Opinion
PAT NEAL: The law of the sea
And so, another rafting season passes astern. The glaciers in the high Olympics are shrinking at an increasing…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: A short history of fire
IT WAS ANOTHER tough week in the news, but we still have plenty of fresh air.
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Real questions from real tourists
THIS MUST BE one of the busiest tourist seasons ever. It has the locals hoping that school will…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The bug sacrifice
OF THE MANY phobias I cultivate, such as the fear of the government, fear of the mailbox and…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Safety first on vacation
There’s no doubt about it. I’ve got to stop picking up women at the bar. It’s not safe.
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Voyage of the Doomed
There are no mental wellness days here at Hoh River Rafters, because you’d have to be crazy to…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The hunt for blackberries
THERE ARE FEW outdoor activities more enjoyable than picking wild blackberries. By wild blackberries, I don’t mean the…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: A profitable extinction
In last week’s episode, we traced a cause for the degradation of our ecosystem to the elimination of…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The rivers’ babies are disappearing
Looking at a baby salmon, it’s hard to believe that something not much bigger than a mosquito larvae…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: A very berry Fourth
This is the season wild creatures wait for all year. When we can walk in the woods and…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Jefferson County’s resiliency plan bad for Hoh River, salmon
In last week’s episode, we followed the extinction of the salmon from Europe to the Eastern shore of…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: A short history of extinction
FOR SOME, THE new year begins in January. Out on our rivers, the new year begins now with…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Does it always rain here?
With the blustery weather we have been experiencing lately, it seems like either the mildest January or the…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Traffic jam blues
IT WAS ANOTHER tough week in the news — when plans for the biggest traffic jam in the…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Things could always be worse
Recently, we described the deterioration of our antique transportation infrastructure on the Olympic Peninsula. State Highway 112 was…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Olympic Peninsula driving guide continued
In last week’s episode, we were traveling west on U.S. Highway 101 and had just successfully crossed the…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: Olympic Peninsula driving guide
With the real and present danger of an imminent tourist invasion, it’s time once again for the Olympic…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: No selfies in the outhouse
From our majestic melting glaciers to the acidified ocean, and all the scenic splendor in between, this year’s…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: The voyage of the Lydia
In last week’s episode, we discovered the unhappy coincidence of the Lewis and Clark Expedition spending a hard…
Opinion
PAT NEAL: A saga of spring, salmon and supplies
Spring is a time of spiritual renewal along with Easter, Ramadan and Passover. There is, however, another seasonal…