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| Curved around the shore of Elliott Bay, with Lake Washington nearby, and the snowy peak of Mount Rainier hovering
faintly in the distance, Seattle has a magnificent setting. The insistently modern skyline of glass skyscrapers
gleams across the bay, an emblem of three decades of aggressive urban renewal. Flooded out of its first location
on the flat little peninsula of Alki Point, in the 1850s the town shifted to what's now Pioneer Square, renaming
itself after the Native American Chief Sealth (hence Seattle). Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the
Boeing airline corporation has been crucial to the city's well being, booming during World War II and employing
one in five of Seattle's available labor pool by the 1960s. The prosperity that Boeing and more recent success
stories such as Microsoft and internet shopping site Amazon.com have brought is obvious, reflected in a restored
old center, a nationally-acclaimed arts scene with vibrant movie and music industries, and a flood of coffee
houses and excellent seafood restaurants. However, the city's more established neighborhoods remain distinctive,
and Seattle has a pleasantly down-to earth ambience. |
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| The towering sandstone 150 feet high cliffs cascade along the Wisconsin River; the Dells have been a popular travel
attraction since the 1800s. Nature has been joined by man-made attractions, making this a bustling tourism center
that draws big crowds in the summer. It's especially popular with families. If you want pure scenic beauty, you'll
find it on one of the boat tours of the Dells, which give you a close-up look at the sandstone formations. The tour
of the Upper Dells includes stops where you can hike on riverside nature trails. On land, there's a profusion of
entertainment venues. Among the choices: the Tommy Bartlett Thrill Show, Noah's Ark (a large outdoor water park),
Riverview Park and Waterworld. There's also a Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum, the Ho-Chunk Winnebago Bingo and
Casino and the Wisconsin Opry. The indoor water parks and some other attractions remain open all year. Many visitors
to the Dells often lodge or camp at nearby Devil's Lake State Park, a sanctuary of non-commercialized splendor that
has high bluffs surrounding a large lake. It's one of the few rock-climbing spots in the state. Baraboo is a must
visit; it is the birthplace of the Ringling Brothers Circus. |
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