For those of you who are in or near Washington State…or plan to visit…here is some information about my home town and why I enjoy living here.
The Tri-Cities of Washington (Richland, Pasco, and Kennewick) is on the shores of the mighty Columbia River in SE Washington. It’s on the “dry side” of the state with rainfall only averaging four inches per year. The Chamber of Commerce touts us as having “300 days of sunshine a year”. I think they may be right most years. It lies between two gorgeous mountain ranges. The Cascades and The Blue Mountains are only an hour drive in either direction. This combination provides many recreational opportunities.
The area is a community of about 200,000 population. Mostly agricultural, but historically the largest employer has been the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The plutonium for the first atomic bomb was produced here in the 1940s as part of the Manhattan Project. Most of the activity here now is the nuclear power plant and cleanup from decades of misguided and secretive government policies in WW2 and the cold war era. (Or, at least that’s what we’re being told.)
Even with that seemingly unattractive area to the North of us, it’s been a real pleasure to spend the last thirty-six years in this area. It is a great place to raise a family. Accept for a couple of months in the winter when it gets cold and grey, and a month or so in August when it can stay in the 100s for weeks, the climate is ideal. We have gorgeous weather the rest of the year. I have actually played golf year round some years even though I did have to bundle up a bit. (Think winter golf gloves.) The area has become quite the golfing destination with many quality courses.
What I’d like to do is describe the area and show you some pictures taken while enjoying that sunshine.
I will begin with hiking opportunities. We aren’t like the “wet” side where hikes through rain forest habitat is commonplace. You’ll see in the pictures, we are more of a desert habitat. There are mountains to climb though. The vistas from the tops of these are beautiful. Here are a few pictures from the top of a very popular hiking and mountain biking area called Badger Mountain. On a clear day one can actually see the tops of Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams approximately 100 miles to the west.
- Badger Canyon
- Candy and Red Mtns.
- Lil Badger
- Roll on Columbia
- The Columbia River as it passes Kennewick and Pasco Washington
As many of you know, I am an avid bicyclist who has mostly taken to riding dedicated paved bike paths of late. This area has a plethora of such paths that have exquisite scenery. The Richland Riverfront Trail and The Sacajawea Heritage Trail are two of my favorite trails…period. Perhaps these pictures will give you a taste of why that is so.
- A look at Badger Mtn from the bike path as it goes over the Columbia River
- A popular swimming area along the bike path in one of the many parks
- Cable Bridge
- Columbia Point Marina
- Columbia Point Park with 2500 foot Rattlesnake Ridge in the distance
- Heavenly scents in spring with a field of baby’s breath on one side and the river on the other
- How about a personal watercraft
- Leslie Grove Park
- Lighthouse on Clover Island
- Rent a kayak
- Sacajawea Trail Map
- Sternwheeler from Portland docked in Richland’s Howard Amon Park
- Tree carving in the park
So, there you have a sampling of my home town and some of the reasons I love living here. The next time you think of Washington State, hopefully you’ll think of this oasis in the desert and not just of rain. Don’t get me wrong, I love the West (wet) side of the state too. I just prefer sunshine.
Wow, Dave…that’s gorgeous!
Thanks Norma. I grew up in the Rockies of Western Montana and they are my first love as far as scenery goes. However, I have come to love SE Washington almost as much.
Impressive! It’s so clean!
We live in Richland, Washington and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. This area has it all; great weather, the wine country, major junior hockey and a minor league baseball team. Plus we’re only 3 to 4 hours from Portland and Seattle. We just got back from the Oregon coast and as beautiful as that is, it’s great to be back in the Mid-Columbia.
George,
I agree. It’s great to be back after my four month odyssey to Florida and back. I had a great big smile on my face the day I crossed the Columbia River from Oregon into Washington. That’s the nature of travel though, isn’t it? Travel is always fun but so is coming home again.
Thanks for your comment. We should work for the Chamber of Commerce…LOL.
Beautiful area. Spent a couple weeks up there in 2006, had to go fishing for one of t those massive Columbia sturgeons. Always planned to go back. Thanks for sharing your home ground.
Lived 18 years in the north Puget Sound area. Always thought we would retire near the Tri-Cities. Lovely area.