A child of the Plains, making my way west to the Tri-Cities
Deep roots anchor me to the Great Plains. All of my grandparents were born in South Dakota except one. My mom’s dad wasn’t — because the state didn’t exist. He was born in Dakota Territory.
My parents owned weekly newspapers in both Dakotas, and I worked for years as a daily newspaper journalist in North Dakota and Kansas before becoming an advertising copywriter in Wichita, Kan.
Now I’ve ripped up those roots and transplanted them to the Tri-Cities. Traded in a lifetime of experience and intimate knowledge for a strange new place.
I can talk to you with some detail and insight about the patterns of Plains settlement and how that affected subsequent development. How early misconceptions and mistakes led to hardship and political radicalization — and how the resulting populism affected prairie politics for decades. I can make a case for where the true West begins or discuss the subtleties that define the beauty of the Plains.
On the other hand, I know few of the nuanced details that make southeastern Washington what it is today. I know that three great rivers join, that little rain falls and that in addition to the stunning local scenery, there are extraordinary yet completely different kinds of landscapes within a couple of hours in every direction.
So why did I leave a place I knew and loved for a place I don’t know?
Because we — I and the love of my life — were ready for a new adventure. Ready to discover a new place and new people. To dig into the layers — political, social, geological, demographical — that coalesce to form the Tri-Cities. Explore the high desert, the scablands, Eureka Flats and the Blue Mountains. Learn the major attractions and the hidden gems in Pasco, Kennewick and Richland.
We’re ready to go all in on this place because we believe it will feed our souls in new ways. Ways that will delight and challenge. Intrigue and surprise. Satisfy and inform. And probably disappoint in some respects. But you can learn from disillusionment, too.
We’ve spent our short time here looking for a place to live, getting a small feel for the lay of the land and discerning where, exactly, Richland becomes Kennewick (OK, don’t have that totally down yet). But we have much to learn, much to uncover.
We thought we’d bring you along on our journey of discovery. Talk about what we find fascinating and lovely and inspiring and perplexing — perhaps even help you see a thing or two in new light.
We'll share our joys and wonders, and likely a heartache or misgiving or two, and invite you to share some of yours.
We welcome you all as new compatriots and the Tri-Cities as our new home. We hope, in time, to earn your welcome in return. Please join us for the ride.
Bradbury is a writer who recently moved to the Tri-Cities from Wichita, Kan., with his partner, Denice Bruce, who works in communications for the Environmental and Molecular Science Lab at PNNL. This is the first in an occasional series.
This story was originally published May 29, 2016 at 4:51 PM with the headline "A child of the Plains, making my way west to the Tri-Cities."