Thursday, October 1, 2026
By Brian Soergel 
Who doesn’t enjoy a summer weekend at sunny Lake Chelan?
But beyond the tasting rooms, boutique shops, and waterfront crowds that drive much of Chelan’s tourism, a quieter cultural pairing sits just outside the city’s visitor-centric core. Miller’s Auto Museum and Nature’s Window: Museum of Wildlife, Natural History and Art, both a short drive from downtown Chelan, offer distinct historical experiences that reflect history, craft, and preservation.
While the two museums differ significantly in subject matter – one focused on wildlife and ecosystems, the other on the history of classic cars – they share several defining characteristics. Both are outside Chelan’s most heavily trafficked areas, requiring a deliberate decision to visit. Both emphasize curated, detail-oriented exhibits over large-scale spectacle. And both reflect the vision of individuals or small teams committed to preserving specific aspects of history.
Miller’s Auto Museum, the closest to downtown, is the life’s work of longtime local Leo Miller, whose passion for automobiles fills multiple buildings with classic cars and memorabilia – more than 120 of them, finely polished and restored. The collection includes classic cars, memorabilia, and artifacts that trace the evolution of automobile design and culture.
Miller made his money in real estate and in the garbage business – in his younger days, he picked apples for $1.25 an hour and hauled passengers, mail, and freight up and down the 50-foot elongated glacial lake in a tugboat for the Lake Chelan Boat Company. “I know the lake pretty well now,” he said. He chuckled at that. His connection to Chelan dates back to childhood. His family moved from Bellingham when he was in eighth grade after severe arthritis prompted doctors to recommend a warmer climate for the young Miller.
“It worked out great,” he said. He’s a well-known presence in the resort town – many old-timers have never left – who now spends winters in Scottsdale, Arizona, where he’s collected many of his vehicles. He started in earnest about 20 years ago after collecting and selling Corvettes. He also kept his car collection in storage.
Summers are spent by the lake, where Miller presents a popular annual car show, Cruizin Chelan, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in late May. Classic cars start their engines on the north shore of the lake in the city of Manson, driving downlake to the auto museum’s parking lot. Many of the vehicles were displayed the next day in downtown Chelan.
Miller is 91 and remains spry. The only hiccup on a recent tour came when he bent to exit a 1930 Ford Model A – a recent acquisition – after agreeing to a photo request. Nope. He called on his grandson, Ty, who successfully pretzled him out from the front seat and steering wheel.
Miller emphasizes accessibility and personal connection in his collection – his red-and-white 1955 Pontiac Phoenix was his first to showcase. He had one he purchased for $2,900 when he married his wife, Polly. “The one I have now cost me $25,000,” he said.
Vehicles are displayed in a way that encourages visitors to move at their own pace, with an emphasis on recognition and nostalgia as much as technical appreciation. The collection spans decades, showcasing changes in style, engineering, and consumer preferences, while also reflecting the personal passion behind its creation.
Miller said the goal is to create an environment that appeals to a broad audience, from dedicated car enthusiasts to casual visitors. That approach shows in the layout, which avoids a strictly formal structure in favor of a more inviting, exploratory atmosphere.
Look around, and you’ll spot neon signs, Franklin Mint vintage cars, plenty of toy cars, gas pumps, and more.
Not everything is old-old. A new display showcases Dodge classics like the buff Challenger, but also a 2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, the same one the “Belltown Hellcat” modified and raced in downtown Seattle before being busted and serving a month in jail for reckless driving.
The majority of Miller’s collectibles come from auctions and word of mouth, often from others in the business. He also turns down more than a few cars. “I’m not interested in certain ones,” he said.
As far as the future of the auto museum – which opened in 2017 – Miller says he has a board of directors, part of the family, to run it after he’s gone. “It’s going to stay here. I’m going to put about $2 million in it to keep things going. I love my cars. I love to look at them, and I love to drive them.”
The museum is open 1-4 p.m. June 13-Sept. 30 at 20 Blue Water Lane, Chelan. More information: millersautomuseum.com.
A short drive from the auto museum is a very different kind of museum. Before the sparkling blue waters of Lake Chelan come into view along SR 97A, travelers pass an unexpected roadside attraction: Nature’s Window: Museum of Wildlife, Natural History, and Art Gallery. For visitors headed to Chelan – or making the return trip west – it’s a museum that rewards an unplanned stop.
