The Sunset Highway is the only route at present permitting through automobile traffic across the Cascade mountains and connecting the western with the eastern counties. Throughout its full four hundred miles from Seattle to Spokane it introduces the tourist to scenes which for diversity and pleasant surprises, varying from rugged mountains and roaring waterfalls to peaceful irrigated valleys or broad wheat plains, can nowhere be duplicated. With the exception of a few miles the grades are never more than five per cent.
Branching off from the Pacific Highway at Renton, it rises northeastward to the headwaters of the Snoqualmie River. Just below the town of Snoqualmie appear the wonderful falls of the same name, the "Niagara of the West." This immense stream of water falling 268 feet, is now harnessed to supply power and light to the cities and towns of Puget Sound. Following the banks of this river the highway penetrates entrancing forests and exposes many a remarkable panorama. Both road and river are at times clearly visible from the Chicago-Milwaukee trains puffing towards the summit.
Descending, the road leads southeast along the headwaters of the Yakima, and skirts the eastern banks of beautiful Lake Keechelus, where the government is building a huge dam for storing water to irrigate the Kittitas and Yakima valleys. Passing the southern extremity of Lake Kachees, another deep mountain lake, it soon passes Cle Elum, a coal shipping center, enters the broad Kittitas valley and reaches the cultured city of Ellensburg, mistress of the section and home of one of the state normals.
The route is now northeastward over Table Mountain by a 5,200-foot pass, permitting an excellent view of Mounts Rainier and Hood. The banks of the Columbia are followed to Wenatchee, the metropolis of north central Washington and the famous red apple district. Crossing the Columbia it proceeds along its east bank to Orondo, whence, plunging through a winding canyon, it rises rapidly to the great wheat plateau of the Big Bend, which bursts suddenly upon the view. Leaving Waterville, the county seat of Douglas county, it turns abruptly eastward to continue in an almost unbroken line through expansive wheat fields towards Spokane, the metropolitan city of the Inland Empire, over a hundred miles away.
At Coulee City, forty miles from Waterville, it would be worth while to linger long enough to explore the Grand Coulee, said to be the old bed of the Columbia. Full of strange features, it has attracted attention from geographers of international reputation. Wilbur, Davenport, the county seat of Lincoln county, and Reardan, besides many smaller settlements, almost lost in the midst of the great wheat fields, appear before the thin woods shading the approach into Spokane are reached.
At Ellensburg the Sunset Highway connects with the Inland Empire Road, a southern route to Spokane via Walla Walla. Following the Wenas Valley to North Yakima, it continues southeast through the Union Gap and along the Sunnyside Canal, the largest irrigation ditch in the state, where a splendid view of the valley, with Mount Hood in the distance appears. From Prosser, county seat of Benton county and entrance to the Horse Heaven country, the road drops toward the Columbia river and soon reaches Kennewick, the home of early strawberries, and Pasco, county seat of Franklin county.
From here the Central Washington Highway threads the extensive wheat fields toward the northeast, passing through Connell, Lind, Ritzville, and Sprague, all important wheat shipping centers; and Cheney, the site of another state normal, fifteen miles southwest from the city of Spokane.
The Inland Empire Highway leads on to the beautiful city of Walla Walla; but at Dayton, the quaint county seat of Columbia county, it divides, uniting again near Rosalia, twenty-five miles south of Spokane. The shorter route trends northeast, crosses the Snake at Pataha and passes through Colfax, county seat of Whitman county, in the rich Palouse Valley. The other branch penetrates extensive barley and wheat fields, enters Pomeroy, county seat of Garfield county, and Clarkston, on the eastern boundary line, named for the great explorer. Bending northward it transects irrigated lands and wheat fields; enters Pullman, home of the State College, Palouse, Garfield and Oakesdale; joins the other branch at the county boundary line and soon reaches the southern outskirts of Spokane.
