Spokane’s Garbage Goat

Spokane’s Garbage Goat

Installed in 1974, just in time for the World’s Fair Exposition in Spokane, Washington, this iconic structure has delighted children and adults visiting the Inland Northwest for generations—but it isn’t the canted pavilion that once marked the US presence at the fair, or the gondola across Spokane Falls that takes visitors so close they can feel the spray on their faces, or even the German beer garden facility that now

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Lime Kiln Point State Park’s iconic lighthouse

Lime Kiln Point State Park’s iconic lighthouse

I’ve always thought that was a strange name for a state park. After all, not too many people may even know what a lime kiln is, let alone how they played a role in developing Washington’s history. As it turns out, the lime kilns on San Juan Island are significant for a number of reasons (which I’ve detailed in another blog post), but the site of the island’s lighthouse within

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Earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest

Earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest

Two weeks after Valentine’s Day, 2001, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the south sound region of Washington state near where the Nisqually River empties into Puget Sound. It was nearly 11 a.m. on a Wednesday, and the state legislature was in full swing. The violent tremors lasted nearly a minute, rocking the state capital of Olympia and the nearby cities of Lacey, Tumwater, Nisqually, DuPont, and Shelton. The shocks registered

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The Wreck of the S.S. Catala

The Wreck of the S.S. Catala

I’ve spent a lot of time in Ocean Shores, Washington, over the years…hiking around Damon Point, rock-hopping at the north jetty and exploring the Coastal Interpretive Center (which is absolutely worth seeing, if you ever get the chance). But one of the more memorable moments in my Ocean Shores experience was getting to “discover” a shipwreck as the tempestuous weather began shifting the dunes and slowly exposing its hull at

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