Easy week in eastern Washington, Part 1: The roads less traveled

Easy week in eastern Washington, Part 1: The roads less traveled

My father, Walt Ebel, and I began our second annual trip to the Colville Indian Reservation on a Monday in early June. Dad’s been doing this for decades; he visits his best friend, Lyn, and they spend a week on Twin Lakes at Hartman’s Log Cabin Resort near Inchelium. Last year I decided to finally accept their invitation and had such a good time I wanted to make it an

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A parkful of Washington State history

Being cooped up in the house for days on end is enough to drive anyone mad, and throwing a four-year-old in the cage can sometimes seem just plain cruel. So needless to say, I had to get my poor wife and son out of the house before we all ended up in the newspaper the next day. Despite the intermittent weather on Saturday, we decided to visit Tumwater Historical Park

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Ft. Eaton, and the Indian War of 1856

We’re leaving for Carmel, California, tomorow to spend Christmas with my inlaws. My job today, besides packing and cleaning house, was to drop the dog off at the boarding facility. Living in Lacey, we board her at Northwind Kennels, which is just a short drive southeast on the Yelm Highway from our house. On the way, I drove past a small, brown sign that read, “Historical Marker” with an arrow pointing

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New camping jacket from Cabela’s

I’d been in the market for a new go-to fleece camping jacket for some time. After all, my current one (while very durable) is starting to show its age. Here’s a post where I talk about getting it as a gift in the early 90’s. At one point, I stupidly thought I’d iron it to help the Velcro pockets lay flat (here’s a little life lesson…DON’T EVER TRY TO IRON

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Illahee State Park: Right in the backyard

Last weekend, we took a trip into Kitsap County to see my Uncle Verne, who lives at the Department of Veterans Affairs veterans home in Retsil, outside Port Orchard. The facility was built in 1910 on a 31- acre bluff overlooking Puget Sound. According to the website, “Today the Veterans Home is a state-of-the-art, non-institutional facility providing a ‘Resident Centered Care’ concept that focuses resources around the individual resident. All primary services for a resident

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Family reunion in Moses Lake

Okay, not IN Moses Lake exactly, but right on the edge of it. It was our annual Ebel-Fenton-Campbell-Zandofsky (Hankins-Schab-Sherbahn) reunion and we held it at Pier 4 Sunrise Reports, a perfect spot for such an event. After last year’s reunion in Packwood – which many family members couldn’t attend due to distance – I worked with a few cousins to make sure we had it in more of a centrally

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Ocean Shores, and the short drive to Quinault

Last weekend was my parents 40th anniversary, so Kelly, Parker and I spent the weekend at their house in Ocean Shores. I realized that I’ve never written about Ocean Shores in this blog, and it was about time I did. I guess we travel there so much, it’s lost some of its initial charm. Ocean Shores is a little less than two hours west of Olympia. To get there, you

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Family Reunion in Packwood

Last weekend, I got another chance to drive through some small Washington towns to which I’ve never been before. It was our family reunion weekend, an annual event, that was scheduled this year for Packwood, Washington. We always try to find a somewhat centralized location so all family members can at least make an effort to attend. Packwood seemed to be easy for us and for the Campbells in the Yakima area,

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Washington, my home

Washington, my home

I hope to write about all the great things Washington has to offer…from it’s natural beauty to it’s storied political activity. I promise it won’t be all about politics, rather a vast array of all the great things life has to offer in the upper-left corner of the country. From our underdog sports teams to our small town way of life, I’ll hopefully be blogging on all the things that make our state the greatest in the lower 48.