WRITINGS

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CASCADE MOUNTAINS

Mt. Saint Helens, Mt. Adams, and Glacier Peak are only some of the towering land forms that make up the majestic Cascade Mountains. This stretch of land dramatically cuts the State of Washington into two contrasting regions. These rugged, dark soldiers towering over the landscape, were created by hot, thick, smoldering lava flowing from the Earth's cervices. In the summer, the peaks look calm and peaceful, as if they were rejoicing in the coming of a warmer season. Winter's tolls will soon return, bringing blankets of snow to suffocate the rocky mountain tops. Cumulus clouds gently float up from the dormant volcanoes like steam rising from a hot bath. Lonely, desolate conifer trees, with branches heavy of snow, scatter themselves randomly near the bases of the mountains. White covered ski lodges and small, winter occupied cabins speckle parts of the land like kids playing Hide and Seek. Wandering from slope to slope, unpredictable rivers flow vigorously over rocks and man-made dams. Car-jammed highways and busy roads wind their way through the great barrier to reach civilization on either side. These glorious peaks add an aura of grandeur to the already spectacular Washington State.

Columbia Basin

"Hello Ladies and Gentlemen! My name is George Bernstalk, you can call me Freddy. I would like to welcome you to Eastern Washington Tours. I am glad you were all able to join us on this beautiful morning. This tour will be of the Columbia Basin Region. We will begin our adventure in Spokane and finish in the Tri-Cities."
"Okay now, let's get this show on the road! We will start out by traveling down Highway 2. Most of you probably recognize this stretch of asphalt as it is a major highway in this state. At least I certainly hope you do!"
"You may notice that this area looks very flat and dry. This is because it is!!! Ha! I do find myself amusing! Continuing on..."
"We are now entering an area of the Columbia Basin known as the channeled scab lands. This area was formed when Lake Missoula flooded. The water carved channels, like the ones you see out both sides of the bus, throughout the area. The channeled scab lands do not take up the majority of the Columbia Basin. In fact, they only occupy a small portion."
"The river you saw earlier just as we were leaving Spokane, is called the Spokane River, oddly enough. It runs into the commonly known Columbia River. Some of you may not know this, but the Columbia River is really a bunch of dammed still water areas. They are almost like small lakes. There is only on part of the Columbia that runs freely, but we will talk about that later."
"Ah! This is Banks Lake which, we are now passing over. There is quite a story I should tell you about. It is something known as the Columbia Basin Project. You are probably not aware of it. There are a number of irrigation canals along the Columbia River from Banks Lake to the outskirts of the Tri-Cities. Farmers here know they don't have an abundance of water, so they use it wisely. Their lands may even be tilted, or sloped, so that extra water runs back into the canals. It is a great effort to consume water conservatively."
"The only other major lake in the Columbia Basin Region is Moses Lake. We will not be able to see this lake, however, or the Pot Holes Reservoir located right below it. I am sorry we weren't blessed with the ability to visit this area, as it is beautiful. If you had wanted to, you could have purchased the extended version of this tour which would have taken you there. I have a feeling, though, that this tour will be enough!"
"If you are wondering what we are doing now, we are taking a secret back road that will tie us into I-90, the next major highway we will be traveling on during this tour."
"By now, I hope you have taken notice of how dry this area actually is. The only green areas are those that are being watered by the farmers and their sprinklers. Everything else is an orangish, brown color. If we were flying over this area, we would see green circles on the ground. These areas are the only spots being watered."
"We are finally out of the channeled scab lands and into just plain old flat lands. The land does get a little hilly in some areas, but for the most part it is flat!"
"Now, looking out both sides of the bus you will see a road. yes, it is I-90. We made it without so much as a blown tire."
"We will now turn right and head out towards the Columbia River where we will eventually take another 'special route' to get back on I-82. Remember from before, I told you about the only spot in the Columbia River that is still free flowing?" Good! We will get to that later."
"Out both sides of the bus, you can see the one and only, gorgeous Columbia River!! If we were to pass over this river, we would no longer be in the Columbia Basin Region. Beyond this river, we run into a region known as Central Washington. However, because this is not a tour of Central Washington and you folk didn't pay for it, we will veer off and take this road right here! Hold on tight!!!! Say, I bet you guys can't wait until this tour is over! That is just fine by me as well!"
"We are now getting onto Highway 82. This road will take us down by the Columbia River and once again you are able to see the spectacular view out of the left side of the bus. All you folks on the right side of the bus can go ahead and peer over the shoulders of the folks on the left side if you wish."
"Now, do you still recall earlier when I spoke about the only free flowing part the Columbia River and said we would get to it later? Well, there it is out of the left side of the bus. It is called the Hanford Reach. It is the only natural running part of the Columbia River. Wasn't that worth the wait?"
"Okay, now all you folks pouting on the right hand side of the bus, stop feeling sorry for yourselves. There is something just for you. Out of your windows you can see the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Don't you think it was just brilliant of the engineers that built this thing to put it right by the Columbia River? Well I sure don't! Eventually nuclear ooze will be floating into the river, effecting the water supply and wildlife. Just think of that!"
"Well, I hate to say it folks, but our tour is almost over. We are approaching the Tri-Cities, which lay near the Snake River. Some of you may think that the Tri-Cities is only one city. You are wrong! It is three cities. Pasco, Kennewick and Richland make up this trio. We will be letting you off in Kennewick. I know this wasn't an extremely good region to tour, but as you know, all the other regions were booked."
"I hope you enjoyed this tour. Please feel free to leave a tip as you exit the bus. Thanks and have a .....


