Washington

  1. Tired of Chasing the Rainbow? Trout Alternatives in Washington

    Tired of Chasing the Rainbow? Trout Alternatives in Washington

    We all learn, when we are little, that a pot of gold lies at the end of any rainbow. Those who do pursue a rainbow’s terminus will only be met with frustration. In many respects, I feel the same way about rainbow trout fisheries in Washington state. Don’t get me wrong, I love catching rainbows and pound for pound you won’t find many harder fighting fish in the state. However, rainbow trout are so widespread in the evergreen state that it's hard to avoid them, frustratingly so. You might think it odd to be frustrated with catching fish, but I’m a person who likes a little variety in his life. After all, you can only chase the pot of gold for so long before it gets boring. Alternative trout fisheries in the state do exist, many are underutilized, and some provide the potential for trophy fish. Here is a rundown of some alternative W... Read more
    5 Min
  2. 5 Must Do Fall Fisheries in Eastern Washington

    5 Must Do Fall Fisheries in Eastern Washington

      Fall is my favorite time to go fishing. After long, hot and smoky summers the air finally clears, and fish go on the feed fattening themselves up for the coming winter. Not typically as windy as the spring, the weather is more cooperative and the pressure on local lakes is reduced as anglers are distracted by hunting opportunities and crockpots of cheese dip and meatballs followed by football. Opportunities abound in eastern Washington this time of year for the intrepid angler. Here is a rundown of five must-do fall fisheries:   5. Potholes Reservoir Walleye Potholes walleye can be finnicky, but then again, what walleye fishery isn’t finnicky? Walleye fishing gets a lot simpler this time of year as walleye get less picky about what they eat. Trolling is the name of the game on this lake. Bottom walkers trolled at 0.8 to 1.... Read more
    5 Min
  3. Weekending

    Weekending

    Pomeroy, Washington is a Norman Rockwellesque farm town that doubles as NASA’s testing ground for Mars rovers. At the end of the last Ice Age, 2,000-foot-high glacial dams shattered repeatedly, sending cataclysmic floods ripping across the Pacific Northwest. The wild water often hit 65 miles an hour, gouging lakes and razor-edged ravines, and revealing a starkly beautiful landscape of buttes and basalt-pillar colonnades. These “Channeled Scablands” are so otherworldly that NASA tested robotic rovers bound for Mars among the region’s coulees and dry waterfalls. The torrents also eddied, piling fertile dirt several hundred feet deep, while the wind blew the lighter silt and volcanic ash into dunes. This produced the undulating farmland of Eastern Washington’s Palouse, where spotted horses once helped harvest the nation’s riches... Read more
    5 Min
  4. What Grows in North Central Washington?

    What Grows in North Central Washington?

    What are some good fruit and vegetables to grow in north-central Washington? We get a lot of different gardening questions at North 40; we have stores in many different zones, and each one of our stores has a special relationship with the growers that supply our fruits and vegetables. One of our suppliers in the area is a husband and wife team who've been providing plants to N40 for 2 years. They have mucho experience in the growing game, and are 15 year veteran, Bonnie certified suppliers. Check out their full interview N40 eMag: Garden Edition. Want to know their specialty (and a great fruit that will do well in north central Washington)? Tomatoes. And the Bonnie tomatoes we stock are known to thrive in these areas. "Our plants are grown hardy and acclimated to our environment. We grow them pretty cold," she tells me, laughing. The Bo... Read more
    5 Min
  5. Omak Earth Day: Ashen Footprints in Carlton

    As we celebrate Earth Day by planting trees in a local area affected by last year's massive wildfire, we are quickly reminded how it has only been seven months since fires were engulfing the Methow valley-Carlton Complex. In July 2014 lightning strikes sparked four wildfires across a rather large area that would very quickly merge into the largest wildfire in Washington State history.  Leaving in its wake 256,108 acres of burnt land and destroying 300 homes. At one point there were over 3,000 firefighters actively working to contain the fire.  The National Guard was even called in to help efforts. I remember riding the bus to work and seeing convoys of military Humvees with Red Cross painted on them, driving through downtown like a parade.  People would, including myself, stare in speechless terror as they start to realize that this f... Read more
    5 Min
  6. Black Gold: Blue Star Coffee

