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.

1305, 2014

Hidden history in Ferry County

Washington Our Home
May 13, 2014
Eastern Washington, History, Pacific Ocean, State Parks
0
2153

It probably won’t be your first choice for a Washington state park family vacation. It might not even be in your top 100. However the Ranald MacDonald Grave Heritage Area definitely warrants a visit if you find yourself traveling near the U.S.-Canadian border in Ferry County. Ranald MacDonald’s gravesite is located in a Native American cemetery just off County Highway 501/Customs Road overlooking the Kettle River. Dubbed “the smallest state

2302, 2013

Mud and muck around Millersylvania State Park

Washington Our Home
February 23, 2013
Family, Gear, Hikes, History, Recreation, State Parks, Western Washington
2
1977

Almost every year I pack up the family and head ten miles south of our Lacey home to go camping at Millersylvania State Park, and every time we make plans to take advantage of the miles of woodland trails skirting its edges. Unfortunately, for a multitude of reasons, we’ve never been able to actually hike those trails. But this weekend I was determined to spend some long-overdue and much-needed quality

1001, 2013

Encourage family and friends to wear hearing protection

By John O’Connor, Guest Blogger bloggingwjohno.blogspot.com Hunting is a very popular sport and hobby for many people these days. It is also a favorite activity that many families engage in together as well. When picking a family hunting trip, a great destination to check out could be Washington State. Washington State is a great place to pick for a hunting trip because it is such a diverse area, not just

2708, 2012

Ascending Saint Helens, Part 3 of 4: More than a mountain

Washington Our Home
August 27, 2012
Family, Gear, Hikes, History, Mt. Saint Helens, Recreation, Western Washington
1
2264

I was almost five years old when I rode on my father’s back during a hike on Mt. Rainier one sunny Saturday afternoon. During that walk, he paused for a moment while viewing the distant, lofty, snow-capped peak to the southwest, speculating aloud on the possibility of one of the 18 volcanoes in the Cascade Mountain Range ever erupting. It was May 17th, 1980, and the next morning the world

2108, 2012

Ascending Saint Helens, Part 2 of 4: Rock-hopping at the jetty

Washington Our Home
August 21, 2012
Family, Gear, Mt. Saint Helens, Pacific Ocean, Recreation, Western Washington
0
2404

After deciding to climb Mt. Saint Helens in early 2012 and committing myself by actually purchasing the permits back in February, Dad and I had been training for the climb for months as the ascent date approached. It wasn’t until August finally arrived that we fully realized the gravity of the task we were about to undertake and upon reevaluation, found ourselves lacking in several training areas. When deciding to

0408, 2012

Lake Chelan, often mistaken for an Italian lago

Washington Our Home
August 4, 2012
Central Washington, History, Mt. Saint Helens, Western Washington
4
2114

I’m reading (actually, listening to) a book called The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire that Saved America by Timothy Egan. In it, Gifford Pinchot comments that Washington State’s Lake Chelan bears a striking resemblance to Italy’s Lago di Como (Lake Como). I thought that was interesting so I put together this little side-by-side comparison thanks to the technological marvel that is Google Maps. What do you think? Does

1004, 2012

What’s in a name? As it turns out, a lot

Washington Our Home
April 10, 2012
Central Washington, History, Legislature, Puget Sound, Western Washington
3
1662

As I tweeted last week, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources’ Committee on Geographic Names is meeting to consider changing the names of a number of Washington State locations, the most prominent being Soap Lake in Grant County. Someone had the bright idea of renaming it “Lake Smokiam” despite the local community having spent th0usands of dollars marketing the lake’s alleged medicinal properties. Needless to say, Soap Lake residents

2810, 2011

Finally, the hunting begins

Washington Our Home
October 28, 2011
Gear, Hunting, Recreation, Western Washington
0
1384

My alarm went off at 4:30 in the morning, and my first thought was, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Even though I had gone to bed relatively early the night before, I still didn’t get much sleep since it was the night before my first real hunting trip. Fortunately, the excitement of the coming day was also enough to roust me out of bed at that ungodly hour and

1810, 2011

Another day in Ocean Shores

Yes, I blog about Ocean Shores a lot. My parents live there, so what can I do? We drove over on Saturday afternoon and dad made a great dinner of sausage, sauerkraut, apples, bacon, and rolls. Delicious if you like sauerkraut. While we could have gone to the beach before sundown, we were very tired from a trip to Point Defiance Zoo that morning, so we opted to stay home