R and J in the USA

We entered the country’s northwesternmost state, now 3,000 miles away from the nation’s capitol city that bears the same name. 

Not long after entering the state, we stopped for our first night at a Harvest Host in the town of Warden. You can read about that stay in our People Along the Way section.

Not long into our visit, we got the answer to the question of why a state that is one of the farthest from where our nation’s first president ever stepped foot in bore his name. In our tour of the Washington State Capitol we found out the state was originally going to be called Columbia, after the Columbia River that ran through it. It was thought that the potential for confusion with the nation’s capital, known as the District of Columbia – you know, the DC part of Washington, DC, the part that no one ever really says – might lead to confusion. So, a proposal was made to instead name the state after our nation’s founder, George Washington. And, nobody has ever confused the two since. (You might want to fact check that.)

We both had been to Washington a handful of times before, but there was still plenty of the state we were looking forward to discovering. 

We entered the state on Interstate 90 West through Spokane and took in the vastness of eastern and central Washington’s terrain, and the beautiful browns and beiges of the various farms, hills, geological features, gorges, and apple orchards that fill this portion of the state. 

We visited the state capitol building in Olympia, impressed with the grandness of its atrium and, as always, taken in by the history and cultural education we got on the tour. We continued our education at the state history museum in Tacoma, then made our way to Seattle for a delicious west coast salmon dinner at the house of our dear friends Matt and Laura.

Ryan hopped on a plane home from Seattle for one of his every 4-6 week visits to his mom. Julie took off solo to bike the hilly roads of Moran State Park in Orcas Island, take in the thermal waters of Sol Duc Hot Springs in Olympic National Park, and stand at the northwesternmost point of the contiguous United States in Cape Flattery, waving to Quoddy Point 3,000 plus miles away near Lubec, ME – the easternmost point in the US at which we had stood four months prior. 

The scritching and scratching that we started hearing in Idaho made itself known as a very real set of critter squatters. Julie, like the scene from almost every action movie you’ve ever seen, went full judgment day at Ace Hardware, loading up for a full-on war to defend our home on wheels from the intruders. As she set up her mouse repellants and traps, she might as well have said in her best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice, “Sorry, guys. Youwa evicted.” You can read more about the critter adventures in our Life on the Road section.

While the rodent drama carried on during the nights, delightful Washington adventures filled up the days. 

Julie picked Ryan up in Seattle three days after he left and our friends were kind enough to let us use them for their public utilities. Compost and grey water were dumped, water was filled up, and a few final hugs were had.

We spent a night in Paradise, an aptly named portion of Mount Rainier National Park, and debated whether we were hiking or walking up a very steep paved pathway near the base of the mighty mountain. Luckily, the pavement eventually disappeared and we were both in agreement, from that point on, that we were enjoying a stunning hike with an auspiciously perfect view of the mountain and its glowing vibrant alpine meadows on this perfect fall day. 

We headed back toward eastern Washington and attempted to see the World’s Largest Lava Lamp in Soap Lake. After rolling into Soap Lake we found out that the lava lamp didn’t actually exist. It instead was but a dream long held by this little town. The trip to Soap Lake was still worth it for the 1970s era playground and the stunning views of the mineral rich waters that earned the lake it’s cleanly moniker.

We finished the longest drive of the trip after dark at Riverside State Park’s Bowl and Pitcher area in Spokane. We were tired from the day, but ready for our 5K the next morning. 

We ran a beautiful race course on a beautiful fall day, which you can read about in our 5K section, and handled some to-do’s before hitting the road to make the trek out of Washington. 

We’ve been here many times and left knowing that our future held many more to come. So long, for now, lovely Washington – that’s the state, not the district, lest there be any confusion.