It’s Visitor Season

Why would anyone want to visit little towns like Dayton, Waitsburg, Prescott or Starbuck? They're out in the sticks - hundreds of miles from the nearest big city. There's nothing to do but watch the wheat grow, right? Wrong. As we've been working on preparing the latest edition of the Touchet Valley Visitors' Guide, we're struck once again by the amazing number of great things there are to see and do in our area. We encourage all of our readers to be travel promoters and guides, inviting your friends to visit and then blowing them away with what they find when they get here.

Get Outdoors Bicycling and hiking are as good as they get around here. The traffic is light on the roads and National Forest trails are only a few minutes away. Fishing in the Snake and Tucan- non Rivers is world-class. Better yet, tell your friends that in March it's possible to go skiing and play golf on the same day.

Soak up History Many small towns are proud of their history, but Dayton and Waitsburg have set a high standard for historic preser- vation, not to mention "historic presentation." The Smith Hollow School House should open later this year. It joins the Dayton Historic Depot, the Boldman House, the Palus Museum and the Bruce Mansion in Waitsburg as outstanding examples of local history, preserved.

Eat Wonderful Food We can't imagine a place where the per-capita concentra- tion of fine dining restaurants is higher. Dayton has been known for great restaurants for decades, and Waitsburg gives no ground. There are plenty of budget-friendly eating estab- lishments as well. See Morgan Smith's column on Page 11 if you need ideas.

Drink Fine Wine Tell your friends that there's an obscure little town less than a half-hour southwest of Dayton and Waitsburg where they make unbelievably good wine. Even though they've probably never heard of it, most of the locals can tell them how to get there. Better yet, bring some home and have it waiting.

A Nice Warm Bed Our local communities are chock-a-bloc with historic hotels and bed-and-breakfast establishments. On busy week- ends however, many visitors were forced to find lodging in that little town down south. Not anymore. The new Best Western Hotel is scheduled to open next month, providing 50 new rooms and opening up new opportunities for local events and functions.

Which Brings Us to Events Dayton and Waitsburg have been putting out the red carpet on special weekends for years, and we've become experts. Whether your friends are into classic cars (All Wheel's Weekend and Waitsburg's Classic Car Show), Mules (Mule Mania runs two weekends this year), pioneer celebrations (Dayton Days and Days of Real Sport are expected to be held in some form this year, even without horse racing) and, of course, the Columbia County Fair.

The Touchet River Valley Visitors' Guide will hit the stands around the end of this month. They're free, so pick some up and send them to friends and relatives who are look- ing for a great place to visit. Then put your guide hat and get ready to show off our great little valley.