Ken Campbell, Author at The Last Wilderness

A Starting point

Posted by Ken Campbell February 1, 2009 0 Comment 855 views

According to the Washington State Parks web site, “Belfair State Park is a 63-acre, year-round camping park on 3,720 feet of saltwater shoreline at the southern end of Hood Canal in western Washington. It is noted for its saltwater tide flats, wetlands with wind-blown beach grasses and pleasant areas for beach walking and saltwater swimming.” […]

Econ 101

Posted by Ken Campbell January 31, 2009 0 Comment 857 views

In the closing months of 2008, the U.S. economy took its biggest hit in over a quarter-century. According to the sages at CNN, the 3.8% drop in fourth quarter GDP was the largest decline since 1982. The sky is falling and it would seem that the prospects for future prosperity are a long way off. […]

The End

Posted by Ken Campbell January 29, 2009 0 Comment 1012 views

In 1853 the schooner Cynosure dropped anchor in Neah Bay. The Makah had had some interaction with white settlers and merchants before this point, but this encounter would prove very different, and far more tragic, than any that had preceded it. One of the crew – exactly whom is unknown – had been exposed to […]

A Green rush

Posted by Ken Campbell January 28, 2009 0 Comment 1008 views

Between 1849 and 1851, a series of six fires devastated San Francisco, each of them creating a serious need for lumber. At the height of the demand, rough-milled lumber sold for more than it fetches today, in some cases as much as $500 per thousand feet. Much of the timber that rebuilt San Francisco came […]

Daybreak at the Drunken Fir

Posted by Ken Campbell January 25, 2009 0 Comment 829 views

An early morning, this morning. Gary and I were on the water by 6:30, putting in at Titlow Beach and heading through the Narrows to the Point Defiance Boat House. As the light came up and the wind stiffened, we could see the slides on the cliffs below the point. All along the shoreline, from […]

A happy thought

Posted by Ken Campbell January 23, 2009 0 Comment 890 views

I was thinking about the economy, the demise of American kayak manufacturers and the shrinking polar ice caps this morning. Can you blame me for being a grouch? It’s funny how one thought can lead into another, and another, until the weight of it all turns even the lightest heart into stone. I am, it […]

Clubland

Posted by Ken Campbell January 23, 2009 0 Comment 802 views

I am not a Joiner by nature. I tend to follow the Mark Twain ethic, which means that I’m not overly interested in any organization that would have me as a member. I am a member of two kayaking clubs, Kayak Newfoundland and Labrador and the Matelót but that’s about it. I like people and […]

The great Blue Heron

Posted by Ken Campbell January 20, 2009 0 Comment 923 views

I mentioned the Blue Heron Bakery at the end of the last entry… I thought I should give it another plug. For me, one of the highlights of any trip to the peninsula is the mandatory stop at the Blue Heron. A selection of exquisitely crafted confections along with perfect coffee makes it a pleasure […]

Doesn’t feel like winter

Posted by Ken Campbell January 20, 2009 0 Comment 922 views

Up at dawn once again. I’d like to survey a few more kayaking options, maybe get on the water for a morning paddle, then beat it back to T-town in time to see the boy before his bedtime. I stop at a pull-out on Highway 101, a tourist scenic vista, that overlooks Nehalem Bay and […]

Big rocks, big water

Posted by Ken Campbell January 18, 2009 0 Comment 1030 views

The wind is not dying down. If anything, it’s getting stronger. The inky sky is awash with stars and the quarter moon is almost bright enough to read by. It’s five in the morning and I’m by the side of the road in Nehalem, Oregon. I guess I could have figured it might be breezy… […]