Inland Empire in Wakeboarding Magazine
Posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 by Zack | Posted under General, Media
Words: Zack Clark
The June 2008 issue of Wakeboarding Magazine has a one page writeup from Northwest staple Rick Knott and a sweet photo of Chris Craig’s Malibu by Sean Watson (the photographer, not the rider). The writeup highlights the Inland Empire. Some of you may not know much about the Inland Empire, but it is made up of some of the best wake spots anywhere. The area consists of Central and Eastern Washington, Northern Idaho, and a touch of Northeast Oregon and Northwest Montana. Growing up in Northeast Washington, this brief look at the area got me a little homesick.
While my favorite spots were not mentioned in the article, the ones hit on were definitely key areas to ride. When I was growing up wakeboarding in the Inland Empire, there were a lack of wakeboarders altogether and it was a far lesser known hotspot than West of the Cascades in and around Seattle. Once I moved to the “other side” of the state…the beautiful backdrops remained and the wake population was tenfold…making me realize what a gem I had growing up.
If you have never ridden the areas mentioned…you should make an effort to do so. Take a houseboat trip on the Columbia, tow the boat over and camp, load up the family and make it a road trip. Whatever you have to do, make it happen. Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho are easily some of the best locations in the US of A for wakeboarding and wakeskating. If you want to catch a contest in the area, check out the iMgX Sport web site for dates and locations.
So go grab a copy of the June Issue of Wakeboarding Magazine and have a look…then plan your end of Summer vacation. Enjoy the butter of my home water and I will hopefully get a chance to do the same this season. “Mama I’m Comin’ Home.”
