SET THE RIGHT GOALS FOR 2013 Y EVENTS CALENDAR
WENATCHEE VALLEY’S
NUMBER ONE MAGAZINE
January 2013
Price: $3
winter
is no time to
quit hiking
New tools & skills open nature’s beauty all year long
plus Kayaking the wilds of British Columbia
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Contents
page 22
home is where the art is Features
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kayaking the wilds of british columbia
Half a dozen gray hairs get dropped off before dawn from a ferry’s stern for two weeks of living and pedalling in the wilderness — how fun!
10 don’t let winter stop your hiking
WenatcheeOutdoors guru Andy Dappen offers advice to help you slog through the snowy terrain in the winter months
12 she’d walk 1,000 miles
Sometimes with friends, sometimes with just her dog, Annette Pitts walked and hiked 1,000 miles in 2012
14 winning speaker
Lloyd Smith is so much fun on the podium that his audiences sing along with him
A new year for energy savings
16 following the sun
Higher rebates for insulation and windows have been extended through this year. Double your savings in 2013.
What does a photographer look for when on vacation? Why, good light for shooting and great scenery
18 shepherd art
People are strange when you’re a stranger — an on-the-road encounter by tandem bike riders Mary and Lief Carlsen
Learn more on our website or call (509) 661-8008.
20 pet pix
Jim Russell was told to get a dog to help heal from a heart problem — but what happens if the dog is not man’s best friend?
ART SKETCHES
n Revisiting 5 artists who aren’t resting on their work, page 30 Columns & Departments 26 Bonnie Orr: Recipes for a healthy difference 27 The traveling doctor: Evidence-based medicine 28 June Darling: Choose the right goals to pursue 30-35 Arts & Entertainment & a Dan McConnell cartoon 36 History: Promoters vie to develop first town 38 Alex Saliby: Blending in stories and facts
January 2013 | The Good Life
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OPENING SHOT
®
Year 7, Number 1 January 2013 The Good Life is published by NCW Good Life, LLC, dba The Good Life 10 First Street, Suite 108 Wenatchee, WA 98801 PHONE: (509) 888-6527 EMAIL: editor@ncwgoodlife.com sales@ncwgoodlife.com ONLINE: www.ncwgoodlife.com FACEBOOK: facebook.com/pages/ The-Good-Life Editor/Publisher, Mike Cassidy Contributors, Mike Bendtsen, Eliot Scull, Andy Dappen, Yvette Davis, Susan Palmer Gillin, Peter Bauer, Lief Carlsen, Jim Russell, Donna Cassidy, Bonnie Orr, Alex Saliby, Jim Brown, June Darling, Dan McConnell, Susan Lagsdin and Rod Molzahn Advertising sales, John Hunter, Lianne Taylor and Donna Cassidy Bookkeeping and circulation, Donna Cassidy Proofing, Dianne Cornell Ad design, Rick Conant TO SUBSCRIBE: For $25, ($30 out of state address) you can have 12 issues of The Good Life mailed to you or a friend. Send payment to: The Good Life 10 First Street, Suite 108 Wenatchee, WA 98801 Phone 888-6527 Online: www.ncwgoodlife.com To subscribe/renew by email, send credit card info to: donna@ncwgoodlife.com BUY A COPY of The Good Life at Hastings, Caffé Mela (Wenatchee and East Wenatchee), Walgreens (Wenatchee and East Wenatchee), the Wenatchee Food Pavilion, Mike’s Meats, Martin’s Market Place (Cashmere) and A Book for All Seasons (Leavenworth)
moody day for a run This photo was taken by
Mike Bendtsen on the Riverfront Loop Trail on the East Wenatchee side of the river. The trail — especially the eastside — becomes much less used in the winter, which adds a certain “wilderness” and “stillness” feel, said Mike. He added that, “It can be
much more difficult to get good pictures in the winter because the options are fewer with much in hibernation... especially the color. Everything blends with the grays and whites, which makes for little contrast. It still exists, you just need to look closer to see it. “This image uses the detail and contrast from the lines of the trail itself, the runner and the trees along the bank as well as some in the background hills to create interest and the feel of being there. The standing remnants of wheat help add the
ADVERTISING: For information about advertising in The Good Life, contact advertising at (509) 8886527, or sales@ncwgoodlife.com WRITE FOR THE GOOD LIFE: We welcome articles about people from Chelan and Douglas counties. Send your idea to Mike Cassidy at editor@ncwgoodlife.com
The Good Life® is a registered trademark of NCW Good Life, LLC.
