It’s official: Lower Yakima opens today

YAKIMA, Wash. — Regional fishery officials hoping to open the lower portion of the Yakima River to fishing for hatchery spring chinook either Tuesday or today got their wish when the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced today’s opening. Starting this morning (Wednesday, May 16), the lower river is now open for salmon fishing  [...]

The fish are coming! The fish are coming!

YAKIMA, Wash. — OK, so maybe it had a better ring to it — though, hey, British and fish DO rhyme — and carried a bit more urgency when Paul Revere made his midnight ride.  But for anglers waiting not-so-patiently for the slowest and latest spring salmon run on record to get serious, that time [...]

Birders celebrate our migratory friends

YAKIMA, Wash. — Birdwatchers, or birders as they more often to refer to themselves, don’t need special days or events to enjoy observing, chronicling or listing the birds that cross their paths. It’s an every-day thing. This Saturday, though, it will be pretty much an all-day thing at the Toppenish National Wildlife Refuge. Or, at [...]

Wet spring equals closed trails

YAKIMA, Wash. — People who want to use the Naches Ranger District’s motorized trails — even non-motorized users, whether mountain bikers, horseback riders or even hikers — will need to wait until June 15 to do so. Or earlier, should a stretch of dry weather conditions, in the words of district officials, “warrant an earlier [...]

Getting to know the shrub steppe world

YAKIMA, Wash. — It’s been around for a dozen years now, this Saturday’s event being the 13th annual, so “Get Intimate with the Shrub Steppe” is no longer the fresh, new thing. But if you’ve never checked it out, hey, it’s new to you. And even if you have, hey, it’s still a cool way [...]

Skate Creek route opens Friday

YAKIMA, Wash. — A Gifford Pinchot National Forest road often used by Yakima Valley-area travelers to access the southern end of Mount Rainier National Park, will open for the season on Friday. Forest Road 52, commonly known as the Skate Creek Road, runs from Packwood northwest to a junction with State Route 706, which travelers [...]

Want to spend summer at a campground?

YAKIMA, Wash. — Campground hosts at Washington State Parks are underpaid. (They’re volunteers, and when you’re paid nothing, that’s less than being paid something.) They can find themselves on call, simply by answering a knock on their camper door, at the oddest of hours. (“Excuse me, but the people in the tent next to our [...]

Nepal trek on Cascadian agenda

YAKIMA, Wash. — Yes, this is late notice, but if you want to experience vicariously what it might be like to trek through some of the highest real estate on the planet — that’s highest in terms of elevation, not price tags — then you might want to head out to Living Care’s Meyer Auditorium [...]

Putting fires dead out, Part II

YAKIMA, Wash. — We’re in the middle of Washington state’s “Wildfire Awareness Week” — which actually lasts 16 days, through May 6. That’s way too easy a set-up not to crack wise about it: We’re a little slow on the uptake in Washington, we need the extra time to get it right. Well, apparently we [...]

Could you use a fire-safety reminder?

YAKIMA, Wash. — It happens every year. A group of people gather around a campfire — whether at a family get-together, a company picnic or a simple camping outing — and enjoy themselves. Then they either go to bed or, worse, drive back to civilization without quite making sure the fire is dead out. And, [...]

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