First visit: June 1993
Washington is a land of amazing contrast. The rain in Seattle and the western side of the state is well known. The eastern side of the state is desert, however, which averages more than 300 sunny days each year. While the west side produced Microsoft and Amazon.com, the east is famous for apples, hops and world-class wineries. These shots represent only a small cross-section of the natural beauty found there.
The farm land in eastern Washington is irrigated mostly from the system of dams on the Columbia River. In Lind, the grain elevators (and the telephone poles) follow the railroad.
Chief among the natural attractions is Mount Rainier . Those who say that there is no more dramatic site than seeing Mt. Rainier for the first time will get no arguement from me. This picture was taken in May above the Paradise visitor center.
Mount Saint Helens erupted in 1980. It is hard to prepare yourself for this sight. It looks like a large hand scooped out most of the mountain and threw it away. The power of nature to recover is still more amazing than it's power to destroy. Even in this picture from July of 1996, it's clear that green sections are returning. Strangely, this site is not administered by the National Park Service. The Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is part of the Department of Agriculture.
