Hospitality of Odessa wins the hearts of hikers

To the Editor:

Last week, 21 retirees from Olympia spent three days in Odessa. We hiked through the coulees, looked at birds, studied geology, learned about local history, golfed and enjoyed local refreshments.

Lake Creek Coulee has some beautiful trails. We saw lots of birds, panoramic vistas and enough rattlesnakes to keep us on our toes.

We loved your town and couldn’t have been treated better!

Any Occasion (Banquet Hall) was the perfect venue for our nightly gatherings. Paul (Scheller) graciously opened the historical museum for us on a Tuesday afternoon and helped us understand local water challenges. Nadia and Ed (Hayden) at La Collage Inn hosted many of us, while others camped at the Golf Course and played a few rounds of golf. Chiefs Bar and Grill and the Golf Course catered delicious meals, which we enjoyed with Rocky Coulee Brewing’s Fireweed honey blond ale. Terrie from The Record joined us one evening and shared stories. And after 10 mile hikes under in warm sun, those ice cream treats from the Odessa Drive-in sure hit the spot.

Everyone we met was so gracious, kind and welcoming to our group of west siders.

You have a lovely community in a fascinating landscape. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Mary and John

Fleckenstein

Olympia