The Life Calendar on my wall is a tall stack of 1080 rows divided into groups of 12. Vertical columns divide the rows (months) into 31 boxes each, creating a giant grid representing every day/month/year of a life spanning 90 years. I highlighted in green all the boxes corresponding to my past. Days I’ve lived. A thin band of rows …

A lot goes through your mind while lying on the floor of a sushi restaurant in downtown Anchorage. Stuff like, “somebody needs to clean the underside of this table,” and, “why doesn’t anyone ask what I’m doing on the floor?” and, of course, “this is gonna make a great story if I live.” But I digress. Five days prior, I …

This was my second trip to the Yukon in the dead of winter. The first trip was a grand adventure, but I also froze my lip to a metal key. Ouch. “You’re going BACK?” asked my daughter, Holly. “Yup. I’m trying for another dog sled excursion.” “You spent two hours mushing the last time and about froze your ears off.” …

“Why in God’s name would you do that?” The Peace Arch border agent stared at me like I’d lost my mind. I just told him that I was traveling to the Yukon. It was January 7th. “Do you how cold it gets? They don’t call it the Great White North for nothing.” Then he looked at my car. “Tell me …

The flat two-mile crossing was anything but notorious. I was almost disappointed. We’d dragged our kayaks onto the ferry in Anacortes at oh-dark-hundred, disembarked at the Orcas Island terminal and waited for our transportation, loaded boats and gear into a van that took us across the island through Eastsound, unloaded our boats and gear at Terrill Beach, and then began …

When I slip my kayak into Bellingham Bay, I sometimes choose a direction without a destination. Paddling is an end in itself and destinations require decisions. It’s like choosing between a slice of Oreo cheesecake and chocolate mousse. Can I have some of each? Not if they’re in two different directions. If I do select a destination, my tastes lean …

During my first paddle with WAKE (Whatcom Association of Kayak Enthusiasts),  I learned two important lessons about kayaking in Bellingham: first, that uncrowded lesser-known destinations are immensely gratifying, and second, that there are often good reasons why these spots are uncrowded. The Salish Sea is replete with destination gems enjoyed by paddlers “in-the-know.” These special spots demand advanced skills, rough-weather …