When my husband Leo and I lived in Missouri, we spent nearly every weekend exploring and seeking new ways to enjoy our state. We didn’t spend a lot of time in the two biggest cities, St. Louis and Kansas City, but we devoured the countryside, spelunking through caves, canoeing rivers and driving all over hootenanny to join local festivals. During our nearly four years in Springfield, weekends extended to visiting a monastery, tracking down old mills and even touring fish hatcheries as we began to run out of ideas. Everything changed after moving to Washington State.

Now remember, I love Missouri with an undying love, especially the people, but it’s hard to beat Washington for sheer variety and an endless list of adventures.

I was born and raised in Washington and then spent seven years in Missouri. I’ve now lived in the Northwest an additional 29 years, and I still feel like I’ve barely seen our state. Every year I try to add new sites, but the old favorites are hard to pass by.

Merging my love of travel and photography makes perfect sense, and taking students to these special locales in Washington State increases my joy. I love teaching, and Northwest Photo Journeys pull together most of my greatest joys. The other two biggies are God and family. I pre-scout Photo Journey locations, usually with my youngest son, Leo. And I’m reminded of God everywhere as I view his glorious creation. So it’s all good.

Below are a few Washington favorites.