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color with the gold contrasting with the white of the snow that tends to bring it more to life.”
On the cover
Sarah Schaffer of Wenatchee snowshoes near Tronsen Ridge (Blewett Pass environs) in early winter. Sarah, an avid hiker and climber during the warmer months, turns to snowshoes to enjoy winter. If you’re not a winter walker, turn to page 10 to learn why (and how) to become one.
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editor’s notes
MIKE CASSIDY
Starting with fear, ending with pie When you think of adven-
ture, you might think of climbing rocky peaks or kayaking in the open seas or hiking 1,000 miles through the woods — and while we have those stories in this issue of The Good Life, yes we do, we also are featuring a story on perhaps the scariest things a sane person can do. Yes, that’s right, we have a story on ta-da! Public speaking. Susan Palmer Gillin writes about winning local speaker Lloyd Smith of East Wenatchee, and in a side note told me about her own terrors of the spotlight, but first she reminded me of this Jerry Seinfeld bit: “I read a thing that actually says that speaking in front of a crowd is considered the number one fear of the average person,” said Jerry. “I found that amazing — number two was death! That means to the average person if you have to be at a funeral, you would rather be in the casket than doing the eulogy.” Susan then shared her story: “A few years ago I was giving a presentation to a small group of officials when one of them asked me a question I couldn’t answer. My mind went blank and I started to black out. I must have stopped breathing. I was gripped with fear. “I made it through that meeting and sought professional help: Toastmasters. I had known about Toastmasters for a long time. With my kids grown and gone and some of my volunteer duties ending, I decided to sign up. “I am not a gifted speaker but I am certainly a more confident one. I’m even able to make my audiences laugh now — with me, not at me — which, as Jerry
Seinfeld might tell you, feels really good.” Read Susan’s story on Lloyd and Toastmasters on page 14. Sometimes, the hiking Gods aren’t on your side — Another fun profile this month is from Yvette Davis who tells how Annette Pitts walked or hiked 1,000 miles in 2012. Not every outing was a success, said Yvette, who related this story about a summer day when Annette tried to hike Ingalls Lake near Cle Elum, a difficult, nearly nine-mile round trip journey. First, the weather wasn’t ideal — it threatened rain and lightening. Second, the friend who was going with her canceled. Third, she arrived at the Teanaway Road to find it blocked by a herd of cows. Were they saying “mooo” or “noooo”? It was hard to make out. They eventually cleared the road, and she got underway once more, only to find — another cow. This lone bovine ruffian stopped — just stopped in the middle of the road — and belligerently stared at her, forcing Annette out of the car to physically try to shoo it away. Obstacle finally cleared, she got back in the car and took off. And then her car died. So Annette did what any sensible woman would do when faced with such insurmountable odds: She gave up the hike, went home and baked a pie. When the going gets tough, the tough bake a pie — and enjoy The Good Life. —Mike January 2013 | The Good Life
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WHAT TO DO see COMPLETE LISTINGs BEGINning ON PAGE 32
A play, snow fun, more snow fun and finally, the Follies
the base. Cost: free. Info: skileavenworth. com. 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 20. Burns Night Supper — Join
L
et’s start the month with a guy in a looney bin and end on the final weekend with a Scottish poet (and while some might say there’s only a pot of singlemalt whisky between them, not us. We avoid arguments with whisky drinkers and mental cases.) Anyway, on the coldest month of the year — and the longest and darkest, too — there are lots of ways of having warm fun around our area. Here are a few that stand out from this month’s calendar: One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest — A play about a petty
criminal Randall P. McMurphy vs. tyrannical nurse Ratched in a ward full of mental patients. Riverside Playhouse, Wenatchee. Info: mtow.org. 7:30 p.m. shows the second, third and fourth weekends in January, plus a 2
Race on snowshoes Sunday, Jan. 13, in Chelan.
