The town of Soap Lake is filled with bikers. Harley bikers, decked out in leather and traveling en masse. But there's a softer side of Soap Lake -- one well worth visiting for a quick weekend getaway covered in mud.
By Sara Kennedy | July 4, 2008
Celebrating its opening on Camano Island the first day of
summer is a new state park with a patchwork of histories as varied and
colorful as the fabric swatches in the 100 quilts stitched by local
volunteers for the park's cabins. In a unique partnership, Washington State Parks has teamed with Seattle's Center for Wooden Boats to manage the park, with a grand opening June 21.
By Kathryn True | June 12, 2008
One of the bonuses of camping versus hiking with dogs is that you can
bring more necessities and creature comforts for the pooches, like
their beds, which will keep them comfy for the car ride and once you've
set up camp. Below are some of the locally available products you might
want to take with you.
By Jen Harper | June 2, 2008
So you're new in town.
You might have noticed that Pugetopolis isn't, well, exactly like the rest of the world.
We rarely honk our horns in anger. You'll more often get a perky wave from another driver than a one-finger salute.
We do tend to have two coffee houses at every corner. We dig clams. We wear Gore-Tex to the symphony. And we have mountains, water and forests that don't in the least resemble Indiana.
By Brian J. Cantwell | May 17, 2007
Is your Therm-a-Rest thinner or are your bones just more tender? Is the tent bigger or is your trunk so full of baby gear that you can't fit in the spare tire? Is it summer yet?
These are just a few of the questions plaguing Washingtonians who love to camp. Then there are those who have discovered the yurts and cabins popping up like mushrooms in parks across the state.
By Kathryn True | May 3, 2007
SHELTON -- Hammersley Inlet is the narrowest of the glacially carved waterways that curl around south Puget Sound like the gnarled fingers of a witch, funneling and propelling the tides to create what local kayakers call the "Shelton shuttle."
You can ride the rippling currents from Shelton seven miles out to the Sound, past forested green bluffs through seal-rich eddies and otter-visited coves. Then wait for the tide to turn and you can catch the briny currents of the flood back.
By Greg Johnston | July 13, 2006
Convergence Zone
The book is a great primer for city slickers with tips on how to build fires (teepee or log cabin style?) using a variety of woods, and stoking finesse. For practiced firebugs there's a chapter on the origins and physics of fire itself. Wogan's quirky sense of humor and witty prose keeps the book interesting even when reading obligatory information on safety (Eight Ways to be Sure You Don't Headline the 11 o’clock News). The book is full of suggestions on how to enjoy your fire — how to whittle, tipple (drink), tell spooky stories (text provided), and the complete words to "Home on the Range."
By Kathy Schultz | June 14, 2006
Short Trips
I noticed recently that one of my colleagues, along with some friends, camped in the snow at Paradise in the shadow of Mount Rainier and wrote about how much fun it was. She heralded how relaxing it was -- no crowds or noise, plus the sheer beauty of it all.
Guess what? It also was cold, wet and icy, and Mother Earth was covered with five feet of snow. It was so cold her group woke up in the middle of the night with a layer of frost on their sleeping bags. She said her water bladder even froze. I bet that's not all that froze.
By Jeff Larsen | February 2, 2006
Before you make any assumptions about cold and ice, about white-out storms and shivering sleepless nights, remember this key point about snow camping: no mosquitoes.
For those of us who attract them like happy hour beckons drunks, this alone is incentive enough to camp in the dead of winter. But the truth is that snow camping can be immense fun and in some ways even better than its more popular summer sibling.
By Phuong Cat Le | December 29, 2005
We've enlisted the help of a few gear-heads to help sort through an assortment of outdoor gear and garments and present some of the things that any outdoor enthusiast would be happy to get as a gift.
By Dan A. Nelson | December 20, 2005