    Black Gold: Blue Star Coffee

    Every night before bed, I go through my routine that helps me prepare for the morning. One of these includes making sure my coffee pot goes off by itself at 4:20 am. The smell of brewing coffee helps me mentally prepare to get out of bed, and the anticipation of a good cup of coffee makes thing a bit more enjoyable. Forget the alarm, I set my coffee pot, and if it doesn't go off, I'm not getting out of bed. Luckily, the good folks at Twisp River Suites equipped our rooms with delay set coffee makers AND freshly ground coffee from Blue Star Coffee Roasters. I was set to carry on photographing late into the night and mentally prepared to deal with the consequences in the morning. After meeting up with our group in the morning, I jumped in the far back seat to work on photos on our long car drive to Lewiston. Sam, however, had a different ... Read more
    5 Min
  7. Exploring Twisp, Washington: A Local Gem

    Exploring Twisp, Washington: A Local Gem

    After a quick visit to our store in Omak, we headed east to the small town of Twisp. As we drove further into the Methow Valley towards the Cascades, the Okanogan landscape progressively changed from sagebrush laden ground to what resembled East Glacier to a native Montanan. Learn about things to do in Moses Lake, Washington. Shortly after we encountered a bobcat, we arrived in Twisp at dusk in search of our hotel. We were given classic, small town directions (like turn right at the Dairy Queen, left at the pool) and told our hotel was located right behind the local pub. As we neared the end of town, we began questioning whether or not we should flip on the GPS just as the pub sign came into sight. We parked outside the Twisp River Suites and sorted through the waves of gear falling out of the trunk like an over stuffed cupboard. Beh... Read more
    5 Min
  8. MSR's Evo Snowshoes Review: Mountain Safety Research meets Tiffan...

    MSR's Evo Snowshoes Review: Mountain Safety Research meets Tiffan...

    I was privileged to field test a pair of MSR Evo snowshoes last week on an overnight hike to Tiffany Mountain, elevation 8200 in a sub-range at the eastern edge of the North Cascades about 25 linear miles northwest of Omak. I got a ride from Omak and began my walk up the North Fork of Salmon Creek from the mountain hamlet of Conconully. Low clouds and fog which overhung the Okanogan, seemingly for weeks, gave way to sunshine at Conconully, elevation 2300. I changed into a new pair of Merrell snowboots that were on clearance at North 40, and donned the Evo snowshoes at the Tiffany Lake Trail #373 trailhead, elevation 4800, a mile or so beyond Salmon Meadows, at about 2PM. The snow was paltry, maybe two feet, and was very rotten, making for some deep postholing and slow progress. I have snowshoed for about 25 years, usually several times ... Read more
    5 Min
  9. A Beginner's Guide to Great Coffee Shops Across Montana, Idaho &a...

    A Beginner's Guide to Great Coffee Shops Across Montana, Idaho &a...

    Let's face it- I'm a coffee addict, and, like many people up here in the Northwest, I've become spoiled with the proliferation of small, artisan roasters and coffee houses springing up everywhere. And I mean everywhere some towns up here have populations under 5,000 and you can find the best coffee in 100 miles in those tiny shops. Going out and discovering new coffees, and meeting the people that frequent those shops is one of my favorite things to do hence this blog. Below you will find a list of some of the best places I've had coffee (or had coffee from) in the Northwest.   But before you skim the list there is a bit of a selfish bent to this post, and it's this: I know this list is not exhaustive, and I KNOW there are some coffee shops out there that I need to visit. If you are a coffee shop owner, or you are a frequenter of an... Read more
    5 Min
  10. Capturing Riverfront Park, Spokane: What it means to us

    Capturing Riverfront Park, Spokane: What it means to us

    I remember when I moved to Great Falls and first felt our company's passion for fly fishing. Not everyone was doing it, but you could definitely tell it was there and that it would grow into something important. Though an old college roommate taught me the fundamentals of casting many years ago and I was comfortable with a rod, I really never had the time or had yet met a person with a passion to push me. I began to grow comfortable with the idea that it was a good fit for me. I got over my previously formed opinion of fly fishing when I finally accepted my new opinion of fly fishing being equally important to my own beliefs of what makes Montana really cool. So I immersed myself into knowing all things fly fishing in normal fashion my wife refers to as "being bored." But I wasn't bored...I was genuinely interested because it was my way... Read more
    5 Min
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