Twisp

The first week of school is always punctuated by a number of games and exercises for students and teachers to get to know one another. Teachers try to instill classroom routines and expectations while students began to navigate new social bonds. Each teacher has their own special way of introducing their students to each other […]

Wrapping up the summer can be bittersweet as we count down the days. Most parents are ready to get their kids out of the house for a multitude of reasons. Ready for routine, ready to stop cobbling together day care, and ready to stop the sibling fighting. The child care scramble is especially difficult the […]

A special thanks to the Methow Valley Community Center staff, Dawn at the Library, and other regular occupants of the center who welcomed and managed the crowds of wild children infiltrating the building with the many summer camps and programs running over the past summer weeks. Wrapping up a week of musical immersion, the Pipestone […]

The Bearacudas, Manta Rays and Bullfrogs swarmed to the Twisp Town Park Saturday to take on the Killer Whales in the Okanogan Swim League Championship. The tent city that springs up as temporary shelters for the weary swimmers and spectators is quite a sight to behold as hundreds of families and swimmers staked out their […]

“Sshhh … it’s a secret.” “There’s an important visitor coming to town, but you can’t tell anyone.” “It’s hush, hush. They don’t want to draw attention.” It was the secret that spread like wildfire. Everyone who knew, told. When Jay Inslee finally landed at the Methow Valley State Airport on Friday, the word had been […]

It’s lovely May weather we are having, isn’t it? I like Katrina’s reader board at the Twisp Feed Store stating, “I miss hating the heat.” But for me, I never hate the heat. I revel in it. In fact, I still haven’t warmed up yet since this winter, what with only single digits still midway […]

This story was a collaborative effort by the Valley Life columnists. So much happened in Twisp this week it’s nearly impossible to recall. First, we can’t ignore the thunderstorms, their omniscient teasing with the muggy air and a taste of negative ions in the air culminating in the final cataclysm that erupted Saturday night. Winthrop […]

One of the remarkable things about the Fourth of July is that it’s a rare time for Americans to put aside their political differences and celebrate our unity, which as history shows, is no easy task. Twisp’s Fourth celebration and Arts Festival do this well. However, a recent visit to Washington, D.C., reaffirmed my sense […]

Pagan summer solstice gatherings may have opened a portal to another time and place and summoned up ancestral spirits and gods to beckon us northward. Passers-by on Twisp-Winthrop Eastside road might have been surprised to see Nordic gods, goddesses, barbarians, knights and Viking warriors convening Saturday evening to partake in farewell celebration for Twinthrop residents […]

On a recent hike foraging for mushrooms, we embarked up Buttermilk Creek. A visiting friend remarked, “this is an interesting creek name.” Discussion ensued with pontifications imagining there must have been a pioneer dairy in the vicinity that sold miners raw buttermilk as they explored the hidden deposits in search of precious metals. Or maybe […]