p.m. matinee Saturday, Jan. 19. Winterfest Fire and Ice Festival — Outdoor ice sculptures
created by talented international sculptors, live music, beach bonfire, polar bear splash, soup fest, Artisan Alley, wine walk and fireworks. Manson and Echo Ridge. Info: lakechelanwinterfest.com. Second and third
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executive Chef Ken MacDonald of the clan MacDonald for Robert Burns, famous Scottish poet, who wrote, a traditional Ayrshire among a great deal of other things: “There is no such uncertainty as a sure thing.” Burns Supper. Ken originally hails from the west side of Glasweekends of January. gow, Scotland. A Burns Supper is a celebration of the life and Winterfest Snowshoe Run poetry of the poet Robert Burns, — Snowshoe runs of 5k and 10k author of many Scots poems. at Echo Ridge for men, women Cost: $39 adult, $16 kids. Kingand children of all abilities. An fisher Restaurant and Wine Bar event of the Lake Chelan Winat Sleeping Lady. Info: sleepterfest. Pre-race drawing for inglady.com/event-calendar. 6 sponsor swag giveaways, as well p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27. as post-race hot soups and food. This race is part of the SnowFollies — This community dog Events Snowshoe Series, so variety show occurs every three points will be awarded towards years showcasing local talent. the series standings. Cost: 5k is This is its 65th year and has $35, 10k is $40. Add $5 after Jan raised over $350,000 for local or6, and $10 for day-of registration. ganizations and charities. This Info: snowdogevents.com. 10 year’s beneficiaries are Wella.m. Sunday, Jan. 13. ness Place and Solomon’s Porch. Performing Arts Center. Cost: Ice Fest’s Snowshoe Demo $32 and $28. Info: wenatcheevaland Relay Race — If you can ley.org. 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31, walk you can snowshoe. Check through Saturday, Feb. 2, and a out the snowshoes and walk Leavenworth Ski Hill. Bonfire at matinee 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 2.
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A bunch of gray hairs in the wilderness of the BC coast
One More Last Great Place
Tina and Eliot Scull kayak in the fog towards Gosling Island.
By Eliot Scull
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ld friends all, six of us loaded our double kayaks onto the British Columbia coast ferry Queen of Chilliwack at the Port Hardy terminal and set off into the gathering night to the Hakai Pass area of the central BC coast. Port Hardy is not far from the northern end of Vancouver Island, and it had taken us a good day and a half of travel from Wenatchee before we could begin the water part of our summer odyssey. Our ferry was the local ship that services many small communities along the coast, and our fellow passengers were mostly First Nation folks heading home after trips to Vancouver or Victoria to shop, see families and enjoy the “Lower Mainland” as that part of BC is known. We also had several other kayakers on board from all over the world, including Russia, who planned to paddle parts of the central coast as well. We naturally gravitated toward each
Tina Scull and the tent nearly blend into the thick green forest.
other, and many good stories were exchanged on the overnight voyage. Most of us slept (or didn’t) in the covered solarium on the top deck, rolling out our sleeping bags on the floor. Our kayaks were stored on the car deck along with all our gear, and we could not access it until an hour before our launch. I say “launch” because that is January 2013 | The Good Life
exactly what we did off the stern of the ferry in the middle of Fitzhugh Sound. If one arranges it beforehand, and if conditions allow, one can launch off the ferry at various designated spots along the ferry’s route, which can save several days of paddling to get to the most desirable areas of islands and the outer coast. We were awakened by the www.ncwgoodlife.com
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friendly crew at 0400, given free coffee, and shepherded down to the car deck where we frantically loaded the kayaks, dragged them across rugs on the deck floor and lowered them over the stern car ramp which had been lowered for our launch. When we had all launched, we paddled up to the bow of the 600-foot ship, waved at the captain on the bridge, received a loud blast of the horn, and away she went into the dawn twilight, leaving us bobbing in her wake three miles from shore. Can you imagine the Washington state ferries allowing such an exercise? That is one of many reasons we love the BC coast and its people. We spent two delightful weeks exploring the islands and waterways of the Hakai Pass area and the Spider islands. These waters are the homelands of the Kwakiutl and Heiltsuk First Nations, and have been occupied for close to 10,000 years. However, the hand of man has only lightly touched this part of the coast, with minimal
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Humpback whales often surfaced close to our boats, while an occasional pair or more of transient Orcas would power past us
}}} Continued from previous page logging, very little mining and a low population density. The islands are limestone with very little soil and almost no surface water, so human habitation has always been difficult, resulting A beautiful campsite on Gosling island eight miles off the coast came with sailboats and mountains adding to the view. in ecosystems that are remarkably intact. We had wolf tracks in the sand around our tents almost every camp, and on Gosling island we had a wolf stroll out of the forest about 50-feet from our camp kitchen, regard us calmly and then continue his morning journey across the tide flats to an adjoining island. Humpback whales Wolf tracks at Edward Bay (such tracks in often surfaced close to the sand happened at nearly every camp). our boats, while an occasional pair or more of Our camps were almost altransient Orcas would power ways on the few sandy or gravel past us. Sea otters are recoverbeaches we encountered, usually ing on that part of the coast, and just above the high tide line or they would pop their heads and in the coastal forest just up from upper bodies out of the water all the beach. around us for a better look. Most of our camps were estabEagles were so common we lished kayaking stopovers, but stopped remarking on them, but the challenge was finding them a surprise was to hear and see amongst the myriad islands and sandhill cranes on several occachannels. sions flying low over our boats As water was sometimes a and camps. Apparently there challenge to find, we routinely is a coastal flyway for sandhill carried six gallons with us cranes in addition to the more among the three boats. interior routes that we commonWe had camping food with us, ly associate with these magnifibut the fishing was so good that Campers cook ling cod and red snapper on a table of drift logs. cent birds. we opted for fresh ling cod, sea
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We crossed to the islands in a flat calm, spent three sunny wonderful days exploring, and then paid our dues with a windy rough, adrenaline producing crossing back to the more sheltered coast. TOP Tina, rear, and Dick Rieman launch through the surf at Edwards Bay. AT LEFT: Three gnomes in the rain under the stump: Greg Lunz, Dick Rieman and Eliot Scull. BOTTOM: Dick Rieman shows off a fish he caught from his kayak, in a photo taken by his wife, Tina.
