All Posts Written by "ken"
Meet the Queets
“Out of the dirt of the skin.” That’s what the word Queets means, translated directly from the Quinault original. The story, as I’ve heard it told, is that the Great Spirit Kwate was out walking on the beach one day and came to the banks of the river. He had been walking a while and […]
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Slice of Moclips
The town of Moclips – if “town” is the right word – started out as a Quinault village along the banks of the Moclips River. It was a place where young women were taken when they reached puberty, a place where menstruating females were set apart from the rest of the tribe, so as not […]
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The beginning of another crazy plan
The Olympic Peninsula is an island. I wrote a post last year about the Black River and about how that particular little stream connects Puget Sound with the Chehalis River, effectively surrounding the “peninsula” with water. Making it an island, really. Not that it matters. Other than being a semi-interesting factoid that can be brought […]
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A Complex kid (part 2)
Although avoiding the public was the secret to Big John’s success at eluding capture, there were times when he needed things that he couldn’t get anywhere else. He broke into Jackson’s Country Grocery Store that winter, something he was wont to do from time to time, as he needed supplies. On this particular raid, however, […]
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A Complex kid (Part 1)
It is a fine line between feral and domesticated, between wild and tame. The difference between tearing raw meat from the bone and quietly noshing on a cucumber sandwich is not as great as you might believe and, once that line has been crossed, it is difficult, maybe impossible, to return. On September 4, 1880, […]
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"A Good time in the mountains"
In Chinook jargon, the word Klahhane can mean a variety of things: “out of doors,” “without,” “outside.” There is an implication within the word that describes not only a place, but the pleasure of being there. My favorite translation of Klahhane is “a good time in the mountains.” Klahhane Ridge, not far from Port Angeles, […]
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Growing older but not up
There was once a reasonable man by the name of Ashley Montagu. A social scientist, back when the term conveyed an understanding of both science and society. Montagu was a pioneer in the realm of popularizing scientific topics, bringing the edges of science into the mainstream of society. (Think Margaret Mead or even Rachel Carson.) […]
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If you haven’t already made plans for today…
My father used to tell me, “Son, it isn’t often that you’re right, but you’re wrong again.” I was sure that this year’s Puget Sound Sea Kayak Symposium would be a bust: other recent symposiums in Port Angeles and Port Townsend had poor attendence, the person at Tacoma Parks responsible for this event left a […]
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What was that name again?
The Duckabush River, on the eastern slope of the Olympics, takes its name from the Indian word “do-hi-a-boos,” which comes out as “reddish face.” Whether the name refers to the ochre hue of the mountain bluffs in the region or is a Twana Indian reference to the chief of the mythical salmon people is a […]
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Huck, Jimmy and me
I remember being about 10 or 11 years old and feeling quite excited at the idea of being Huck Finn. Floating all day on the mighty Mississippi, doing petty crimes with his best pal Tom: his life seemed to me to be a fine one, one that I would like to have as well. As […]
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A story of sea kayaking and science on the rugged coast of Alaska. Coming – Spring 2014.
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