For decades, western Washingtonians have maintained a convincing cover story that the Puget Sound area is perpetually rainy, emotionally frosty and hopelessly choked with moss (incidentally, the moss is not the reason why Seattle is called The Emerald City). But the jig is up: Everyone knows that our little corner of the world is a veritable Garden of Eden.
But speaking of moss … You may not know that the first wave of (non-Indigenous) frontier-folk were called mossbacks — do you even need an explanation if you’ve logged your 50th rainy day of residency here? No, you get it. When you gravitate to this evergreen, waterlogged place, take root and bloom where you’re planted, then you, too, earn “mossback” cred. And moss = good!
Our annual Insiders’ Guide is an invitation to all mossbacks, native or newly arrived, to explore this magical place we call home, from nearby urban greenspaces to the dozens of one-of-a-kind communities around us waiting to be discovered.
