Narrowed it down to Roslyn/Cle Elum areas: Questions (Spokane: buy, gated)

[mitchmountain]

we are happily focusing most attention on moving to the Roslyn or Cle Elum area, based upon the excellent info we have already gotten.. Getting the following myriad of questions answered will be sooo helpful too!
Would you consider Roslyn area weather (winters) to be about the same as Twisp or thereabouts? Need the least-rain area around there. Cle Elum typical east WA weather, or not? I understand certain areas near Roslyn have alot more rain then others, I don't want rainy weather because of horsekeeping, so where is the worst?

What is the driving time to the nearest "real" supermarket, though a heathfood market is even better! Whole Foods? Organic? Ellensburg for big box or department stores?
Ugh , but I need to know for sure that there is not a meat packing plant anywhere near Roslyn. Crossing my fingers, here. Does the interstate near there, haul animals to or from west WA, to or from feedlots.
Ag/Apple orchards: Is Roslyn "downwind" of orchards etc? I have sensitivity to pesticides so have to watch out.
There is a river near Roslyn, and a lake? Properties likely to have seasonal streams, etc?
If I want to get a yellow pages etc for the Roslyn and Cle Elum area, who do I call. Roslyn / Cle Elum chamber of commerce relocation packets will be requested.
one last one for now...can you buy straight timothy or bermuda hay in this area, not only alfalfa mix, which we don't feed our mustangs.
Thank you very much for any words of wisdom!

[chris]

"real" supermarket"? There's a Safeway in Cle Elum if that counts.

The snow seems the same to me all the way from Cle Elum to Spokane in the winter. You could check weather.com for averages.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/healt...graph/USWA0081

[RodFarlee]

There's a steep precipitation gradient down the valley, getting drier as you go east, out of the mountains, to lower elevation.
Snoqualamie Pass 105" precip/yr, 440" snow/yr
Stampede Pass 85", 439"
Lake Kachess 53", 160"
Lake Cle Elum 37", 146" (5 miles NW of Roslyn)
Cle Elum 22", 81"
Ellensburg 9", 21"
Ref: Western Regional Climate Center http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/summary/Climsmwa.html
You can see this in the vegetation. Hemlock around Lake Kachess, pine through Roslyn to Cle Elum, the valley floor is open grassland from Cle Elum to Ellensburg, and sage past Ellensburg (where it isn't irrigated farmland).

Twisp is drier, and has slightly colder winters and warmer summers, than Roslyn or Cle Elum.

Cle Elum has a big safeway and small grocery, no organic food stores. It has all your other basic shopping and services.

There are no orchards or meat packing plants anywhere near Roslyn.

The Cle Elum River flows right down the valley (although I'd guess the riverfront is all private land). It flows from Lake Cle Elum, which is a reservoir just north of Roslyn. Lake Kachness is another large reservoir west of Roslyn. There's lots of trails into national forest all around the area.

Timothy and orchard grass hay shouldn't be any problem (I dunno about bermuda); there's plenty of horses and outfitters in the valley.

[mitchmountain]

Thank you very much for all that info. Where I live now I have a teeny store nearby and have to drive a long way to go to a regular market, that's why I was wondering about that.
Guess I'd better check on where the organic food stores are in the state.
I tried to respond to the private email regarding my accidental double post, but my computer will not open that window.

[the dufferz]

No meat packing in Cle Elum, there is one in Ellensburg (sheep I believe). No orchards near Cle. There probably is a health food store or two in Ellensburg (20 minute drive)

Ellensburg does not yet have the Costco, target or Walmart. There is a bulk food store there (don't remember what it's called but I think its an FAmily Market).

Lake Cle Elum is a water resevoir with a river that runs to Lake Easton, but you are in the rain zone here.

To get drier you must go outside of Cle Elum, as I mentioned before southeast and east to find drier weather. Consider properties to the east of Indian John Hill (about 5 miles east of Cle Elum) and west of Thorp (5 miles west of Ellensburg) look for property there. You will find a definate change in topography (less trees, dry, flat) but you at that point get into farming areas, so I don't know about the pesticide issues, but there are not many (or any) orchards that I know of.

The interstate should be available for moving anything that does not blow up.

There should be a Kittitas County phone book with Yellow pages. Not sure If Cle Elum has their own.

Not sure about feed for horses. The feed would come from Ellensburg.

Are you planning a visit in the next 6 months?

[RodFarlee]

Originally Posted by the dufferz

Not sure about feed for horses. The feed would come from Ellensburg.

Locally grown timothy hay and pellets are available in Cle Elum, pick up or delivered.