West Virginia

Year of First Visit – 1998
Point of Entry – US 340 near Harper's Ferry


My first glimpse of West Virginia was out the window of a Suburban full of youth workers heading to Nashville for a Youth Specialties Conference.  It was mid-November and as we rounded the bend along the Potomac and Shenandoah river confluence, I saw what looked like a Christmas village being set up and waiting for the lights and frocking.

The intrigue brought me back to Harper's Ferry several times in spring, summer, and fall.  It's a quick trip from home and a quick trip back in time among a stunning blend of natural and man-made beauty.

I've had a couple of "drive through" trips in West Virginia where I could enjoy the scenery, like on our road trip that led us to Monmouth Cave that included a night in Charleston.  Or that drive west on I-70 through the Wheeling.

Beyond the drives, we spend a day or two at New River Gorge.  It was quite the blend of technologies, cultures, and time periods all living in both harmony and conflict simultaneously.

Fascinating.

Wild.

Wonderful.

Washington

Year of First Visit – 2007
Point of Entry – Spokane International Airport (GEG)


You may notice a gap in entries since Virginia.  What to write about Washington has been quite a puzzle.  Then life happened but I've been meaning to get back to this project.  I need to finish up this alphabetical list then go back and fill in the states I've visited in the past five years.

That actually fits a bit of my experience with Washington.  My initial experience was to land in Spokane as a launch point for a road trip to Montana and Wyoming the spend the night there before our return flight.  We meant to spend the afternoon in Spokane but only really went to the Best Western.

Perhaps later.

A couple years after that we flew into Seattle for a Pacific Coast vacation.  We spent time at Mount Rainier.  It left a deep impression and is a place I would to spend some serious time.

Someday, maybe.


From there, it was Mt. St. Helens.  Wow.  Just Wow.  I had been fascinated with the place since it erupted when I was in 4th grade.  It was utterly mesmerizing.  We didn't plan enough time to take in all that we wanted to do and it sits at the top of our places that we want to go back and explore.

Sooner or later.

We loved our morning at the mouth of the Columbia River.  We had to leave before the kids could turn in their Junior Ranger folders and they somehow got lost on the trip home.

When we get back there . . .




Olympic National Park was a delight.  So much to see and do and so many extremely different settings.  We weren't able to get to some of the key locations.  We also saw the dams the summer before they were removed.

We'll have to finish it up.

Bryce's school orientation was scheduled after we planned the trip so he and I went home before the ladies.  When we went home, they spent the day exploring Seattle around the Space Needle.

Next time.

Washington is filled with wonderful memories and experiences.  Getting back there to finish them up, though, has taken longer than coming up with this post.  Hopefully, I will eventually get back there like I finally did to this blog.