[Seahawk]

First of all, I am enamored of Washington State. It is the first State on my list of places to retire.

All of the suggestions so far have been made by locals who know exactly what they are talking about. I particularity like getting out by Ferry or plane to the coastal area. Spectacular. Nothing, zero, zip, zilch not to love.

What has come to appeal to me about Washington State, however, is East of the Cascades.

If you have a day to explore, I'd think about the following (which I found with the help of LCE):

Rte 410 to Rte 123 to Rte 12. Head South.

The guy I hired to run our Washington State UAS ops live in a cabin just below Rim Rock Lake. There are a million places to hike and camp should you choose, along the route above.

I spent two weeks with him earlier this month and we explored the entire area. Out office is in Yakima.

South from Rim Rock Lake gets you East of the Cascades.

I would take 12 into Yakima then find route 821 along the Yakima River to Ellensburg, home of Central Washington University.

Route 821 is a sleeper.

Ellensburg is a great little town with a very defined downtown and spectacular views of the distance mountains. The transition from heavily wooded mountains to the high scrub is great.

Take Interstate 82 in Cle Eum then find your way to Roslyn. Very cool hipster town. LCE took me there for the first time. I have gone again and it is great. They filmed a TV series there.

You will also see the power of the Columbia River Project. The amount of agriculture is astounding and worth seeing. That is why my UAS company is there.

Find your way back to Seattle from there. You will transition back from scrub to dense forests.

Enjoy. Washington State is simply amazing. I could recommend 10 other drives that, given the right circumstance, are jaw dropping.