Ironwood
Holodiscus discolor, commonly called Ocean Spray, arrow-wood, or iron-wood, is one of the more abundant flowering shrubs in the Pacific Northwest. Known for its hardness it was used for tools by native people throughout the region. Ironwood was fashioned into...
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I’m A Fucking Genius
I’m stuck in the loop of “I’m a fucking genius!” followed by “This God damned thing!”. I guess using the Scrambler as a year-round daily commuter and camping mule is taking its toll. I got the rear brakes back together (I’m a fucking genius!), but they are...
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Lost Creek Longhouse Chapter 6: Striking Camp
(Click here for Chapter 5) With only two days left in camp, the weather started to clear. As the sun crested the tree line Sunday morning, the meadow began to steam and the canvas started to dry. ...
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Lost Creek Longhouse Chapter 5: Disappearing Lake Regatta
(Click Here for Chapter 4) I had expected to have most of Friday morning to myself, but my cousin, Giovanna and her husband, Chase turned up right after breakfast. They must have gotten up at the...
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Trying Out the Halti Laavu Pro
I bought a new tent! As Amy is quick to point out, the last thing I need is another tent. But I wanted it. I have been intrigued by Baker and Whelan tents for years. Basically, half of a small wall tent, they are designed for expedition camping. Open down the length,...
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Blackberries
I am at the side of the trail, eating blackberries just as fast as I can pick them. They stain my fingers red and dissolve in my mouth, this one sweet, that one tart. Thorns tear at my forearms as I reach inside the briars to twist free another berry. The trick...
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Cheering the Storm
The evening sky goes gray, the smell of a summer storm hanging in the air the trees ripple in a wind pregnant with humidity night overwhelms evening, wrapping us in a blanket of darkness and the smell of ozone scorching ragged rips of lighting tear apart the black...
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August
brittle yellow grass brown dirt showing through desperate for rain
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Nightride
This piece first appeared August 2018 in Nr.39 of International Sidecar Traveller The sun has already set when I reach Lost Lake Road. I pass through Dee as the light fades away. The old school house looms at the corner, then it is gone. I turn south,...
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Brittle Bright
Very early morning, the sky like back lit plate glass. If a bird hit it just right it might shatter into glittering shards of yellow, orange, blue and pink, revealing the infinite beyond. Brittle Bright was originally published in vol 1, issue 2 of the Syzygy...
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Spam Pudgies
Dave was a little skeptical of the lunch menu- Spam pudgie sandwiches cooked in the pie irons. Straight from the can, Spam is unappealing, pallid, pink and soft. The prevailing flavor is salt. Heated, it darkens, becoming almost brown. The texture gets firmer, even...
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Kentucky Mule
I don't care for vodka, so never acquired a taste for Moscow Mules. Bourbon, however, is an entirely different story. In camp or on the back porch, the Kentucky Mule is sure to refresh. Go ahead, have another. You deserve it. Ingredients 1 oz bourbon-I...
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Robert’s Cast Iron Bread
Robert disappeared into the longhouse and emerged a little later with a beautiful loaf of fresh bread. It seemed so simple, and according to Rob, it pretty much was. I asked him for his recipe and this is what he gave me.Ingredients about 2 1/2 cups flour more or...
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Taco Things
Taco-things are made from left overs, salsa, and cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla folded closed and fried in oil with a little picante sauce splashed over them. Sounds like a burrito, right? Well, when I worked at La Clinica years ago, my co-workers told me it...
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Pork Roast with Morel Gravy
This was a slow cooker recipe I adapted to the Dutch Oven. You can use any mushrooms and any large hunk of pork. Ingredients 3-4 pound pork roast 4 large cloves of garlic, minced 1 large white onion peeled and cubed 3-4 cups morels, if you can get them ...
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