From Spokane this road presses northward through the Colville Valley to the Columbia, and thence to the international boundary line, having previously passed at Deer Park the Arcadia orchard, largest commercial apple orchard in the world; Loon Lake, a summer resort; Chewelah, a mining town surrounded by a dairying country; and Colville, county seat of Stevens county and largest city in this section. A pleasant contrast is this northern extension, regaining the mountains and evergreen forests, the swiftly flowing rivers with glorious waterfalls, and the chains of lakes adorning irrigated vales and green meadows.
The Olympic Highway, when the few miles from Bogachiel to Lake Quiniault, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, are completed, will form a complete loop around the Olympic Peninsula, from which it derives its name. Winding along at the foot of the mountains, it connects the leading cities of the district and exposes some of the most scenic features of the Sound country, including Hood Canal, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Grays Harbor, and occasionally the Pacific Ocean. The principal cities touched at are Shelton, Port Townsend, Port Angeles, Hoquiam, Aberdeen, Elma and Olympia.
The National Park Highway extends from Tacoma to Rainier National Park, whence it bears southward to the headwaters of the Cowlitz, crosses to the Chehalis Valley and, after connecting with Chehalis and Centralia, leads southwest, over the low coast range to Raymond and South Bend on Willapa Bay, and from there continues to the mouth of the Columbia.
Other scenic routes are planned to cross the Cascade mountains. Two are nearly completed, viz., the McClellan Pass Highway, paralleling the Sunset as far as North Yakima, and one along the north bank of the Columbia. A third will sometime cross and connect the Skagit Valley with the Methow.
This book cannot expect to win the largest measure of approval from the followers of Nimrod unless a few paragraphs are devoted to the opportunities for the chase and the plentifulness of game fish and birds. Of course, the real sportsman would rather discover the prey for himself. To tell minutely where every prize is to be found would be like disclosing the end of an interesting story before the beginning had been read. But even if it were well to do so, every page in this publication would be needed just to mention each stream and lake containing fish, every coppice concealing fowl, and every wood protecting the quarry.
That the common species of game are plentiful is superfluous to say. On holidays and at week ends, during the open season, it is a familiar sight to witness the khaki-suited brave looking sportsmen, with guns or fish baskets and rods, clambering onto the trains or hiking to the nearest point where the welcome woods and the realm of habitation meet. It is equally common to behold this same army of hunters trailing along at the close of the holiday, burdened with fish of many species, vari-colored fowl, or the hides of various game animals.
Game birds are very prolific. Among the most prominent are the Chinese pheasant, bob white and California quail, Hungarian partridge, and native prairie chickens; all are found along the streams or in the clearings and fields of nearly every part of the state. Blue grouse are quite plentiful in western Washington and in the wooded sections of eastern Washington. Ruffled grouse are plentiful in the Okanogan Highlands and in several of the western counties. All species of ducks are to be found on Puget Sound and along the rivers and lakes tributary thereto, also along many streams and lakes of the Inland Empire; while geese infest the Columbia and Snake river regions in eastern Washington.
Perhaps no state in the Union has as many varieties of real fighting trout as Washington; including especially the mountain, rainbow, cut throat, beardsley, crawford, lake, steel head, and eastern brook, in all lakes and mountain streams. Black bass and perch are very plentiful in the land-locked lakes; and certain sections produce also many varieties of white fish, sun fish, croppies and cat fish. The waters of Puget Sound, the harbors and the Columbia River contain many species of salmon.
The commonest and most hunted large game is the deer, found chiefly in the hills and mountains, although in some localities it invades the domains of domestic animals. The leading varieties noted are the mule and black tail, there being also a few white tail. In the Olympic region are large herds of elk and a few in the southwest and northeastern counties. These, however, are temporarily protected by law. Mountain goat and sheep are found in the rocky peaks of the Cascades; while the black and brown bear are found in the wooded hills and mountains; also occasionally cougars, wild cats, and wolves. These latter, however, keep themselves far removed from the main traveled roads; only by much care are they located, so that the timid need have no fear of wandering in the woods alone.
