North Cascades Trip Day 6

September 3, 2025 -- This was a sightseeing day on bicycles.  We rode nearly 16 miles covering most of the paved roads and some gravel roads.  The sights included Chelan PUD Stehekin Power Station, the historic Stehekin School (grades 1 to 8), the Bruckner Homestead and Apple Orchard, an Organic Garden, and downtown Stehekin.

The inside of the powerhouse -- one Pelton type turbine.

We walked up the penstock to the upper inlet - 230 vertical feet, known as "Head."  The penstock was about 2 feet in diameter. supported by wooden piers about every 40 feet.  There were odd looking pieces of space blanket material at each pier.  After coming back down, we bumped into the station supervisor, a young guy who has been on the job here for 2 months.  I asked what the "aluminum foil" was for -- he said that it was used to wrap the piers last summer to protect them from wildfire damage (there was a fire nearby last year).  And they decided to leave the material in place -- too hard to remove it all.

The dam or weir at the penstock entry.

At the top of the penstock

The turbine outlet; it was generating.

The Stehekin River looking upstream.

The historic Stehekin School

Interior of the classroom - eight desks, a large wood stove.

Class of 195?

Originally children attended school in the spring, summer and fall.  No classes in the winter -- too hard to get the students to the school

Buckner Homestead and Apple Orchard.

What is left of the Packing Shed - now used for square dancing and for the apple festival.

Circa 1890 residence.

A fixer upper -- a US Forest Service Truck.

On of the many apple trees - varieties included "Original Delicious," Rome, and a few modern Gala.  We talked with an owner/caretaker who said no apples go to market.  About 1/4 of the apples are picked by visitors, another lot is used for the harvest festival, and the rest are scooped up and dumped in the forest for the bears.  If they are left under the trees, the bears will try to climb the trees and damage them.  The orchard is irrigated from Rainbow Creek through hand dug canals.

They even "had" a swimming pool.  It also needs some fixing up.

Lots of Garden Dahlias bordering the vegetable plants at the Organic Garden.

Very active bee boxes.

A tiny Pacific Chorus Frog in a dahlia flower.

The Golden West Visitor Center, closed for 2025 ??? just above the ferry dock in Stehekin.

View from the visitor center looking uplake.

It was hot enough today that people were swimming in the lake.  We cycled back to the cabin in the heat and on the "undulating" road.  It is amazing that a road that looks flat is not, but we enjoyed the downhills.  From the ferry dock to our cabin is about 6 miles with 3 hills and 1 mile of gravel.

For dinner tonight, we ate at the Stehekin Valley Resort located up the valley,  almost to High Bridge.  It has one seating, served in a buffet style .  The main dining room was fitted with long wooden picnic tables and a fireplace where coffee pots were being heated.   We arrived early and tried to cool down before eating (we sat under a water mister).  The dinner reservation said it started at 5:45 but the staff rang the dinner bell at 5:30.  I think this allowed guests staying at the resort to get their dinner before other folks arrived like us.  The dinner bus arrived at about 6:00 with about 20 folks on it.  Since we drove we got to eat shortly after the resort guests and before the 'outsiders' arrived.  We ate plenty and had pies for dessert.  The temperature outside finally started to moderate after the sun dipped below the mountains.  Before heading back to our cabin, we visited with the resident ranch cat and 4 pigs (the pigs get fed the dinner leftovers).