"Robby, what are you doing up? I told you to stop playing tour guide hours ago and go to bed! Now do it before I get REALLY angry!!!"
"Okay, Mom. Good night."



NORTHWEST INTERIOR


From the towering peak of Mt. Shuksan, to the lonely, forgot about peninsula of Point Roberts, lies the spectacular Northwest Interior Region. Explosive eruptions and soggy mud flows from majestic Mt. Baker, made the land what it is today. Cutting and scraping the earth like a sharp pick ax, glaciers carved out the rounded Chuckanut Hills. Standing guard at the peak of the succulent Bellingham bay, the Lummi Indian Reservation is buzzing with activity. Curiously meandering it's way through the picturesque region, the running water of the Nooksack River empties out into the bay. Winding with confidence near the western border, Interstate Five takes the scenic route from the Puget Sound Lowlands, up into Canada. Lummi Island stands with pride on the western edge of Bellingham Bay, while the extensive blue of the Strait of Georgia pushes it's way around the rocks. Unguarded and ignored, the elongated 49th Parallel forms the most northern border. This property line separates the Northwest Interior and the dominant country of Canada. Last, but not least, the almost frightened Skagit River crawls it's way into the region and separates the only two major mountains in this area. Even though the region is fairly small, many different types of physical features mold and shape the Northwest Interior into a beautiful stretch of land.



Northwest Interior




From the towering peak of Mt. Shucksan, to the lonely, forgot about peninsula of Point Roberts, lies the spectacular Northwest Interior Region. Explosive eruptions and soggy mud flows from Mt. Baker, made the land what it is today. Cutting and scraping the earth like a sharp pick ax, glaciers carved out the rounded Chuckanut Hills. Standing guard at the far western edge of this region, the Lummi Indian Reservation is buzzing with activity. Meandering through the picturesque Interior, the free-flowing water of the Nooksack River empties out into Bellingham Bay. Winding with confidence near the western border, Interstate Five takes the scenic route from the Puget Sound Lowlands, up into Canada. Lummi Island stands with pride off the coast of the Lummi Reservation, while the extensive blue of the Strait of Georgia pushes forcefully around the rugged rocks off its shore. Unguarded and ignored, the elongated 49th Parallel forms the most northern border. This property line separates the Northwest Interior and it's neighboring country, Canada. Crawling its way into the region, the tamed Skagit River separates Mt. Baker and Mt. Shucksan, the only two major peaks in this area. Even though the region is fairly small, many different types of physical features mold and shape the Northwest Interior into a beautiful stretch of land.



