Snowboarding, Golf, and Why the Pacific Northwest Is the Best Backyard in the World

People who live in Seattle or Portland sometimes look at Moses Lake like it's the middle of nowhere. And in a sense they're right. We're not close to the ocean. We don't have a mountain in our backyard. The downtown isn't what anyone would call buzzing.

But what Moses Lake has is access.

Two hours and you're at a ski resort. An hour and a half gets you into the Cascades proper. The Columbia River is practically in our front yard. Grant County has more golf courses than most people realize and most of them are walkable without a four hour wait. The lake itself is one of the best recreational lakes in Washington state and it's basically our backyard.

I snowboard every winter I can manage it. There's something about carving through fresh powder in the PNW that resets everything. The noise of the week just stops. You're cold and focused and the mountain doesn't care what's on your to-do list.

Golf is the opposite. Slow, methodical, frustrating in a way that makes you laugh at yourself. I play courses around Grant County whenever the schedule allows and every round teaches me something about patience I apparently still need to learn.

And hiking. Especially with the dogs. There are trails around Moses Lake and out toward the Columbia Basin that most people from out of state have never heard of. That's the point. They're ours.

The Pacific Northwest isn't a destination for me. It's just home. And it's a pretty good one.

Jason David NewtonMechanical Technician | Moses Lake, Washingtonjasondavidnewton.com