*** Washington State’s Scenic Road Trips
*** World War I Helped Shape Washington
*** Bird’s Eye Panoramic Maps
*** Outhouse Races in Conconully
Washington is blessed to have 29 officially designated National and State Scenic Byways….. perhaps your summer travels should include one of them? You can request a FREE guide and FREE road map by calling 1-877-260-2731. Taking a scenic byway won’t add much time to your journey but will add plenty of memories.
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Did you realize that World War I helped shape Washington into the state it is today? According to Lorraine McConaghy, a historian for this topic, said that “expanding shipyards and factories, mobilizing the timber industry, and giving Boeing its start building airplanes for the Navy came as a bonanza for growth in the Evergreen State. Connections to the war can be found in almost every city and town, from statues, stadiums and parks to street named for President Woodrow Wilson. By war’s end, some 1642 Washingtonians lost their lives in World War I. (Thanks to Jim Camden, Spokesman Review.)
“The panoramic map was a popular cartographic form used to depict U.S. and Canadian cities and towns during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Known also as bird’s-eye views, perspective maps, and aero views, panoramic maps are non-photographic representations of cities portrayed as if viewed from above at an oblique angle. Although not generally drawn to scale, they show street patterns, individual buildings, and major landscape features in perspective.” (Library of Congress Panoramic Website). Wouldn’t it be fun to have such a map of your home town? Or ancestor’s home town? Perhaps the Library of Congress has one! Check it out!
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The tiny Okanogan town of Conconully hosts a mid-January Outhouse Race and has for more than 20 years. Usually more than 100 contestants “show up from near and far to race about a dozen homemade outhouses down a gently sloping one-block course.” There are rules: it must be made of wood, it must be mounted on two skis, it must have three sides and a roof, it must be five feet tall and must be equipped with a toilet seat, toilet paper hanger with paper! Mark your calendar for the third Saturday in January to go have fun on the Conconcully Outhouse Race.
