As of November, 2010 I have retired from serving as a volunteer on national American Red Cross (ARC) jobs. I’ll no longer be going on those two- to three-week disaster responses several times a year. But I’ll have memories to last a lifetime Since 1995 I have responded to 41 Disaster Response Operations (DRO)...
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Eighteen year-old Jessie Gaebele is making her way in a world obsessed with rigid propriety. Even at her young age, she’s made mistakes, has committed acts for which she must atone. Although she longs for her family, she remains miles away, working in her life’s vocation, photography. The story weaves the lives of Jessie...
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The Olympic National Park’s 1,400 square miles situated in Washington’s northwest corner ranges from seashore to alpine wilderness. Ninety-five percent of the park is designated wilderness. This diverse national park with its wide scope of vistas and habitats is globally recognized as an International Biosphere Reserve and a World Heritage Site. Highway 101 encircles...
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Irene Bennett Brown, well-known for her popular historical novels, has successfully crossed genres with the fun cozy mystery, Where Gable Slept. A gifted writer, she keeps readers turning the pages while trying to glean clues to solve the mystery. Widowed Celia Landrey’s beloved town, Pass Creek, Oregon, is her life. She thrives on its...
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What kind of insurance coverage do you have, Replacement Cost or Actual Cash Value? It’s important to know your coverage. Before you determine that, let’s briefly discuss a household inventory, which is valuable when making an insurance claim. If you suffer a loss, whether it’s a burglary, fire, or other cause, an insurance company...
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Beth Hodder’s Stealing the Wild (Grizzly Ridge Publishing) has all the ingredients of a good coming-of-age story–excitement, outdoor adventure, and a worthwhile lesson in the devastating act of poaching. In Montana’s Great Bear Wilderness, there’s not a telephone, cell phone, or Internet access within miles, as is still the case in many parts of...
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Women Writing the West’s 16th Annual Conference was an opportunity to reconnect, re-inspire, rejuvenate and relax. A retreat in every sense of the word. What better place to accomplish all these things than at a guest ranch, namely Rancho de los Caballeros in Wickenburg, Arizona, in the High Sonoran Desert. Set in the graceful...
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Alexandra Fuller’s Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, an African Childhood (Random House) is a remarkable memoir about her family’s struggle for survival in southern and central Africa. Spanning the period 1975 through the early 2000′s, Bobo, as the author was nicknamed, makes unique observations about a life most people can’t even imagine....
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I began to think we were traveling in circles. Driving south on our way to Coos Bay, Oregon, we passed over an attractive bridge in Newport. It’s graceful arches spanned more than half a mile across the bay and, in the middle of the bridge, spires pointed to the sky, like miniature castles. Now,...
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Fort Churchhill’s remaining buildings are in ruins, the adobe walls remaining in a state of arrested decay. Highway 50, dubbed in 1986 by Life Magazine as “The Loneliest Road in America,” may be lonely but the sights are many. On a sunny June day, with our truck and camper, we travel west on Highway...
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