Inside, it functions as both gallery and time capsule, blending taxidermy, Western art, and natural history into a deeply personal collection. Among the first works visitors encounter are the bronze sculptures of Lorenzo Ghiglieri, whose contributions include super-realistic three-dimensional wildlife and classic scenes of the American West rendered with striking realism and motion.
Also in the gallery is the watercolor of artist Louis Adolph Kollmeyer, the former chair of the art department at Central Washington University in Ellensburg. Kollmeyer, who died in 2018 at 103, was the father of Shannon Kollmeyer, who opened Nature’s Window in October 2024.
The gallery, however, is simply the museum’s appetizer. Walk into the museum’s main space, and you’re greeted by a series of detailed wildlife dioramas that place animals in carefully constructed habitats, designed to replicate scenes from across North America and beyond.
According to Shannon Kollmeyer, the museum’s mission is to increase knowledge and appreciation of the world’s diverse wildlife and to educate the public about the role that art and wildlife management play in conserving these valuable resources. “Viewers can learn about wildlife management and the role artists and hunters play in preserving wild places and wild animals for future generations,” said Kollmeyer, who started collecting taxidermy more than 50 years ago.
Kollmeyer is an avid hunter; he shot and killed all the animals in the museum during hunting trips across the country and abroad, in Africa and other locations. Kollmeyer said he’s a believer in “harvesting” the animals, ensuring their meat is used for food.
“I started doing life-size because the animals are so gorgeous,” he said. “They’re all unique. Most places do shoulder-mount taxidermy, but that doesn’t tell the whole story about the animal and how it lives. We wanted to put the collection in a place with murals and dioramas that show each species in its natural habitat. That’s a lot more educational, because they can see what habitat is required and what conservation methods can be used to enhance the wildlife and the places where they live.”
The nonprofit museum’s approach combines education and artistry. Painted backdrops extend the illusion of depth, while the positioning of animals invites close observation. The museum itself grew from a deeply personal collection that eventually outgrew the Kollmeyers’ home in Chelan. At first, Kollmeyer kept his taxidermied animals in a building that the family jokingly called a “safari room.”
“You know how these things go,” he said, with another chuckle. “You have a few, and you can have them in your house. But my wife told me I might be able to figure something out. So we had a separate building that we built.”
As Kollmeyer and his wife, Cris (a former elementary school teacher who included conservation in her class), approached 80, they faced a decision about what to do with their collection. After exploring donations to both public and private collections, the couple decided they wanted to preserve the exhibit intact and make it accessible to the public. From that decision, the nonprofit museum was born.
Conservation is core to the museum’s mission. As Kollmeyer points out, President Theodore Roosevelt, along with other noted sportsmen, was instrumental in creating the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. They established a successful wildlife and habitat conservation program that has rescued hundreds of wildlife species from extinction.
What sets the museum apart is its commitment to showing animals in context rather than as trophies. The museum uses elaborate murals and habitat dioramas to recreate ecosystems in vivid detail. Painted backdrops stretch scenes into the distance, while carefully staged displays place animals in lifelike poses that invite visitors to study how each species lives and survives.
“We wanted to put the collection in a place where it could have murals and dioramas that show the habitat of each species in its correct environment,” he said. “That’s a lot more educational, because people can see what habitat is required and what conservation methods can be used to enhance wildlife and the places where they live.”
To Kollmeyer, the museum is ultimately about stewardship – using art, education, and storytelling to inspire future generations to value the wild places and animals that still remain.
Nature’s Window is open for summer at 21285 Highway 97A, Chelan. More information: natureswindowmuseum.com.
Together, Nature’s Window Museum and Miller’s Auto Museum illustrate a broader dimension of the Chelan Valley – one that extends beyond its reputation as a lakeside recreation destination. They highlight how smaller, independently developed institutions can add depth to a region’s cultural landscape, offering experiences that reward curiosity and a willingness to explore beyond the familiar.
As Chelan continues to attract visitors for its scenery and seasonal events, these two museums remain steady fixtures just beyond the spotlight, providing an alternative lens through which to view both the natural world and the history of human innovation.
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