Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Eastern Washington
While to the
west of the Cascade Range all is gray
skies and green forests, to the east the
sun shines 300 days a year, and less
than 10 inches of rain falls in an aver-
age year. Although this sun-drenched
and sparsely populated shrub steppe is
highly valued by waterlogged residents
of western Washington, it is, with the
exception of its wine country, of little
interest to out-of-state visitors. Irriga-
tion waters from the Columbia River
have allowed the region to become an
agricultural powerhouse. From the
Yakima Valley to the Walla Walla area,
large areas of wine-grape vineyards have
helped make Washington the second-
largest producer of wine in the country.
Also, in the Yakima, Wenatchee, and
Chelan valleys, apple orchards produce
the bulk of the nation's apple crop. Out
in the southeast corner of the state lie
the rolling Palouse Hills, where rich
soils sustain the most productive wheat
fields in the nation. Spokane, close to
the Idaho state line, is the region's
largest metropolitan area.
2 Visitor Information
For information on Washington, con-
tact the
Washington State Tourism
Office,
P.O. Box 42500, Olympia, WA
98504 (
&
800/544-1800
or 360/725-
5052; www.experiencewashington.
com). For information on Seattle and
vicinity, contact the
Seattle's Conven-
tion and Visitors Bureau,
701 Pike
St., Suite 800, Seattle, WA 98101
(
&
206/461-5800;
www.seeseattle.
org), which operates a visitor informa-
tion center inside the Washington State
Convention and Trade Center, 800
Convention Place, Galleria Level. If
you're surfing the Net searching for
information on the Seattle area, check
out
www.ci.seattle.wa.us/html/visitor
,
the city of Seattle's visitor information
site. This site is basically a wide range of
links to other sites.
Also keep in mind that most cities
and towns in Washington have either a
tourist office or a chamber of commerce
that can provide you with information.
When approaching cities and towns,
watch for signs along the highway
directing you to these information cen-
ters. See the individual chapters for spe-
cific addresses.
To get information on outdoor
recreation in national parks and
national forests of Washington, con-
tact the
Outdoor Recreation Infor-
mation Center,
Seattle REI Building,
222 Yale Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98109
(
&
206/470-4060;
www.nps.gov/
ccso/oric.htm).
For information on Washington state
parks, contact
Washington State Parks
and Recreation Commission,
7150
Cleanwater Lane (P.O. Box 42650),
Olympia, WA 98504-2650 (
&
360/
902-8844;
www.parks.wa.gov).
For information on ferries, contact
Washington State Ferries,
2911 Sec-
ond Ave., Seattle, WA 98121-1012
(
&
800/843-3779
or 888/808-7977
within Washington state, or 206/464-
6400; www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries).
3 Money
ATMs
The easiest and best way to get cash
away from home is from an ATM
(automated teller machine). The
Cir-
rus
(
&
800/424-7787;
www.master
card.com) and
PLUS
(
&
800/843-
7587;
www.visa.com) networks span
the globe; look at the back of your
bank card to see which network you're
on, then call or check online for ATM
locations at your destination. Be sure
you know your personal identification
number (PIN) before you leave home
and be sure to find out your daily
