• Ten years ago this month, I – freshly graduated from high school – flew to Quito, Ecuador, to teach English at an orphanage. Ok, well, really, I was getting out of my hometown, making my mark, immersing myself in language and culture, learning something new about a corner of the world far, far away from my tiny

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  • Letters from Ecuador: 9.18.2006

    Ten years ago this month, I – freshly graduated from high school – flew to Quito, Ecuador, to teach English at an orphanage. Ok, well, really, I was getting out of my hometown, making my mark, immersing myself in language and culture, learning something new about a corner of the world far, far away from my tiny

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  • Ten years ago this week, I – freshly graduated from high school – flew to Quito, Ecuador, to teach English at an orphanage. Ok, well, really, I was getting out of my hometown, making my mark, immersing myself in language and culture, learning something new about a corner of the world far, far away from my tiny

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  • Ten years ago today, I – freshly graduated from high school – flew to Quito, Ecuador, to teach English at an orphanage. Ok, well, really, I was getting out of my hometown, making my mark, immersing myself in language and culture, learning something new about a corner of the world far, far away from my tiny Eastern

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  • Annette Lake & Knowing Less

    I’ve often heard iterations of the phrase “the more you learn, the less you know” — if you’re human and you speak English, you’ve probably heard it, too. I suppose there are as many ways to interpret the phrase as there are letters comprising it, but the way I see it is that one who

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  • Olympic National Park: Shi Shi Beach Backpacking

    Question: Why do people love backpacking so much? And why haven’t I done it yet? Having grown up in the Pacific Northwest, it’s more than a little silly that I haven’t gone backpacking before. I’ve tent-camped a hundred places, hiked a hundred more, but never the two together. My encounters with backpacking have been purely

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  • Remembering Rachel Corrie

    It’s been 13 years since Rachel Corrie was murdered in Gaza while protecting Palestinian homes from demolition. In the ensuing time since her death, she’s become a beacon of humanitarian work for people all over the world. She’s been a personal hero for me — I’ve admired her courage, her writing, her dedication to helping

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  • In Pursuit of Smart, Not Happy

    There are many ways in which I feel alienated from the rest of my human peers. I love Hillary Clinton. Literally everyone else in the world seems to hate her. I don’t like dogs, and that’s “weird.” I actually prefer salamanders. Like, if everyone who has a dog had a salamander instead, I would be

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  • Deception Pass State Park

    In case you have never yet heard of Deception Pass State Park on Whidbey/Fidalgo island in NW Washington, let me enlighten you. It is one of the most engaging hikes I have ever been on, and I’ve now been there twice in a month! It’s not difficult, only reaching about 500 or so feet of

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  • Long Time No See!

    Hello everyone, I guess I’ve been off the blog horse for a while – I’ve been reading lots of books, crafting, volunteering, hiking and visiting friends and family, prepping for Jim’s parents’ visit, Wintergrass, and planning my birthday! Meanwhile, the world has gotten interesting. The daffodils are up, the cherry blossoms are already waning, and

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