In order to insure plenty of game at the right season of the year, five trout hatcheries are supported by the state and a number by separate counties. The state hatcheries alone planted 4,399,050 trout in 1913. The common birds are propagated and set free at both public and private expense.
With nature's already liberal supply, and the state and counties blending their united efforts to supplement and conserve, the true sportsman will never regret casting his lot with the state of Washington, where his outdoor propensities may be encouraged to the fullest degree.
The cities of Washington are all beautiful in their natural setting, and reflect the originality, the energy and love for artistic design of the people who dwell within them. In western Washington they are usually protected by verdure covered hills, and built to overlook the Sound, the harbors, or the rivers. The smaller towns nestle close to pretty streams which supply power and water. Snow capped mountains are always visible.
The east side cities are usually near the larger streams and adorned with trees, both native and cultivated. Forests are lacking in the Columbia River Plain, and the brown hills are continually in sight. In the northern counties, however, the native trees and mountains again become more prominent.
All cities are well provided with spacious and comfortable hotels. Theaters, business blocks, school houses, churches, and other public buildings are of modern structure; the streets are generally paved; practically all have electric lights and pure running water. The homes are planned both for beauty and comfort, and are often surrounded by green lawns or gardens where hundreds of species of beautiful flowers reach perfection.
The following pages are devoted to brief descriptions of the larger centers, and the more important trips from each. They are arranged to represent a tour about the state and in the order in which one might visit all, or certain ones only, with the least expenditure of time. The cities given have commercial organizations prepared to give further information regarding their respective localities.
SPOKANE: Metropolis of the Inland Empire, and second largest city in the state. Population about 136,000. Its growth was over 500 per cent in twenty years. Situated on both sides of the Spokane River with wonderful waterfalls in heart of city. One of the leading railroad centers in the west, it has five transcontinental lines operating on their own tracks and two others over joint tracks. Its hotels, theaters, public buildings, and homes, are among the most costly in the northwest. Its fifty-two parks, comprising 1,933 acres valued at more than $2,000,000, give the largest per capita park area of any city in the United States. Splendid boulevards within the city connect with broad highways leading to distant points in the Inland Empire. There is a boating course two miles long above the city, a municipal bathing pool a mile from the business center, and a zoo at Manito Park. One may see large manufacturing establishments, irrigation, wheat fields, and many big development projects within a limited area. It is the home of the North Pacific Fruit Distributors, which markets 60 per cent of the apples of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.
A few of the more important trips should include the following:
WALLA WALLA: (Many Waters.) The "Garden City," at one time said to "have more bicycles, more pianos, more flowers, and more pretty girls than any other city in the Northwest." Population 23,275. One of the richest farm regions in the world is adjacent. Next to Vancouver, oldest city in the state, and home of first white woman in the Northwest. Picturesque hills, with gentle slopes, usually covered with waving grain, surround it; while many a little stream, protected by cottonwoods and birches, winds towards the larger rivers. The N. P. and O. W. R. & N. railways, and Inland Empire Highway pass through. Trees line the well paved streets and produce a particularly artistic effect. Here is located Whitman College, on the site where Stevens made his famous treaty with the Indians; the State Penitentiary; the Blalock Fruit Company's 1,600-acre fruit farm; old Fort Walla Walla, and the oldest bank in state.
Trips should include:
NORTH YAKIMA: Metropolis of the Yakima Valley, where the largest body of irrigated land in the state lies. Population about 19,000. All points in the lower Yakima and in South Central Washington are easily reached. Business and public buildings are of artistic design. City is symmetrically laid out with very wide streets, well shaded. It grew from a village to the metropolis in a few years, keeping pace with the rapid development evident all up and down the valley. A blossom festival is held annually in the springtime, and the State Fair in September. A sight-seeing electric car will take one forty miles through alfalfa fields and orchards where the results of irrigation are displayed. Good automobile roads extend in every direction.
