and rain, they collided into the side of the mountain that would
become Mission Ridge Ski area 22 years later. The entire crew
perished in the crash. Today, the main chairlift at the ski area
bears the name “Liberator” and just off the main run is a memorial displaying a piece of the plane’s wing.
Thrill-seeking skiers in the uphill avalanche-prone area of the
resort should take heed: a 2011 law was enacted stating, “A person is guilty of a misdemeanor if the person knowingly skis in an
area or on a ski trail, owned or controlled by a ski area operator,
that is closed to the public and that has signs posted indicating
the closure,” even if the enticing powder is found on public land.
Chief Garry Park, Spokane
6Spokane hosts two of the nation’s largest public sports events: the Lilac Bloomsday Run (May) and Hoopfest (June) have opened the Inland Empire to hundreds of thousands of visitors for decades. If you’re in town, visit
Chief Garry Park, featuring a monument dedicated to Chief
Spokan Garry and the Spokane tribe.
Garry was educated at a missionary school in Canada, returning to become an influential leader and spokesman. Garry
was known as a steadfast advocate of peace; he worked for decades trying to secure a Spokane tribal reservation on their native lands along the Spokane River, but he was unsuccessful in
this goal and eventually died in poverty. Today, the park features
a replica pictograph, a salmon sculpture, and interpretive signs
about Garry’s life.
Grand Coulee Dam
7Grand Coulee was built from 1933–38 (completed in 1942) as part of the huge government programs meant o get people back to work during the Great Depression. Today, it has achieved not only the goal of creating jobs,
but also flood control, power generation, and irrigation. Seeing
the huge dam itself is well worth the trip, and the drive either
from the east or west is scenic and unique.
There have been countless legal issues with Grand Coulee at
the center including water rights, issues surrounding the salmon
migration (flow targets), and the level of Lake Roosevelt.
Metaline Falls
8Metaline Falls has been recognized as one of the “100 Best Small Arts Towns in America” and is home to blue- grass/folk music, arts, and winter festivals. But it also has a checkered past: The northeast corner of the state is the home of the criminal investigation of the
40-year-old unsolved murder of Town Marshall George Conff,
as documented in Breaking Blue, historian Timothy Egan’s account of former Sheriff Tony Bamonte’s investigation of Depres-sion-era institutional corruption and police cover-ups.
Galloping Gertie, Tacoma
9Sometimes it’s the second largest city in Washington, sometimes it’s the third, but Tacoma is always the home of the Washington State Historical Society, the Chihuly Bridge of Glass, and their corresponding museums.
Downtown Tacoma is within a decent hike/walk or short drive
to many bridges, including the site of the former “Galloping
Gertie,” a bridge built in 1940 that collapsed after only four
months under the stress of a 42-mile-per-hour wind.
The ensuing legal battles over newly contructed bridges
are a three-decade-long example of the evolution of pleading
and toll-road issues in Washington.
Whatcom Falls
10One of four sets of waterfalls inside Bellingham’s 241-acre Whatcom Falls Park, the picturesque 20-foot-high Whatcom Falls is located on What- com Creek, which leads from Lake Whatcom to
Bellingham Bay.
It’s also the ancestral location of the Lummi Nation, and the
salmon that the Lummi consider a sacred birthright — which has
led to decades of legal battles over the wording of peace treaties
granting exclusive fishing rights to the Lummi people. “
Fish-in” protests were organized during the Fish Wars of the 1960s;
Marlon Brando was arrested for participating in a 1964 fish-in,
years before famously declining the 1972 Academy Award for
Best Actor in protest of Hollywood’s depiction of Indians. A
case pitting the Lummi and other tribes against the sport and
commercial fishing industries resulted in 1974’s Boldt Decision,
awarding the tribes half of all catchable fish from Puget Sound.
The decision has been challenged up to the U.S. Supreme Court,
but continues to hold. N WL
Allison Peryea is an attorney at Leahy McLean Fjelstad in Seattle. She is the chair of the WSBA Editorial Advisory Committee
and a member of the Judicial Recommendation Committee. She
can be reached at allison.peryea@leahyps.com. Douglas Pierce
practices in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and is a member of the law firm of
James, Vernon & Weeks. He is a member of the WSBA Editorial Advisory Committee. Contact him at dpierce@jvwlaw.net. Stephanie
Perry is the WSBA communications specialist. She can be reached
at stephaniep@wsba.org.
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