Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
10
Eastern Washington
F
or many people who live on the
wet west side of the Cascades, life in
Washington would be nearly impossi-
ble if it were not for the sunny east
side of the mountains. Eastern Wash-
ington lies in the rain shadow of the
Cascades, and many parts of the
region receive less than 10 inches of
rain per year. This lack of rain is also
accompanied by plenty of sunshine—
an average of 300 days per year. Statis-
tics like these prove irresistible to folks
from Puget Sound, who often head
over to eastern Washington to dry out.
Though there's little rainfall, rivers
such as the Columbia, which mean-
ders through much of this region,
have provided, with the assistance of
dams such as the huge Grand Coulee
Dam, sufficient irrigation water to
make the region a major agricultural
area. Apples, pears, cherries, wine
grapes (and wine), wheat, and pota-
toes have become the staple crops of
a land that once grew little more
than sagebrush and bunchgrass. The
Columbia River was also responsible
thousands of years ago for creating the
region's most fascinating geological
wonders—a dry waterfall that was once
four times larger than Niagara Falls and
abandoned riverbeds known as coulees.
Down in the southeastern corner of
the state, near the college and wheat-
farming town of Walla Walla, the
desert gives way to the Blue Moun-
tains. It was near here that the region's
first white settlers, Marcus and Nar-
cissa Whitman, set up a mission in
order to convert Native Americans to
Christianity. They were later massa-
cred by Cayuse Indians angered by the
Whitmans' inability to cure a measles
epidemic. In recent years, Walla Walla
has become Washington's fastest-
growing winery region. To the north
of Walla Walla lie the Palouse Hills, a
scenic region of rolling hills that are
blanketed with the most productive
wheat farms in the United States.
Though Yakima attracts sun-seekers
from the western part of the state, it is
Spokane, at the far eastern end of the
state only a few miles from Idaho, that
is the region's largest city. With its
proximity to forests and mountains
and its setting on the banks of the
Spokane River, it appeals to those who
value outdoor activities. The city's far
easterly location, however, makes it
seem less a part of the Northwest and
more a part of the Rocky Mountain
states.
1 Ellensburg: A Glimpse of the Wild West
110 miles SE of Seattle, 36 miles N of Yakima, 75 miles S of Wenatchee
Ellensburg, which lies on the edge of cattle- and sheep-ranching country just
east of the last Cascade foothills, is a town with a split personality. On the one
hand, it is a small college town, site of Central Washington University. However,
it is also a classic cow town best known as the site of the Ellensburg Rodeo, one
of the West's top rodeos. A downtown full of historic commercial buildings fur-
ther adds to the character of this town, and proximity to the mountains and ski