Olympic Mountains

An old Indian legend has it that the Olympic Mountains were not naturally formed features. It is said that they were, what you might call, an accident.
Long ago, no one knows exactly when, when the sea and land gods ruled the earth, there was an old Indian tribe settled not far from what we call the Pacific Ocean today. Their name was the Sashwanna Indians.
They believed that if they set foot out into the water, the gods of the seas would be angry and bring harm to the tribe. The same was true for the gods of the lands. They feared that if they were to ever misuse or mistreat any bush or tree they would be punished as well. "Punishment would result in death," or so the Elders said.
In the Sashwanna tribe there was a young Indian boy named Asolka who had an extremely curious mind. This boy did not want to listen to what his Elders were telling him, He did not believe in the legends of the gods. No person so powerful could possibly exist. Asolka made up his mind that he was going to prove to all his people that there were no such gods to be frightened of.
When the sun rose one morning, Asolka set out to the great water(the ocean). He was going to wade into the seas and pull out some fish to bring back and show his tribe. Everything went as planned. He was able to catch three big salmon which he took back to his village unharmed. When all the people saw what Asolka had done, they became both angry and scared. They locked him up and started praying to the gods of the seas for forgiveness. Two moons passed and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The Sashwanna Indians felt that perhaps the gods had forgiven them. When the tribe finally let Asolka out of his cell, they told him that he would have to go live by the ocean for seven moons to make sure that he had been forgiven for his sins. He did not like this demand, but decided to keep his thoughts to himself. It was agreed that Asolka would set forth for the waters when the bright sun rose into the sky the next morning.
After everyone had fallen asleep and the moon could be seen high in the sky, he left the Sashwanna Tribe forever. North was the direction he had decided to travel, into the great trees that he was only allowed to admire from afar as a small boy. Finding shelter did not seem to be a problem in his mind. He decided he was going to make a home out of one of the giant evergreens standing at the edge of the forest. He had brought along with him his prized knife he made in the past as a child. It had been thought by his Elders that Asolka would someday be the next tribal leader, because he was so clever with everyday items. However, being a tribal leader did not seem very exciting to him. He yearned to explore the area in which he lived. Curiosity had always drawn him to want to know more about the great form of dirt his people called land.
After searching for a little while, Asolka found a tree that would be perfect for him to carve a home out of. Finally, when he finished carving his shelter, he decided to start looking for food. He remembered the big fish he had pulled out of the water and decided to go back there to find more. As Asolka started to walk towards the place where he had found the abundance of salmon, it began to rain. It was not the kind of rain that fell lightly, but the kind that fell hard and suddenly. Asolka started to feel a little uneasy. What if what his Elders had told him was true? What if he had just upset the gods? Tears burst form his face as a big crash of thunder filled the air. All at once the earth around him began to shake. Trees fell over and the ground he was standing on began to rise. Asolka tried jumping off the rising land, but wherever he landed the earth there would also start to grow and bulge. He began to scream. No one knows what happened to the young boy, he was never seen or heard from again.
When the sun rose and a new day was born, the Sashwanna tribe woke up startled to find big, tall pieces of land towering over their valley. No one could find Asolka, they all assumed that the gods of the land had taken him.
The big tower of land in this legend was later to be named the Olympic Mountains. Some say that if you hike up into the mountains today, and listen carefully in the night air, you can hear the strange and startled cry of a young man asking for forgiveness.

PALOUSE HILLS AND BLUE MOUNTAINS



Rounded and rolling,
like calm
sea waves.
Reddish-brown
dirt suffocates the

land,
leaving no
room for

lush fields of

green.

