Building a set of Atticus-proof sauna benches is no simple matter. He's small, but he understands leverage. The supply list called for 28 red cedar 2x4s (12-foot), a few cedar fence boards, and 2 boxes of 3" exterior screws. I began by establishing a rigid, level ledger on three walls. It consists of doubled-up 2x4s fastened to the wall studs. I then constructed two 22" wide x 10' long benches by sandwiching fence board spacers (1/2" x 3-1/2" x 5") between the 2x4s, placed on

Are there blueberries in my shoe?

Soft sediment deformation features in the Touchet Beds of WA, OR, ID (that are not clastic dikes). I took all of these photos. Wallula bluffs, Walla Walla Valley. Wallula bluffs, Walla Walla Valley. Willow Creek, Umatilla Basin. Starbuck or Sand Pit Rd. Starbuck, Tucannon River Valley. A gravel-filled, teardrop-shaped intrusion/collapse feature (left) and "sand filled cavity formed by melting of ice lens" from Ralph L. Lupher (1944, Fig. 2F). Maybe so, Ralph (if that is in fa

Clastic dikes in the Columbia Basin are wedge-shaped bodies composed of silt, sand and gravel. The character of the dike-filling sediment at any given location is governed by what surficial material was present when glacial outburst floods swept across the landscape. There are hundreds of thousands of these features to be found throughout this vast region. The dikes cut various sedimentary units, including the Ringold, Snipes Mountain, and Ellensburg/Latah Formations. Dikes a

The boat dropped us off on the spit and we hiked around for the afternoon. Next time we'll bring sea kayaks and stay for a week. Check out the lagoon and oyster farm. Dryas on the terminal moraine. Lake in front of the Grewingk Glacier. We hear gulls and dripping water. Icebergs and Twix bars. Plenty of fresh bear sign on the trail today. You want a remote getaway? Try this place. We passed this sign a few miles in. We made the easy hike over to Saddle Trailhead to meet the b

Perched boardwalks greet you upon arrival to Halibut Cove. They accommodate 23' tides. The entire cove is a very quiet place except for that one phone. He answers simply, "Tillion." The Man and his trike. The old canneries are galleries, or storage barns, or homes now. Flowers at the Covelight Cafe. School starts next week. This sculpin just couldn't handle it. Breakfast is the usual fare at the Covelight. Good and cheap. Dinner at the Saltry is above average when you include

Our trip to Halibut Cove started with a night on the beach at the Homer Spit. With the morning tide came breakfast choices... Breakfast Option #1: Crepes at the new place next to the Bunnell Gallery in Old Town Homer. We liked Mara's breakfast better (she used to run the place), but it looks like the new folks are doing well. Breakfast Option #2: Tallboys at the Salty Dawg on the Spit, which means waiting until 10am for the doors to open. See what I mean? Tough choices. Homer

Most geologists are familiar with the Touchet Beds of the Walla Walla Valley and Pasco Basin that formed upstream of Wallula Gap in slackwater Lake Lewis. This video provides a quick look at one roadcut along Hwy 74 near Cecil, OR. Here, Touchet-equivalent deposits were laid down in a similar slackwater setting, but in Lake Condon which formed upstream of a constriction near The Dalles. Missoula flood rhythmites are exposed in roadcuts for several miles along the rural, two-l