Moving...want a little land and access to wilderness, and (Yakima: neighborhood, to buy)

[CominFrmWisconsin]

We have family in Olympia, but I don't think I could handle the rain . Looking for a place to buy some land, close enough to Olympia to visit regularly, perhaps grow some crops for a farmers market, and be able to get into reall wilderness quickly for backpacking, hunting and fishing, all the while being able to raise kids in a friendly, open-minded community.
We are checking out Ellensburg. Any thoughts on how well this fits my criteria.

[CJMom]

Ellensburg is a little far from Olympia, especially when you need to travel during winter.

Have you consider Sequim (prounounced skwim)? It's in a rain shadow and is known for it's sunny days. They also grow lavendar up there and have a big lavendar festival. The best part is that it's located in a very cool part of the state - within short driving distances you can be cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, etc. in winter or hiking and camping in forest OR you can be on the ocean, and even in a rain forest. All pretty much in your backyard. And it's much closer to Olympia than Ellensburg.

Ellensburg does have more agriculture options. It's sunnier, and windier than Sequim. There are also lots of recreation option from there. I think it's nice because there's a large river nearby for fishing, rafting, etc., some hills for camping, and you're at the base of the road to the pass so skiing is an hour or so away. It's just far from Olympia, which is why I offered a second alternative.

[the dufferz]

I second CJMom on this one. Ellensburg is ideal for what you are looking at until you used the word "frequently" for visiting Olympia. Figure a 3 hour trip one way. The pass (I-90 snoqualmie) is well maintained in the winter, but believe me, if frequent means multiple times per month, it will get old, fast.

It would be best to do some investigation as to the cost of housing and land anywhere in Western Washington. It can be a rude awakening, depending on what you are used to in Wisconsin.

Good luck.

[CominFrmWisconsin]

I checked out Sequim, but it still seems pretty rough weatherwise. I have a depressive tendency, and lots of sunshine is my medicine.
Anyhow, how about towns like Goldendale. They seem to still be about 3 hours or so from Olympia, close to Portland, and sunny. They don't seem very large though...perhaps too small and isolated.

[AzDreamer]

Take a look at a copy of Sunset Western Garden Book or something like it. It will help you learn about the different climate zones out here and what can be grown in them.

As for Ellensburg, it is in climate zone 2, only zone 1 is colder in the winter. I think the big crop in that area is hay, which probably means that most stuff humans like to eat isn't economical to grow and sell.

Another good book for our area is "Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades" by Steve Solomon. The author tells us about his search for a good place to grow vegetables, what the tradeoffs are.

The link below is a Washington precipitation map. If you are worried about rain it can help find a spot where it isn't too bad.

http://www.wamaps.com/maps/precipitation_map.gif

[jabm67]

If you're looking at Ellensburg, you could also think about places further down the Yakima Valley: Selah, Yakima, Union Gap, Ahtanum, Top*****h, Wapato, .... All of them have significant agriculture going on, and there's lots of sun, and great access to the wilderness of the eastern side of the Cascades. (I have family who've lived for 30 years a little west of Yakima in a spot called Tampico.) Between Selah and Ellensburg is nothing (it's an Army firing range). Depending on where exactly you're talking about, it may be hotter and dryer than you want in the summer. Yakima is the largest of those towns, and it's in something of an economic slump. I know nothing about how difficult it is to get by with a farm, though; I'm a hopeless city kid.

[EDIT: hm, the board software bleeped out part of a city name there, which I didn't expect. The name of the town would be "Toppunish" if you turned the "u" into an "e".]

None of those will be much less than 3-4 car hours from Olympia, though. For getting over the Cascades, besides I-90/Snoqualmie Pass and I-84/Columbia Valley, there is also White Pass (US 12), which is open just about all winter too, and between Yakima etc. and Olympia it's a viable route if not divided-highway class. It's just that the west end of White Pass is out in the middle of nowhere....

There's a variety of useful information on weather & climate at http://www.atmos.washington.edu/data/ ... see the "Climate Data" link on that page. For roads and traffic, see http://wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/

[Yhwnot]

Try Monroe, Duvall, or carnation these are nice small rural towns within the seattle area also yelm and roy are nice.

[wakalapi]

Originally Posted by CominFrmWisconsin

I checked out Sequim, but it still seems pretty rough weatherwise. I have a depressive tendency, and lots of sunshine is my medicine.
Anyhow, how about towns like Goldendale. They seem to still be about 3 hours or so from Olympia, close to Portland, and sunny. They don't seem very large though...perhaps too small and isolated.

I live in Yakima, which is just over an hour from Goldendale. First, Olympia is probably nearly four hours from Goldendale since there is no really "direct" route. But Portland is just over an hour away. Goldendale is a very small town, although it is the county seat for Klickitat County. It has a dry climate, though not quite as dry as here in Yakama Valley. People who live in Goldendale would come up to Yakima or go to Hood River, OR to do major shopping. Both are similar distances.

Ever hear the phrase, "What the SAM HILL is ..." Well, Sam Hill built a mansion overlooking the Columbia River, and the mansion is now a museum that is named after his daughter. The Mary Hill Museum is just a few minutes south of Goldendale. Other than the museum, the only major tourist attraction for the area is the hunting and fishing, I guess. I have friends who live in a neighborhood called Georgeville just north of Goldendale (maybe 6 miles) on the way to Satus Pass (Hwy 97). Between Satus Pass and Topp-e-nish lies NOTHING but 30-35 miles of sage brush, rolling hills and at least eight old Indian cemeteries that you can't see from the road unless you really know what you're looking for. Goldendale is up on a plateau, expect more snow than Ellensberg, Yakima, and way more than Olympia. Coming from Wisconsin, though, you'll do fine in it.

[whooptink]

Check out Roy, Yelm, Tumwater, Lacey, Rochester

[rambrush]

Originally Posted by CominFrmWisconsin

I checked out Sequim, but it still seems pretty rough weatherwise. I have a depressive tendency, and lots of sunshine is my medicine.
Anyhow, how about towns like Goldendale. They seem to still be about 3 hours or so from Olympia, close to Portland, and sunny. They don't seem very large though...perhaps too small and isolated.

The depressive part concerns me, born and raised in the tri-city area and lived a few years in Easton by Snoqulamie Pass. During the winter fog rolls in clouds cover up the sky.
This can and does last for days at a time where the sun is not visable. So keep that in mind.
Ellensburg is a good choice, college is there most shopping is there also.
There is 2 routes through to Yakima the scenic next to the river and other is the interstate up and over which they plow pretty good durning winter.
The other plus with Ellensburg is if the pass is closed you can always drop south and run the gorge over to Vancover and up to Olympia.