Dry
air breathes it's
hot, humid
breath upon
the

earth,

while wheat fields
galore
long and
thirst. An
illusive barrier stands
guard

between

the
fluent hills
and exuberant

mountains,

the river of
water
carries itself

cautiously
across the
barren

grounds.

Dark, rugged
mountains

tower

over the
minute hills,
like
giant's hands
protecting it's

young.

Gray-like rocks
form
these cutting

cliffs, without
much powder snow

to
make them

white.

Hard-working farmers
work in the
fields,
while small
rambunctious

children
run and
play.


Everything is
silent at night,

preparing

for the
dawn
of a new


day.
PUGET SOUND LOWLANDS



Like
buses screeching
and car horns
blaring

A
farmer picking his
daily crop

or
Waves licking the
rocky beaches

Like
smoke twirling
from chimney tops

or
Chain saws buzzing
and
trees falling

Like
tulips blooming on
a lazy river
plain

or
Sun peaking through
cotton- like-clouds

Like
a deep
monotonous rain

or
Dark
green forests and lush
emerald fields

Like
pure blue
rivers winding
to the
Sound

or
Ferry boats skirting
across the water

Like
sky- scrapers towering
over the
ground

or
Icy-clear and bright
azure skies

Like
a thick
penetrating fog

or
Wind- billowed sails
filling the
horizon

Like
water laden hills
soaked
as a bog
Floating bridges and
congested roads

Like
log booms
heading to the cutting
mills

or
Flat valleys left
over from winter's
floods

Like
small rolling
fertile
hills

SAN JUAN ISLANDS

"Grandpa, tell me another story before bed. Please?"
"Okay, but only one more. You are just a small boy and need your sleep!"
"I promise I will go right to bed. Tell me the one about the San Juan Islands."
"You have already heard that one many times. Don't you think it's a little scary for bedtime?"
"No! Please tell it to me again!"
"Okay. Hundreds and hundreds of years ago, the San Juan Islands weren't where they are today. They were under water. Some people believe that there are such things as water people. These so-called people lived in-between the great Puget Sound and the Pacific Ocean. Water people were thought to be very smart. Smarter than we are today."
"How did they get around under water?"
"Legend has it that they had fins. Long, black, scaly fins instead of feet. They also had gills so they could breath."
"So, they were kind of like mermaids?"
"Oh, no! Mermaids are nice and help people. These people weren't so friendly. If someone needed to be saved in the water, they wouldn't help them to get to land. Instead, they would trap them under water and try to turn them into water people, too. For years, people seemed to disappear into thin air, so to speak, when they would venture into the water. Even the very best of swimmers. It was assumed that they had all drowned and their bodies drifted out to sea. No one knew the truth, it was a great mystery.
"But the people weren't dead, right?"
"No they weren't!"
"How could they breath under water?"
"No one knows for sure. The water people somehow turned them into water people too. Well, continuing on. One summer day, the Welcher family decided to go to the beach. They had not heard of about all the disappearances. Sandy, the youngest, was extremely excited because she had never gone swimming in salt water before. While her parents were setting up the towels and blankets, Sandy and brother Juan, decided to go swimming. Juan was four years older than Sandy and an experienced swimmer. He jumped right into the water and started gliding out over the waves. Suddenly, Sandy lost sight of him. Jumping into the cold ocean, she decided to swim after Juan. When she finally reached the area where he had last been seen, nothing but the blue of the water could be seen. Sandy began to get scared. As she started stroking her way back to shore to alert her parents, she felt a sharp jerk on her foot. She tried to get away, but it was no use. A much stronger force was pulling her under. Everything went dark as she sailed deeper and deeper towards the ocean floor!"
"Go on, Grandpa."
"Be patient! When Sandy regained consciousness, she realized that she was being held under water in a holding room of some kind. The cell appeared to be located on a big chunk of land attached to the bottom of the ocean by small dirt cords. She also became aware that there were many other people in the same situation. Carefully sitting up, she tried taking a step towards the jail bars but noticed that she no longer had feet. In place of her legs was a huge, green fin!"
"They turned her into a water person!"
"Well, at least they were trying to! Some time later, guards came and let her out of her cage. They told her that she was close to completing the transformation process and was now being allowed to roam freely about the water. Sandy inquired to the guards about her brother. They told her that he was still locked up, explaining that the older a person is, the longer it takes to change them. Sandy thanked the men with a phony smile and swam away while figuring a way to get out of this mess. She was changing physically, but was still Sandy inside. A feeling of dread filled her body as she thought of how much she missed her loving parents. Something had to be done to free her brother and all the others trapped under the ocean."
"When everyone was asleep later that night, Sandy swam back to the cells. She found her brother quietly hunched up the a corner of one. Searching the ground, she located a sharp rock and a thick stick. Swimming over to one of the thin cords holding the land in place, she began to poke and saw at it. After what seemed like a long time, the slender threads began to snap. She went on to the next one. When the last one let go, the ground began to rise slowly upwards towards the surface carrying all the cells with it. Sandy swam on to the next mound of land and started releasing those cords as well. By the time darkness was turning to dawn, all the land masses were bobbing on the surface of the water."
"She rescued everyone all by herself!"
"That she did! She was a very brave girl. Then as the sun came up and warmed the land, people on the shore woke to find all these islands of land where only water had been before. All the innocent victims were transformed back to their original selves once the rays of the sun hit them. It was decided that the islands of land would be named after Sandy and Juan and they became the San Juan Islands. Oh, by the way, the mean water people were turned into pebbles and that is way the islands have such rocky shorelines today."
"That is a great story Grandpa. Thank you for telling it to me!"
"You are very welcome. Now, it's time for you to sleep! Good night!"
"Good night!"



