0304, 2023

Exploring Maritime Washington

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I am proud to announce the publication of my new book, Exploring Maritime Washington—a History and Guide. Each of the places covered in its pages has a connection to Washington’s maritime history, whether a popular tourist destination or a hidden gem known only to longtime locals. Exploring Maritime Washington provides visitors with a fun and easy way to enjoy each community while learning about Washington’s nautical history. By visiting and

0509, 2022

Virginia V and the Mosquito Fleet

Washington Our Home
September 5, 2022
History, Maritime, Podcast, Puget Sound, Western Washington
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313

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Before there were roads around the Puget Sound region, there were rivers. Before the stagecoaches, there were Salish canoes. And before the planes, the trains, and the automobiles…there was the water, and the ships that traveled upon it. In the earliest days of human habitation in what is now Washington State, the fastest way to get from place to place around the Salish Sea was by paddling a canoe, whether

0407, 2022

Wilkeson’s Historic Coke Ovens

Washington Our Home
July 4, 2022
History, Mining, Podcast, Western Washington
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875

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Boasting a population of just under 500, the small community of Wilkeson, Washington, lies in the heart of Pierce County’s Carbon River Valley. Once a lively and vibrant mining community, it has withstood the test of time…despite seeing an end to its primary economic driver. But rather than resign itself to a fate of joining the ranks of dozens of other ghost towns throughout the state, Wilkeson has endured. And

0205, 2022

Historic Fort Steilacoom

Washington Our Home
May 2, 2022
History, Military, Podcast, Western Washington
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781

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Located in Pierce County, western Washington, in the City of Lakewood are the remnants of a once critical military instillation known as Fort Steilacoom. It occupies the same piece of land where today’s Western State Hospital exists – another historic topic for a future podcast episode, to be sure. But Fort Steilacoom, by its own right, has firmly entrenched itself in the history of Washington State. Built in 1849 to

0111, 2021

The Daring Heist of D.B. Cooper

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Feeling a slight bump up in the cockpit, the pilots of Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 305 looked at each other nervously as rain pelted against their windshield at around 200 miles per hour…a relatively slow speed for a Boeing 727. They didn’t yet know that that bump meant their ordeal of the past several hours was just about over; that they, along with their flight engineer and flight attendant, would live to see another day—because the man known only as Dan Cooper had just exited the plane by leaping from the rear staircase in mid-flight, with a parachute and 200-thousand dollars strapped to his body, never to be seen again.

0401, 2021

Earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest

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Two weeks after Valentine’s Day, 2001, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the south sound region of Washington state near where the Nisqually River empties into Puget Sound. It was nearly 11 a.m. on a Wednesday, and the state legislature was in full swing. The violent tremors lasted nearly a minute, rocking the state capital of Olympia and the nearby cities of Lacey, Tumwater, Nisqually, DuPont, and Shelton. The shocks registered

0302, 2020

Medicine Creek: In Search of Treaty Tree

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In 1854, the Medicine Creek Treaty between regional Native American tribes and Washington’s territorial government kicked off a years-long conflict that forever changed the story of the Pacific Northwest. Sixty-eight years later, in 1922, the Sacajawea Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a bronze plaque commemorating the momentous treaty, upon the single remaining Douglas Fir that remained at the place where the treaty was signed. It became

0411, 2019

Say WA! Part II: How to Pronounce Washington’s City Names

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There are 281 official cities and towns in the State of Washington, according to the Washington State Association of Cities, and every one of them has a unique story to tell. Some of them have hundreds of stories…others, perhaps just one major story. All of them have their own character, vibe, ambiance, and backstory, and many of them have weird, interesting or unusual ways they got their names. Why is

0306, 2019

Finding the Ship That Flew

Washington Our Home
June 3, 2019
History, Podcast, Recreation, Western Washington
16
9778

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There are dozens of things to see and do on the Lewis and Clark Trail Highway in southwest Washington (see here and here for just a few examples), but surely one of the most unique lies just outside a tiny berg called Knappton on the bank of the Columbia River. If you head west from Knappton Cove you might spot a rusty barge parked in a shallow bay called Hungry Harbor. There is

0605, 2019

Visit Old Alder Before it Vanishes…Again

Washington Our Home
May 6, 2019
Destinations, Ghost Towns, History, Podcast
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1715

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The term “ghost town” in today’s time has evolved from its more literal interpretation to describe any small town that has been abandoned or vacated. In fact, there’s a whole culture of folks dedicated to discovering and exploring ghost towns and their history. Most of the time, however, towns devoid of inhabitants have nowhere to grow but older. Not so for old Alder. Join your fearless field guide Erich Ebel