crosscut.com : Recreation / Outdoors

Whassup with Wasilla

Crosscut — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:47:01 PDT

The day after a former Miss Wasilla was picked by Sen. John McCain as his running mate, I realized I'd been there. In 2004, I went to Alaska to see the start of the Iditarod. That's the grueling 1,150-mile sled dog race that starts in south central Alaska and ends in Nome on the Bering Sea. Often referred to as "The Last Great Race on Earth," it takes anywhere from 10-17 days for the teams of 12-16 dogs and their mushers.

Bigfoot hunters must change tactics

Crosscut — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:01 PDT

I'm sure you were stunned by the headline: "Turns out Bigfoot was just a rubber gorilla suit." Hard to believe, I know. If you are looking for answers, however, don't despair. Instead of wondering aloud, "how can this be," turn to your home Mossback library. I'm sure tucked in there somewhere is a copy of the book that has all the Sasquatch answers.

Lake Union Park: a first assessment

Crosscut — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 04:00:01 PDT

Only a small part is done, and there are some missed opportunities. But the way South Lake Union opens up from the edges of the park is stunning and bold. The design pulls off the difficult trick of incorporating a working waterfront with a public park.

Where the Dems are

Crosscut — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 08:00:01 PDT

In sorting tea leaves, take a look at the very close primary race between state Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland, a Republican, and his challenger, Peter Goldmark, an Okanagan Democrat. Sutherland looks like the only statewide officeholder, aside from Gov. Gregoire, in a tight race for reelection. The race will be a barometer of the greenward tilting of the Evergreen State. As a relatively low-profile, down-on-the-ballot race, it's also a good measure of where the Democratic voters are.

Amazing Bigfoot discovery!

Crosscut — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 12:01:01 PDT

From what I can tell from news reports, yesterday's press conference by Bigfoot hunters claiming to have found a Sasquatch corpse in Georgia had some startling revelations. One is DNA results that answer the question: Just what is Bigfoot?

The 'Water Dogs' visit Cama Beach State Park

Crosscut — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 05:00:01 PDT

A women-only getaway doesn't have to be all about spas. These "Water Dogs" prefer kayaking to pedicures, and the new Cama Beach State Park on Camano Island is the perfect setting.

Go eastward, young Americans

Crosscut — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:00:01 PDT

There's a reverse flow of population in the West, drifting from expensive coastal cities to interior boomtowns. It's definitely changing the politics of the Rockies, while also stirring resentments at "Aspenization."

Travels with Charley and GPS

Crosscut — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 00:00:01 PDT

A Depression-era book series is the ultimate road-trip must-have, a way of comparing past and present as you tool around the country like a latter-day John Steinbeck. And in Washington, a new version even links travelers to the digital age.

The parade of foolishness

Crosscut — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 06:38:01 PDT

We're into August, which can be a dazzling month in the Northwest, with many things to enjoy and be thankful for: brilliant sunsets, fresh air, sparkling forests and water, music and arts festivals in places large and small, and, not least, an economy that is comparatively stronger than the rest of the country's. But concerns and irritations conspire to break the spell.

Walkability is nice, but it's not making us skinny

Crosscut — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:49:01 PDT

Current theory says that a city's walkability promotes health and will impact the fight against obesity. The claim is that America's weight problem can be helped by making cities more pedestrian-friendly. It should follow, then, that our most dense and walkable cities are where the skinny people are, right? Well, not really.

Holy chiroptera! Meet the local bats

Crosscut — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 07:21:01 PDT

Like the neighbors I rarely see until July, bats are making their appearances during the drawn-out summer evenings here in the Northwest. Flitting in the dusk, these nocturnal and flying mammals that use ultrasonic calls outside of our hearing range inhabit a world quite separate from mine. But Bats Northwest, an education and conservation group of bat aficionados, is here to bridge that gap through summertime bat walks at Green Lake, and there's one this Monday, July 28, at 8 p.m.

How art reflects nature: an interview with David Guterson

Crosscut — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:00:01 PDT

The stories of 52-year-old Bainbridge Island author David Guterson have much to owe Washington state, which serves as a powerful setting for everything he writes.

Presto! A Seattle parks levy!

Crosscut — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:00:01 PDT

In the man-bites-dog department, we have a City Council deciding to defy Mayor Greg Nickels and put a parks levy on the fall ballot. Here's how something that "never happens" actually happened.

A building worthy of greenery

Crosscut — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 05:00:01 PDT

Vancouver's in-city oasis, VanDusen Botanical Garden, hopes to go green big-time with a $23 million visitor center that could be the region's first structure to meet the most rigid sustainability standards.

More fun than Deliverance!

Crosscut — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 05:00:01 PDT

Spend your summer vacation in Eastern Washington, an exotic locale where lakes are slippery, the Scablands surprising, and wheat farmers are smashing stuff for fun.

Fishing for a family's food

Crosscut — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:00:01 PDT

An Alaskan whose family holds a subsistence fishing permit chronicles their annual trip to the Kasilof River, where they fish for sockeye salmon using set-nets.

Sausage Links, cougar-hunting edition

Crosscut — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:28:01 PDT

Praise the Lord and release the hounds — because our good state Legislature has enacted a law which makes it legal once again to use dogs to hunt cougars. Now, I didn't even know cougar hunting was legal in Washington — minus Cougars wearing crimson — but apparently, it is. While the bill was actually passed by the Legislature in February, the Department of Fish and Wildlife will hold a public meeting on Friday to discuss whether the pilot program should continue for another three years.

Meanwhile, Micheal Reitz of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation has compiled a list of some other curious laws enacted by the Washington Legislature this year. My personal favorite: Violators may face up to $1,000 or up to a year in jail for selling raw or unprocessed huckleberries without a permit.

Sausage Links, tree-cutting edition

Crosscut — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:09:01 PDT

Timber! The Seattle Times has a series of special reports about the lack of oversight in the logging industry and the cost to state taxpayers. According to the report, no one checked when Weyerhaeuser started clear-cutting unstable slopes, some of which eventually slid and cost millions of dollars to clean up. Naturally, David Goldstein at Horse's Ass blames Republican-led deregulation. ...

RFK Jr.'s plot to destroy the planet

Crosscut — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 18:00:01 PDT

Environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. recently paid a visit to Washington and sang its praises, but I'm not sure why he'd be welcome these days.

Shooting for money

Crosscut — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 19:00:01 PDT

Our Yakima correspondent tries out the Ljutic Mono Gun — and checks out the trap shooting tournament scene. Part 2