging the leaves off the willow branches. After all, it takes a lot of muscle to pull Santa’s sleigh.
Bowie is one of 13 Andersen family members who keep this reindeer playground viable. Her father, Hans Christian Andersen (really) and mother, Kari, moved to Leavenworth in 2012 and founded the HC Andersen Carriage Company. Their horse-drawn, storybook carriage is a fixture on Front Street.
Eventually, the Andersens’ interest expanded to reindeer.
“Our first six reindeer arrived by boat from Palmer, Alaska, in 2016,” Bowie says. “In 2017, we flew in three confirmed pregnant reindeer on Alaska Airlines, and had our first baby reindeer born later that year. This (past spring), we had 11 babies. Our herd is at 40 and we expect more babies this coming spring.”
For now, the Andersens are preparing for the 80,000 visitors expected at the farm between now and New Year’s. Although a formidable number, it is just a fraction of the 2 million who come to Leavenworth annually. The draw? A former languishing logging town that has been transformed (with some advice from their counterparts in Solvang) into a colorful, busy Bavarian-themed village 135 miles east of Seattle.
See before-and-after photos here. Strict architectural codes that even detail lettering for signage and a 360-degree view of the verdant Cascades make visitors feel as though they’ve landed in the real thing.
For our three-day stay, we are headquartered at the ideally situated Hotel Pension Anna, a family-run hotel with 16 Bavarian-themed rooms and hardy, meat-and-pastry German breakfasts. It’s only a block to Front Street, festooned with hanging flower pots, bursting with colorful, vibrant blooms.
Come the holidays, the boutiques, art galleries, curio shops, wine-tasting rooms and restaurants will be shrouded in thousands of lights and decorations, and all 1,238 hotel rooms will be occupied.
But on this clear, crisp mid-September day, the streets are uncrowded except for the lines at the perennially popular München Haus. The family-owned, beer-n-brats garden has what is probably the largest selection of brats and mustards on the planet Earth and also features gluten-free buns. We return later and there’s no waiting.
The next day, we meet Arlene Wagner, who celebrates her 100th birthday in December with a party likely to include most of the town’s residents. She and her late husband founded the Nutcracker Museum to provide a home for their 7,000-plus nutcrackers from all over the world. The mind-boggling collection includes nutcrackers celebrating Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, Dia de los Muertos and Cinco de Mayo. There also are likenesses of Elvis, gangsters, celebrities, popes and political candidates, and nutcrackers that are centuries old.
Also in Leavenworth:
Waterfront Park Trail — For a quick immersion into Pacific Northwest nature, this nearby flat trail (hike and bike) follows the Wenatchee River and offers shade, benches, interpretive signs and small beaches. Ideal for birdwatchers. Cross Blackbird Island Bridge for near solitude.
Yodelin Broth — Specializes in artisan bone-broth soups with plenty of vegan and gluten-free options. Excellent rice bowls. Don’t miss the Always Baked Small Potatoes.
Crepe Café Sisters — The sisters’ generous, sumptuous, sweet and savory scratch crepes (many gluten-free choices) keep you fueled ’til dinner.
Sulla Vita — Sit on the umbrellaed deck and watch the action on Front Street while enjoying pizza, pasta (gluten-free available), local and German beers, hard cider and other Mediterranean fare. Family friendly.
