Hailing from more subtle topography, we're quite familiar with contradictory claims of cosmology and vaguely defensible claims of capital-ity. In the folly of our youth, we may have thought that when one's town or region is naturally endowed with big things, there is no need to boast or to construct big kitschy things to compensate for a lack of overt interestingness. more ›

Seattlest is on the road, delivering an automobile to The Other Washington. The previous night, we stayed in a charming little motel in Wallace, Idaho. We've been to Wallace before, very briefly, and made a note to return someday. The town is an architectural and historical gem; it is also the "Silver Capital of the World". That's the beauty of this great nation of ours: it's got more self-proclaimed capitals of this, that, and the other than any other country, we're guessing. We live in such abundance! more ›