Virginia V and the Mosquito Fleet
0509, 2022

Virginia V and the Mosquito Fleet

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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

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The Daring Heist of D.B. Cooper
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.

Earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest
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

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The Columbia Gorge has a north side, too
3006, 2015

The Columbia Gorge has a north side, too

Believe it or not, there are actually people who don’t know the Columbia River has another side. Some of those folks have admitted as much to Earlene Sullivan, Executive Director at the Greater Goldendale Area Chamber of Commerce, who unfortunately understands the sentiment. Interstate 84, the fastest way to get inland from the sprawling, urban metropolis of Portland, zips along the northern border of Oregon…the south side of the Columbia River. Many a Pacific Northwesterner are familiar with

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Long on coastline, longer on history
2912, 2014

Long on coastline, longer on history

Washington State’s Long Beach Peninsula is well known for many reasons. The prolific oyster and razor clam harvests, Jake the Alligator Man at Marsh’s Free Museum and one of the longest beaches in the world (28 continuous miles of sand-filled fun) are just a few. But there’s more to the iconic arm of Pacific County than just having a good time which, incidentally, is far too easy to do. Many

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2014 Darwin Award winners from Washington
3006, 2014

2014 Darwin Award winners from Washington

I’m not sure if I’m happy or embarrassed about this designation, but a friend of mine forwarded me the list of the top six vote-getters for the 2014 Darwin Awards. If you don’t know what the Darwin Awards are, please visit their website and prepare to waste several hours reading through the page-turning impossible-but-true stories. In short, “the Darwin Awards commemorate individuals who protect our gene pool by making the

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1902, 2012

Some insight into the life of Thomas Frost

Last week, I began planning the first full episode of the Washington, Our Home, video series and I decided the creation and exploration of the Willamette Meridian would be a good first start. To begin with, as I asked in a previous blog post, I had to learn why in the world someone in the mid-1800’s would decide that a straight line north and south from Portland, Oregon, was even necessary.

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2212, 2011

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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0510, 2011

More reasons to hate the MLB postseason

Okay, hate is a strong word. But to a die-hard Mariners fan, there is nothing more like lemon juice in a paper cut than perennially watching the M’s flame out and watching other teams – some who got there on a fluke – play on the postseason stage. That said, it’s like a kick in the shins to hear the names of former Mariners being called on the radio as

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