Trips should include:
ELLENSBURG: Metropolis of Kittitas Valley, of which 60,000 acres are irrigated, while the High Line, proposed, will water 84,000 acres more. A level country checkered with orchards, oat fields and dairy farms gradually rises to the foot hills of the Cascades, where grand mountain scenery is revealed. Estimated population about 6,000. One of the three State Normals is here. Splendid highways.
Suggested trips:
WENATCHEE: The metropolis of North Central Washington, and gateway to the Wenatchee, Columbia, Entiat, Okanogan, Methow and Lake Chelan regions. Situated at the confluence of Columbia and Wenatchee rivers, with the foot hills of the Cascades a few miles away. One continuous orchard is seen up and down both valleys. Auto roads lead in all directions to innumerable points of interest, and the navigable Columbia provides transportation for many miles. A labyrinth of lakes and beautiful farms are within easy reach. The mountain scenery is impressive. For a commanding view one should climb Saddle Rock. Mounts Rainier, Hood and Baker, also the smoke of Walla Walla are visible from some points. Population 5,000.
Suggested trips:
SNOHOMISH: "Garden City," second in importance and oldest in Snohomish county. Located in the midst of the rich dairy country just east of Everett, with which city it is connected by interurban and river boats, as well as by steam trains. See "Everett" for trips.
EVERETT: "City of Smokestacks." Population about 32,000. Located on a sightly peninsula formed by Puget Sound and the Snohomish River. Views on every side are superb. The Cascades and Olympics are clearly visible, especially Mounts Baker, Rainier and many lesser peaks, including Pilchuck, always conspicuous, near by. Parks, boulevards and playgrounds, and beautiful homes give artistic completeness. The only arsenic plant in the United States is here. It is an important manufacturing city, especially in lumber, shingles, machinery and paper. Beginning at the city limits a rich dairy country extends to the Cascades. A yearly festival called the "Kla How Ya" is held in July. The G. N., N. P., C, M. & St. P. railways and three interurbans center here, while automobile roads, including the Pacific Highway, lead to the mountains and to lake resorts.
Suggested trips:
SKAGIT VALLEY CITIES: Mount Vernon, county seat, Burlington, Sedro Woolley and La Conner are important centers in the Skagit Valley, famous both for its beauty and because it has some of the richest farm land in the world, extending for miles and level as a table. Dykes are built to protect the country from being overflowed. Oat yields have been known as high as 175 bushels to the acre; while dairying is nowhere in the state more important, two condenseries being supported in Mount Vernon. Two main railroad lines with branches, besides an interurban, serve the section. The Pacific Highway and Skagit County Highway cross at Burlington. Auto trips are made direct to Bellingham, Anacortes, Everett and east into the mountains, visible from almost every point. Many beautiful lakes in region.
ANACORTES: A seaport town on Fidalgo Island at western extremity of Skagit county. Population about 6,000. G. N. railway and Sound steamers supply transportation. The Skagit County Highway starts here. Salmon canneries, lumber and shingle manufacturing and ship building may be seen to advantage.
Suggested trips:
BELLINGHAM: Population about 30,000. Metropolis of Northwestern Washington and fifth in size in state. In vicinity are the largest salmon cannery in world and one of largest lumber and saw mills on coast. The Olympics, Selkirks and Cascades crowned by Mount Maker are visible from its streets. Sehome Hill, where one of the state normal schools is located, permits a view of Bellingham Bay where the ships of the world anchor. In front of city lie San Juan Islands; fishing craft may be seen. 150 acres of parking area have been provided. Pretty roads lead through big timber in various directions. At its door stands Mount Baker, one of main tourist objectives of the northwest, and one of the most interesting mountains on the continent. The annual Marathon races, participated in by the athletes of the world, are made to its summit and back to Bellingham.
Suggested tours:
PORT ANGELES: Northern gateway to Olympic Peninsula and nearer the ocean than any other city in the Puget Sound country. Harbor is one of the best. Railroads are just building in. Extensive improvements are taking place. It has one of the largest saw and shingle mills in the world. No prettier scenery anywhere.
