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Thursday, August 14, 2003
Short Trips: Growing and going keep Tonasket humming
By JEFF LARSEN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER PHOTOGRAPHER
TONASKET -- Ah, peach pie and coffee for lunch under a giant catalpa shade tree on the deck in front of Shannon's Ice Cream Parlor. It just doesn't get much better than that.
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I was actually hungry enough to wolf down a big plate of Shannon's famous homemade potato salad along with a hot dog or a deli-sandwich made to order. But Tonasket is centered in the Okanogan Highlands, one of the most prolific fruit-growing regions in Washington, so I opted for the peach pie. It was worth it.
The homey-looking deli is on the south edge of town adjacent to state Route 97, one of the most popular north-south recreation conduits in the state. Because it's so close to the highway, the almost steady stream of motorhomes and big mining trucks makes quite a racket and doesn't subside till late afternoon and early evening. The locals are used to it.
I just missed the notorious "steak night" last Wednesday, when Shannon and her crew served up 85 sirloin and New York steak dinners. She expected a busy night because hundreds of firefighters from all over the country were camped on the outskirts of town to wait their turn to battle several fires north of Tonasket in the wilderness areas near the Canadian border. Shannon knew some of them would sneak into town for a steak.
Firefighters stage at Tonasket most summers because of the town's proximity to the usual hot spots in the Okanogan Highlands. The fire danger in the region lately is the most extreme it's been in years. No campfires or chainsaw operation is allowed on any National Forest Service property, including campgrounds.
Tonasket, only 25 miles south of the Canadian border, was named after legendary Okanogan Indian chief Joseph Tonasket, who died in 1891. It's a simple little town with a couple of pubs, an IGA grocery store, a couple of gift shops and restaurants, and a neat little visitor information center in the middle of town. The city just completed a sidewalk and streetlight beautification project that extends from The Junction east up the hill on state Route 20 to the school.
The Junction is by far the busiest corner in town. Besides Texaco gas, it offers a full-service deli, a coin-operated laundry, showers (popular with campers) and a small motel. Since it's on the corner of the busy intersection of Routes 20 and 97, large motorhomes and other recreational vehicles can move in and out without too much hassle. The food is good and there's a lot of it.
Almost adjacent to Shannon's, the squeaky clean Whistler's Family Restaurant offers a more traditional-style menu and a whopping breakfast for a very good price.
Besides the apple and fruit industries, recreation is the name of the game and what mostly keeps Tonasket ticking. The Okanogan National Forest and the Okanogan Highlands are major recreation destinations for campers, hikers, boaters, anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts. During the summer, tourists from all over the country swarm into the hills of the region and most likely end up driving through Tonasket.
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 | Jeff Larsen / Special to the P-I | |
| Shannon McLean stands ready to serve a hungry tourist or a famished bunch of firefighters in her Ice Cream Parlor and Deli in downtown Tonasket. | ||
State Route 20 eastbound winds from Tonasket through Republic and Colville in northeast Washington and ends near the Idaho border, where it intersects with state Route 2. This less-traveled, but incredibly scenic route east, then north, from Tonasket, begins at the north end of town and winds 20 or so miles up into the hills to the funky historic town of Chesaw, just three miles south of the border (see Short Trips next week).
I decided to work my way west from Tonasket toward Loomis and Nighthawk into the Many Lakes Recreation Area, aptly named because there are many lakes between Tonasket and Nighthawk. Watch for the left turn Loomis/Nighthawk directional sign (pointing west) in the middle of downtown. Nighthawk, a small berg on the border, considered by some a Washington ghost town, was established in 1903 and today is one of the more remote border crossings in the state.
The well-paved Route 7 (also referred to as the Loomis Oroville Road) winds through orchards and the stunning rolling hills of the Okanogan Highlands, first north then west to Loomis, past the cutoff to Nighthawk, then north and back east again to downtown Oroville, which is also just a stone's throw from the border.
I noticed a couple of signs posted along the road that set the stage for the personality of the region. The owners of one tidy little house, complete with cute, petunia-filled hanging baskets and lawn ornaments, posted a "Caution -- Quail Crossing" sign to try to keep a neighborhood covey from becoming roadkill. About a half-mile farther up the road, another homeowner prominently posted a "Caution -- Bear Shooters Crossing" sign.
On Palmer Lake just west of the very tiny town of Loomis, fisherman Jim Cain from Modesto Calif., found the steep drop-off near the shore to be a luscious spot where he might catch one of the lake's famous smallmouth bass. Cain was outfitted just like one of those Southern bass fishermen you see on television fishing shows -- big boat, multiple motors bow and stern, a lure box bigger than most suitcases. Driving his pickup/camper, Cain planned to spend a year bass fishing his way across America.
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| Jeff Larsen / Special to the P-I | |
| Modesto, Calif., native and avid bass fisherman Jim Cain tries his luck in Palmer Lake just east of Tonasket. Cain is traveling across the country for a year and plans to fish most of the way. | ||
Palmer Lake, a few miles past the tiny town of Loomis, is big enough to fish on one end and water-ski on the other. The crystal-clear waters attract thousands of visitors this time of year to beat the heat. Several small resorts and camping areas are sprinkled along the part of the lake accessible by road.
Avid fly fishermen need to flex their nimble driving skills as well to reach Chopaka Lake just north of Palmer Lake on a road described by one fly fisherman as "dizzying." It's a beautiful lake with a number of campsites and toilets, but it's fly fishing only with float tubes or a car-top boat, with other fishing equipment restrictions as well.
Because of the salty, spring-fed water of Wannacut Lake, plus its 200-foot depth, Sun Cove Resort proprietors Brian and Gail Anderson say the best-tasting rainbow trout in the world flourish in the lake. The waters are so nutritious the rainbow fingerlings that state Fish and Wildlife plants each spring are 12 inches long by the following spring.
The 3-mile-long lake is unusual in the region because it's fed by underground springs rather than rivers or streams. The water has a high mineral content and is heavily laced with natural epsom salts. An 8 mph boat speed limit is enforced and no water-skiing is permitted.
Fishing aside, the resort has a lot of other summer enticements, including a boat launch, small general store, cabins, campground (with a view), shady RV park, swimming pool, video game room, plus a small restaurant and bar. Visitors can buy fishing licenses, tackle and gas at the little general store by the check-in desk.
Brian bragged on Gail's rhubarb pie with homemade crust, so I had to try a slice (only a couple hours after the peach pie). Brian was right -- she makes a mean rhubarb pie. Gail said she manages to bake at least four different kinds of pies every day along with her housekeeping, check-in and running-the-store chores.
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| Jeff Larsen / Special to the P-I | |
| A typical agricultural scene just west of Tonasket. | ||
The Sun Cove Resort cabins are like a '60s time warp. Built and furnished in 1962, the 10 rustic side-by-side cabins come complete with the original vintage 1962 turquoise appliances. The cabins are very cool and look out over the lake with classy antique oak benches outside the door facing the lake.
Closer to the main road, Spectacle Lake Resort is a little more modern and a little more traditional than Sun Cove Resort. The resort's motel is on the waterfront and the cabinlike rooms have fully equipped kitchens and bathrooms. The resort also features a boat launch, dock, heated swimming pool, 40 RV hookups and lawn space for tents as well a small general store. Compared to Wannacut Lake, Spectacle is oriented much more to water sports and boating.
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