Eastern Washington

Eastern Washington is what us Western Washingtonians call the part of the state that lies east of the Cascade Mountains. Generally, it's much more like Idaho than it is like Western Washington. Very flat, full of farmers and country folk, and with very few towns of notice (the exception being Spokane).

The Grand Coulee Dam is over there, as well the DoE's Hanford Center. Most of the Indian Rezes are there, as well as a few Wildlife Refuges. Yet, strangely, most of the National Forests in Washington are situated here in the west.

There are some who think that Eastern Washington should secede to Idaho since they're so similar. However, if we were to do that Seattle and most westerners would be trapped a mere hour or two from Idaho, with only the Cascades to fend off their pending potato invasion.

As one who has lived in both Eastern and Western Washington, I can say I much prefer the western half (much, much better Thai food). While the western half of Washington sends liberal, forward-thinking people to congress, the eastern half seems bent on returning the United States to the 19th century. Eastern Washington was so determined to send a republican to congress, they even decided to unseat the Speaker of the House in favor of a freshman republican.

For a number of years many Washingtonians have wanted to combine North Idaho, Eastern Washington, and Western Montana into a new state called Columbia. However, no one really wants to be associated with the North Idaho's white supremacists, so don't start planning a 51 star flag anytime soon. Plus, it's a hassle to get a new driver's license when you move to Seattle after graduation.

On the bright side, Eastern Washington doesn't have all that many Starbucks, thank god. Or earthquakes...