bass, and salmon most evenings, augmented by soups, pasta, and Lambs Navy Rum, also known as “kayakers toothpaste.� One of the high points of the voyage was our visit to the Goose Island Group, about eight miles off the coast and requiring a crossing that is exposed to the open ocean. We crossed to the islands in a flat calm, spent three sunny wonderful days exploring, and then paid our dues with a windy rough, adrenaline producing crossing back to the more sheltered coast. While on the Goose group, a lovely schooner came into the bay, anchored and sent a zodiac full of folks towards us on the beach. Slightly dismayed to find our idyll compromised, we almost fell over backward when January 2013 | The Good Life
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we realized that the zodiac was full of the children and grandchildren of long-time Canadian friends, and they suspected it was our camp as they entered the bay. Six degrees of separation for sure! We spent a lovely day with them before they sailed back to Port Hardy. While the ferry will drop you off in several locations, you must go to a port of call to be picked up, which found us paddling finally to the Heiltsuk community of Bella Bella, or Waglisla, one of the larger First Nation towns on the coast. The ferry dock is about three miles south of the main town, and we spent our last evening cooking dinner on the beach accompanied by a Heiltsuk family catching the same ferry south. As evening descended, the bay was busy with jumping salmon, eagles roosted on trees all around the bay, and the thought of simply repacking the boats and heading north required great willpower to resist. A wonderful adventure. Now the challenge is to stay alive long enough to paddle the myriad destinations on this marvelous coast not so far away.
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WENATCHEE OUTDOORS
Hiking
all year long With snowshoes on, enjoy the pain and payoff of tromping up steep slopes all through winter By Andy Dappen
C
asual hikers find many reasons to move indoors for winter. Frozen, slippery trails and the fear of falling scare some away as soon as the cold arrives.
Accumulating snow and the inability to walk through it deter another group. A lack of confidence in dealing with the winter environment or in navigating through the winter landscape discourage still more. Finally, the fear of avalanches
terrify some. So… our wild places become especially lonely lands between November and April. But with just a few tools added to the hiking arsenal, a few additions added to the wardrobe, and a few skills added to the know-how, it’s actually very easy to get out ‘hiking’ all year long. With just a small investment of money and time, most of us could easily be enjoying the outdoors in all her moods, colors
and seasons. In fact, most of us, with just a little help, could find ourselves actually looking forward to winter’s arrival each year. Over the past few years, the www.WenatcheeOutdoors.org website that I manage has been pushing hard with its stories and its content to help casual hikers become self-reliant hikers all year long. The website has heavily promoted MicroSpikes, a >> RANDOM QUOTE
I’m the one that’s got to die when it’s time for me to die, so let me live my life the way I want to. Jimi Hendrix 10
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mini-crampon costing $60 that quickly pulls over running shoes and hiking boots and lets you safely enjoy our local trails when they are frozen and slippery. This one piece of equipment, coupled with a pair of old ski poles from the garage or from the Goodwill, extend your hiking season by months by letting you hike safely in late fall before the snow comes and in late winter when the low-elevation snows melt off. Added to the MicroSpikes and ski poles, a pair of modern snowshoes, costing $100 to $250, and a good pair of gaiters, to keep your feet and lower legs dry, will get you out on snowedover trails and forest roads once winter arrives in earnest. There’s not a great deal of technique needed to master snowshoes and, after a few winter hikes, these oversized paws will feel completely natural under foot. Of course there are still matters of know-how to tackle. How do you contend with the temperatures of winter? How do you navigate safely through the winter landscape when trails disappear under the snow and are no longer visible, how do you avoid avalanche danger? Much of this can be surmounted easily by taking short outings in our local hills along routes you know from summer use and that friends (or local guidebook information) report as being safe from avalanches. Likewise, there are many snowed-over forest roads near Blewett and Stevens Pass that are simple to follow and that don’t expose you to avalanche danger. One of the real beauties of winter walking, however, is that brush, small trees, fallen logs, irregular rock gardens, and more are all covered under snow. The landscape that can be easily traveled, in other words, becomes much bigger when snow
Winter snows cover brush and deadfall, so snowshoers can easily access off-trail places that are difficult to access in summer.