Willapa Hills

Jackie:
Hey girl! Waz up? Do you remember when I told you the other day that I had to go on this boooring tour of the Willapa Hills for Washington State? Well, guess what, it wasn't so boring after all! This is what happened.

"Hello, welcome to Washington tours. My name is Regenold Nomel, and I will be your guide for the day. Today we are going to tour the extraordinary Willapa Hills located in the south-central part of Western Washington. If you have ever been on any of our tours, you know that if you have any questions, all you have to do is raise your hand and I will do my best to answer them for you. As soon as our driver gets here we will begin the tour you all have been anticipating. While we are waiting, let me tell you a little about myself. I am twenty-seven, and this will be my first tour I have to guide by myself....but don't worry, I am fully educated in this part of Washington. I am sure we will not have any problems."
"Sir, I mean Regenold, when do you think we will be going, I mean, I do have other plans for the day."
"I'm sorry sir, I didn't catch your name."
"Dennis Anderson"
"Dennis, you don't mind if I call you Dennis, do you? Well, unless you would like to drive, we have no way of going anywhere. I'm sorry you have to wait, knowing how precious your time is, but I am sure that our driver is on his way."
"Look, here he is now."
"Okay, we are now going to enter onto Highway Six. We will be in the Willapa Hills Region in five minutes. As we get closer, notice in the distance, the tall, rounded hills. These are the Willapa Hills. When we enter the region I would like you to look for deer. They are quite abundant in this area."
"Looking out both the right and the left sides of the bus you can see hills. We have just entered the Willapa Hills Region. These hills were created by two major forces, glaciers and erosion. If you look hard, you will be able to observe areas that have visible erosion trails."
"Yes, Maam?"
"Um, well, this may sound like a stupid question, but......"
"The only stupid question is the question not asked"
"Okay, I was just wondering how glaciers could cause these hills."
"Well...when this land was under water, glaciers would float around and eventually they started carving hills out of the once flat land. The glaciers ran into the ground, forcing it to bulge and buckle."
"Thank You."
"Continuing on, if you are curious about the kind of vegetation that you are seeing, they are trees. More specifically, you are looking at a combination of Cedar, Douglas Fir, and Hemlock. The first Tow...."
"Look! Look! There is a little baby deer!"
"You're going to hit it! STOP!"
"Ladies and gentlemen, please remain calm. There are plenty of deer here, one less deer will not make a difference."
"Let's just continue on our way. As I was saying, the first town we are going to come upon is Pe Ell. The towns here are not heavily populated. In fact, not very many people live in this region."
"Out both sides of the bus you are able to see the Nasalle River. This river starts here in the Willapa hills and empties out into Willapa Bay. It is not an extremely long river, but it is of substantial size. That reminds me, this region contains some of the last natural salmon streams in Washington."
"What do you mean by natural streams."
"Next time you have a question, please raise your hand. Thank you! Now, getting back to the point raised, in other areas the salmon streams have had to be changed for one reason or another. People may have had to put things in the streams such as fish ladders to make it possible for the fish to come back and breed. Nothing of that sort has been done here."
"We are now entering the small town of Pe Ell. Look while you can, it will soon be gone. Ha..Ha..Ha, a little tour guide humor. Well, anyway, you may notice that there are very few buildings in this town. That is because there are very few business located here. Also, take notice of how few people you see wandering the sidewalks."
"Yes, Sir?"
"Why don't more people live here?"
"To tell you the truth, I have no idea. Maybe it's just personal choice. There is only one other major city located in the Willapa Hills Region, Cathlamet. It also has very few people living in it."
"If you look out the left side of the bus you will be able see some more deer."
"Excuse me."
"Yes?"
"What is that area over on the right, it looks a little out of place."
"Oh, that is a tree farm. It looks a little out of place because it is man-made. They plant and grow trees in this area. This is one of the few man-made features in the Willapa Hills. We will probably see a few more of these tree farms the further we venture into this region. Other man-made features include four counties, two cities, Highway six, and Interstate five."
"Yes, Dennis?"
"I bet you don't know the names of the four counties that are in this region."
"Of course I do, do you?"
"Yes!"
"Well, since you are so informed about the hills, why don't you come up here and teach the group."
"Since you don't seem up to the job, why not?"
"Okay! Hi everyone! My name is Dennis. The four counties are Pacific, Lewis, Cowlitz, and Wahkiakum. See, I told you I could do it."
"Dennis, would you like to continue? What road are we turning onto now?
"We are now on Interstate five. If you look out both sides of the vehicle, you can see a river.
"What river is it, Dennis?"
"Um, this..is...the...C.he...halis river. That is it, the Chehalis river."
"Correct! There are a total of three rivers. The Nasalle, the Chehalis, and the Columbia. We have already traveled over the Nasalle and Chehalis, but we won't be going over the Columbia. The Columbia river is located in the southern most part of this region, It travels along the border of Washington and Oregon."
"I thought I was leading this tour."
"(Sigh) Okay, Dennis, go on."
"If you look out of the left of the bus, you can see another tree farm........Hey, why are we stopping?"
"Because this is the end of our tour."
"What?! I thought that you would bring us through the region and then drive us back to where we originally started!"
"Dennis, calm down! All of the tourists get a special sneak-peak at what this tree farm is all about."
"So you're just going to leave us here?"
"No Maam, of course not. Another bus will be by in a couple of hours to pick you back up and take you home."
"We all have things to do at home!"
"I'm sorry, but this was all in the brochure. You just had to read the fine print carefully. Everyone out!"
"BUT...."
"No buts! That concludes our tour this evening, I hope you had a wonderful time. If you have any complaints, call and talk to the director of tours. His name is Al. I'm sure he will be glad to hear from you."
"Of all the nerve!"
"Have a nice day, bye-bye now. Don't forget, my name is Regenold!"


We ended up being stuck on that tree farm for four-and-a-half hours! Can you believe it? It turns out that they had forgotten all about us! My parents were so mad, they said that they were never going on another tour again. And you know how crazy they are about doing stuff like that. Well, I have to go, keep in touch.

You're Friend,
Stacia

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