Whether it's thousands of shorebirds rising and twisting in perfect sync above the Grays Harbor mudflats or a lone Eurasian thrush lost in an Olympia subdivision, the same chorus of hushed human voices fills the air.
It's a universal reaction — a long, communal inward gasp of awe at the unexpected beauty of the natural world.
"I don't know what the deep magic is," said Bill Tweit, a leading regional birder. "It's something about flight, but it's also something about color. Just the magic of life and creation."
By Diane Brooks | April 28, 2005
There used to be Burma Shave signs along the old two-lane highway that snaked its way through the forests between Olympia and Aberdeen. Offering tips for good living (as well as what became a brilliant marketing reminder for sartorial splendor), the signs also were signals for beach-bound kids jammed into backseats of cars, along with luggage, snacks and clam guns, to start chanting:
"Don't try passing on a slope, unless you have a periscope! Burma Shave"
By Terry Tazioli | February 10, 2005
Short Trips
OCEAN SHORES - It's often wet - soaking might be more descriptive - usually windy and sometimes wild as Pacific Ocean storms assault the 6,000-acre, relatively unprotected peninsula called Ocean Shores on the state's central coast. But the weather elements seem to add a special allure to one of the area's most popular year-round destinations.
By Jeff Larsen | January 8, 2004
HOQUIAM -- John Larson, curator and director of the Polson Museum in Hoquiam, considers a train derailment at the museum a minor inconvenience.
To correct the problem, he shuts off the transformer, then sets the HO gauge model train engine and its cars back on the tracks so it can continue its log-hauling trek through the scale-model hills and forests of turn-of-the-century Hoquiam.
By Jeff Larsen | December 12, 2002
OCEAN SHORES When considering a horseback ride along the Pacific by Ocean Shores, you might think there are only two experiences possible one ecstatic, the other absurd.
The fantasy version, in slow motion, is all hooves pounding, kicked-up surf, aqua foam on bare legs (the water's warm). It's the primal huff of a powerful animal and your own excited gulps of salty air. And you are glorious in the gallop, hair in a tumult, joy itself on a horse running free.
By Connie McDougall | June 13, 2002
Every minute of every day, Rudy is on duty.
He guards our bird feeders against prowling cats. He patrols our yard. He follows our 5-year-old son everywhere. And he hovers alertly at mealtime, keeping our floors free of falling food particles.
In short, he works like a dog.
So it's only fair that he gets a vacation every now and then.
Since the rest of his family loves weekend trips to the beach, we've learned how to accommodate our spunky Golden Retriever. In fact, it doesn't feel like a family vacation anymore without him.
By Sandy Dunham | August 9, 2000
QUINAULT BEACH RESORT AT OCEAN SHORES - "The beach?" The hotel doorman repeated, seeming a bit surprised by my question.
It was 1 in the afternoon on Memorial Day, and my wife and I were checking into Washington's new $50-million Quinault Beach Resort on in its eighth day of operation.
Check-in wasn't until 4 p.m., we were told, but rooms would become available as housekeepers progressed through the hotel. Meanwhile, we could drop off our bags and "enjoy the facilities."
Fine, I replied, how do we get to the beach?
By Jack Broom | June 11, 2000
