Welcome to Winthrop! What better way to spend a heatwave than in the old west!
Winthrop originally came into existence when the 1883 gold rush brought white people permanently to the area.
Then in 1972 the town decided to follow Leavenworth’s example and pick a theme.
It was over 100 degrees, so I made my way down the boardwalk by ducking into every shop.
This seemed to be the only shop in town that sold magnets.
This place had an employee at an outdoor waffle cone-making station, and the smell was intoxicating.
Town Hall! This used to be the Duck Brand Saloon, opened by town founder Guy Waring. Since Waring hated liquor, he had strict rules about cutting people off before they got too drunk.
A mural on the side of Three Fingered Jack’s Saloon, the oldest legal saloon in Washington State.
When I first got to town I had a moment of panic that there was no real food. Even the grocery store was convenience-store quality, and there were some sit-down restaurants with epic waits. So I asked at the gas station for a salad. “Three Finger Jack’s makes the best salad. LOTS of bacon. But they’re busy right now. Or Jupiter, two doors down. They have kale. But I’m not sure if they’re open.”

The gas station owner moved to town (“sight unseen”) in 1981 and had been in real estate and worked for the park service in addition to being a small business owner, so he knew everything. “Always ask at the gas station,” he said.

Anyway, Jupiter was open! It was up some stairs in kind of a tree-house-feel situation, and it was fantastic. I went from thinking there was no food to finding something that’s probably in my top ten. I got the Anzo salad (baby spinach, garbanzo beans, toasted pepitas, hemp hearts, coconut flakes, onion, coconut oil, spices, lemon olive oil dressing) and the Beta bowl (brown rice, black beans, steamed kale, carrot ribbons, kimchi, sea vegetables, and toasted sunflower seeds, with miso-sesame-ginger dressing). The Anzo salad had amazing flavor and noodle-thick coconut shavings. And I got the Beta bowl twice, the kimchi/sea vegetables combo was addicting.
The Farmers State Bank.
The bookstore had a delightful riverfront setting.
Poppies behind the inn.
The Chewuch River! Winthrop sits where the Chewuch River meets the Methow River.
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