Suggested trips:
PORT TOWNSEND: "Key city" to Puget Sound. Situated on Quimper Peninsula with Port Townsend Bay and Admiralty Inlet, Discovery Bay, and Straits of Juan de Fuca on three sides. From Mountain View Park a broad outlook is obtained, which includes, besides the waters mentioned, the Olympic and the Cascade Mountains and hundreds of minor details. Other beautiful parks are Chetzemoka and Lucinda Hastings. Less rain falls than elsewhere in Western Washington. Pretty driveways decorated with rhododendrons, unusual boating possibilities and easy approach to the Olympics, make the region ideal for summer outings. Adjoining the city is Fort Worden, headquarters for the Puget Sound system of defenses, where the 6th Artillery Band, one of the best in the service, renders daily programs. Several of the fastest passenger steamers on the Sound stop daily.
Suggested trips:
SEATTLE: Metropolis of the Northwest, with an estimated population of 325,000. It is a city of hills, occupying the sightly eminences, valleys and plateaus lying between Lake Washington and Puget Sound, but sloping gradually to the water's edge in either direction. Its entire area is 94.47 square miles, which includes two large fresh water lakes, Lake Union and Green Lake, and nearly encompasses the Harbor known as Elliott Bay. It is gridironed with 237 miles of street car lines while an elaborate boulevard system of more than thirty miles connects its thirty-eight parks, which have a total area of 1,428 acres. There are also a number of children's playgrounds. From nearly all points there is visible either the Sound with the snow capped Olympics or Lake Washington and the Cascades.
Seattle is a city marvelous both for its enterprise and for its beauty. Hills have given way to business blocks and thorofares, and at the same time have increased the area of the city by supplying material for filling in the tide flats, now occupied by the most valuable factory sites. The forty-two story Smith Building is the highest in the world outside of New York. At Salmon Bay the Government is constructing its second largest locks in a canal to connect the Sound with Lake Washington. Six transcontinental lines have their terminals in this city which is also the gateway to Alaska and the home port of the Great Circle Route.
Within the city one should visit:
Outside trips should include:
PUYALLUP: A famous berry center in the rich Puyallup Valley. Over a quarter million dollars worth of berries are shipped annually. All Western Washington railroads serve it, while electric interurbans and auto cars over the Pacific Highway provide several trips per hour to Tacoma. The Western Washington Experiment Station is here and the Western Washington Fair is held yearly. It is the transfer point for Orting, the site of the State Soldiers' Home, and Fairfax, northern entrance to Mt. Rainier National Park. For trips, see "Tacoma."
TACOMA: Population 105,000. Third city in size and importance in the state. Picturesquely located on Commencement Bay, one of the great harbors of Puget Sound. The Olympics complete the view toward the west while the Cascades on the east are overshadowed by Mt. Rainier (or Mt. Tacoma), which seems to rise from within city limits. A complete system of parks, play grounds and boulevards add to the natural beauty. The residence portion of the city overlooks an extensive manufacturing section which claims the largest meat packing establishment in the west, the largest grain warehouse in the world, and the largest smelter west of Butte City, with one of the tallest cement smokestacks in the world. Tacoma is also the largest flour milling center west of Minneapolis and the fifth city in exports and imports on the coast. Miles of unsurpassed highway lead south through a vast natural park consisting of broad prairies dotted with lakes and covered with groves of oak trees; or southeast into the famous Puyallup Valley fruit and berry district. Its improved parks comprise 1,120 acres, 640 of which constitute Point Defiance park at northern extremity of peninsula, and 30 acres, Wright Park in center of city, having 3,000 trees and shrubs in 350 different varieties.
Other remarkable features are a natural amphitheater or stadium, seating 38,000 people; the highest lift bridge in the world and the only one on a grade; the Northern Pacific shops and a Union passenger depot, model of its kind; and a speedway of 2-1/10 miles where the motor races of the northwest are run. A rose carnival is held annually.
Suggested trips outside of city: