Hanford: An Atomic Tour
A quick trip behind the barbed wire to the Country’s most contaminated spot.
Halibut with Paté
An island getaway, eating like kings, reminds me to share the best Halibut recipe you’ll likely find this year.
Resting at Quartz Mountain
Quartz Mountain is one of the most unique rentals in the Washington State Park System.
Barlow Pass
Barlow Pass on the Mountain Loop Highway offers one of the best scenery to suffering cycling ratios.
Excursion to Whidbey Island
Three ferries and three days, the weekend tour to Whidbey had more lounging than biking.
Riding to Oly
Ninety miles is quite a distance for me to run errand on my bike, but then I really like Olympia.
STP: Seattle to Portland by Bike
When folks here find out you ride a bike, they usually ask, “Have you ridden the STP?”
Hood Canal Circuit
Revisiting old failures, the 124-mile circuit around the Hood Canal becomes my longest ride.
Accomplished: Cycling to Tacoma
It’s been a while since I’ve had a week of cycling that exceeds one hundred miles. As a bike nerd, sure, I’m ashamed and what not, but well, that’s just how it’s been. Today’s ride got us doing something I’ve always thought would be cool: biking to Tacoma via the quiet roads of Vashon Island. [...]
Grayland: Oysters, Clams and Rain
We got a text on the way to Grayland, “Hurry! I am in my tshirt on the beach”, but by the time we got their the sun was setting, the clouds gathering and it was time to put on a hat. We never took off the hats the rest of the weekend. I tell everyone [...]
Drive Across Washington
A friend of mine in Pittsburgh has nearly stopped communicating but for small slices of video. As one might expect when making short clips about daily life, some are rather prosaic. As often as not though, there is a large amount of emotion in the simplest activity. What has been inspiring me about them is [...]
Snow Lake in Summer
Our hiking book says that Snow Lake is likely the second most popular hike in the State. That seems about right. I’d never thought we’d end up there, but when we arrived yesterday at the cloudy, drizzling and very cool Snoqualmie Pass it suddenly took on some allure. It’s fairly short and it seemed that [...]
The Pass at Red Mountain
“Oh, watch out…he’s a Mountain Goat!” That’s what everyone says about our Northwest pal, J. His wife warned us the whole time, “You’re crazy if you try to keep up with him.”. As if we could. They both kicked my butt, and if I hadn’t started crying on the way down, would have likely been [...]
Grayland Looks Like a Tradition
For the third year in row, I’ve made the trip down to Grayland State Park for a Spring weekend on the beach. This year, in addition to unseasonably warm weather, a large group of friends rented yurts around the campground, making for more time around the campfire telling jokes. I’ve recommended this before, but for [...]
A Microlook at The Washington State Caucus
There are a lot of complaints that the caucus is inherently not democratic and limits participation. But I feel it would be hard to really make that case given the turn out and neighborhood participation on Saturday. Our precinct, 37-1833, is about 10 square blocks. Nearly 200 people crammed into one classroom at Washington Middle [...]
Quartz Mountain Fire Lookout
The Washington State Park system has many interesting accommodations to rent: cabins, yurts, lighthouses, covered wagons to name a few. Quartz Mountain is a fire lookout in Mt. Spokane State Park and can be yours for $60 a night with a bit of flexibility and planning. Open, depending on the snow, from mid-June through mid-October, [...]
Off-Season on Orcas Island
Doe Bay has a reputation as a hippie hangout, but you have to be a rich hippie it seems to enjoy the pleasures of it. And for a a rich hippie, I’ll be honest, the cabins were poorly appointed: our stove did not work, lightbulbs were missing, plugs appeared broken. Would I go back? Yes. [...]
Photo Safari: the Snohomish Slough
Everett is a small working-class city north of Seattle. The Snohomish River dumps into the Puget Sound there in a confusing delta of islands. Years ago, most of the river has been diked, diverted and channeled to create lush farms in the flood plain. With Pam and I flush from our non-success of Vancouver shooting, [...]
Killer Caterpillars of Chiwaukum Lake
“AH!!! GET IT OFF ME! GET IT OFF!!” And so went our brutal, steep, caterpillar-infested hike bushwacking hike to Chiwaukum Lake. Poor Victor! At least there were not many black flies I was thinking. This was my first trip to the Alpine Lakes Wilderness starting from the east side of the Cascades. Dry and dusty, [...]
Hiking at St. Helens
Iron Creek Campground is three hours south of Seattle, ten miles south of Randle. Lying in tent your tent at night you can hear the Cispus River rush by. Too early for mosquitos, cool at night, the campground is lush, quiet and nearly perfect in late June. We were there because it’s the closest camp [...]
Skagit Valley Tulip Festival
Flat and damp, the Skagit Valley is the petaled heart of the United States’ tulip and daffodil production. It’s about an hour and half north of Seattle and a welcome respite from the sprawl as you head to Vancouver. While the farmers stay busy year-round and birders come and go, (I’ve been earlier in the [...]
Willapa Bay Oyster Hunt
Unlike the coast to the north, or the Oregon coast to the south, Washington’s southern coast is one of long sandy beaches and broad shallow bays. Squally and cool, we based our weekend of oyster-questing out a yurt at Grayland State Park. The road from Grayland skirts the cranberry bogs, before rounding Cape Shoalwater into [...]