Please give me one good reason to visit Washington

[GrumpyPine]

Originally Posted by bisjoe

My favorite spot to visit is Hurricane Ridge:

Olympic National Park - Hurricane Ridge Webcam (U.S. National Park Service)

+1 vote for Hurricane Ridge. Great place for hiking/snow shoeing.

[msalwin]

You can get volcanic ash in your hotel room if you stand too close.

[1Brotherbill]

Mount Rainier

[Gibbs]

Leavenworth. Blewett Pass in the Cascades.

[ellijo89]

The wine country in eastern Washington is wonderful.

[Lukuss]

If you like the outdoors Washington is a great place... tons of hiking, biking, hunting, photography, snow skiing, water skiing..... I could go on. Not too mention all the great micro breweries and Wineries.

[McDiggitty]

Just driving through Washington is amazing. We have one of the largest rivers in the Nation. Our Public Transport system of boats (ferries) is an adventure all its own.

[eyemakeupneeded]

Seriously, I would go to New Mexico. It is warm in January and even if there are a bunch of native American standing around the highway doing nothing as if it were Northern Alexandria, Virginia, the place is inexpensive, Lois Rodin lived there and she grew up on the Pallisades and her father went to Harvard Law School so she knows a nice place when she sees one. Lois worked for some video archive in Santa Fe. She was at the Zenith Gallery's art spaces in the late seventies early eighties. She did paintings and silk screen, I think. Where's Lois now? I have no eathly idea. She always looked so young.

[clyde]

Yes, and if you want a white Christmas, go to Washington and dig your way out of your snow job.

[fluxfoxtoo]

Tour the Olympic Peninsula.

Go up the coast from Hoquiam to Pacific Beach and experience the wide flat beach and surf there and check out the driftwood. Then go up to the Lodge at Lake Quinault and further up the road to really see the rain forest, coming back down the North side of the lake. From there stop at the Kalaloch campground and you get one of the best elevated views of the beach and ocean surf. Turn west to Oil City, park at the end of the road and walk the mile West to the coast along the Hoh River. You'll probably see thousands of sea gulls, pelicans, shore birds and many others. In the fall Indians will be fishing in the river, too. Fabulous spot with an amazing driftwood collection. Then, on to the Hoh River rain forest in the Olympic National Park. Get out and walk to experience the deep mossy ground and the amazing variety of fungi, small and large. Cut across on Hwy 113 to 112 and go to Lake Ozette. Park at the ranger station and walk 3 miles in to the beach on the split log boardwalk to either White Sands Beach or Cape Alava. Beautiful places. Better yet walk along the beach and come back via the trail you didn't take out to the beach. Nine miles if you do the triangle. Be sure to take lunch and water. Next, head to Neah Bay. The museum there has the relics dug up at Cape Alava. Beautifully exhibited and informative. The next thing to do is head South from there and take the short walk in to Shi Shi beach, arguably one of, if not the, most beautiful beaches anywhere. Also definitely worth it is the short walk out to Cape Flattery where you might see surging surf, surf caves, sea otters, a cormorant nursery, seals, and more. Take your binoculars and plan to spend at least an hour at the Cape; that's one of my favorite places. Heading back, stop by Dungeness spit near Sequim. This amazingly slender thread of sand extending miles into the Straits of Juan de Fuca has a trail all the way out to the end at the light house. Don't forget Hurrican Ridge, well worth the "detour." Then, for a final, more civilized, note head back to Seattle on the ferry from Bainbridge Island, preferably on a clear night. The Seattle lights are like a fairyland on the water. Have at it.