Mazama

Every time I sit at my computer to begin to write something gossip column-ish, I hit a roadblock. How can I, on this Sunday, Aug. 4, 2019, write about something light, trivial, funny or even made up when my thoughts keep coming back to the shootings that happened this past week? Which shooting? Yes, how […]

It seems as though summer has finally decided to show up. And just in time for the Mazama Garden Party, which benefitted the Methow Housing Trust. The party was held on Saturday at the Mazama Country Inn under a gorgeous blue sky. It was an idyllic summer party with kids running around in between the […]

A common sight in Mazama this time of year are Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) hikers either at the Mazama Store or hitchhiking up Lost River Road. Most commonly, the hikers are at the tail end of their trek and are hairy, dirty and hungry. Much like children at the end of summer vacation, minus the […]

Confession is good for the soul. So, here is a tiny little confession to start this blurb: I originally wasn’t completely a proponent of the new Winthrop library. Don’t get out the torches and pitchforks to chase me out of town quite yet. And I write this also so that if you are like I […]

This story was a collaborative effort by the Valley Life columnists. So much happened in Mazama this last week. Like for instance, the Bairs had a garage sale. And many homes that are normally empty were full of people and dogs. Lots of dogs. There was a complete lack of fear and anxiety over fires […]

Last night our dinner guests from down valley brought us an enormous bag of greens from their garden. There was, as always, a small pang of jealousy about the proper gardening that can be accomplished anywhere but Mazama. I take that back. There are a handful of green thumbs out here residing west of the […]

Finally — some real news going on way up here in the nether region. And by real news, I mean national, CNN-worthy, big-time, major player news. Now, I know my reputation as a hard-hitting, take-no-prisoners reporter precedes me, so by reading this, you are expecting the scoop. Heck, I was expecting the scoop. This sounds like a […]

Do you remember your high school graduation? I remember mine pretty clearly even though it was close to 150 years ago. Along with the pomp and circumstance came a wild mixture of feelings. All at once, graduates felt freedom, relief, optimism, anxiety and even a little fear. It was a cumulation of years of hard […]

If you even loosely follow the news, you likely know about the deaths and chaos on Mt. Everest this season. At the time of this writing, there had been 11 deaths while climbers queued up to reach the summit. This makes the 2019 climbing season the deadliest in four years. It was also the busiest […]

A few weeks ago, on a gorgeous sunny day, I met with the equally gorgeous and sunny Diane Sheehan at the Mazama Store to learn about her recent trip to Costa Rica. Was she surfing? Sunbathing? Ziplining through the jungle? Not this time. Diane has been active with a group based out of Lake Forest […]