Course: gain confidence on snowshoes Four classroom sessions: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Jan. 10, 17, 24, 31 (Thursdays). Location: Chelan-Douglas Land Trust offices, downtown Wenatchee. Several all-day weekend outings will be held in late January and early February and scheduled around participant’s availability. Outings will practice the skills discussed in class and will buries all these obstacles. Consequently, by adding more knowledge to your skill set you can make winter “hiking” through this bigger landscape even more interesting than summer hiking. Toward the end of turning summer hikers into selfsufficient winter enthusiasts, WenatcheeOutdoors, the City of Wenatchee and Cascade Subaru have all partnered this year to offer an inexpensive course teaching the skills necessary to widen one’s winter explorations. The course, starting in early January, is composed of four evening classroom sessions coupled with a few outings to practice the classroom material. Participants will learn more about winter equipment needs, January 2013 | The Good Life
require an intermediate level of fitness. Cost: $50 for four classes and attendance in one outing. Payment is required for registration. Class size is limited. Contact Sarah Fitzgerald at the Wenatchee Parks & Recreation Program (888-3283, sfitzgerald@wenatcheeWA.gov) for information or to sign-up.
winter safety, snow safety, and map and compass use. All of this will prepare them to safely enjoy the frozen months. Now I’m throwing down the gauntlet and asking those of you who hike in summer not to cower indoors this winter.
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Challenge yourself to become a winter walker. Make a New Year’s resolution that this will be the year you look winter in the eye. Yes, there will be some equipment needs, there will be a small learning curve, there will be moments of unpleasantly cold fingers, and sometimes you’ll curse the cold wind stinging your face. Yet the mood enhancement of being outdoors, seeing old haunts under a beautiful blanket of snow, traveling easily into new places that would be bushy nightmares in summer, enjoying the silence of winter, studying the tracks of the animals that inhabit our lands … there’s a gorgeous and fascinating world out there to fall in love with. I know from experience it’s a love affair worth having. Related Articles Why Snowshoe : http://www. justgetout.net/Wenatchee/23176 Hiking All Year Long: http://www.justgetout.net/ Wenatchee/23192 Best Snowshoes: http://www. justgetout.net/Wenatchee/14017 To Build A Fire: http://www. justgetout.net/Wenatchee/21418 Andy Dappen is the content editor of WenatcheeOutdoors, a regional website covering muscle-powered outdoor sports within an hour’s drive of the Wenatchee Valley. Visit the site at www.WenatcheeOutdoors.org or at www.JustGetOut.net/Wenatchee.
Oh in 2012, she did walk
1,000 miles By Yvette Davis
Annette Pitts has never set
a goal she couldn’t finish. Yes, this is January, and many of us will go through the motions of making “New Year’s resolutions” we hope will stick, only to have them peter out a few months later. Annette has made her share of unsuccessful resolutions too, but says setting a goal is different. “You should set goals you really have to work towards.” For Annette, that goal was walking or hiking 1,000 miles in 2012, a goal she finished in December. And she has the spreadsheet logging her miles to prove it. But before everyone starts shaking their heads saying, “I could never do that,” consider this: Annette, like many of us, was and is a desk jockey. Meaning, she spends most of her workday at a desk. Annette was working full time
in 2011 at the Wenatchee World and not getting out and exercising. Before that, she worked as executive director of the Wenatchee Downtown Association, and didn’t find more than a weekend here or there to get outdoors either. When she took over the reins of the Cascade Loop Scenic Highway Association from an office in Wenatchee in October 2011, she kept to the same work cycles out of habit. Then one day she had lunch with Matt Kearny, Wenatchee Valley Sports Council’s marketing director, who also holds a desk job. Matt told her he’d begun tracking his walking and hiking miles and was on track to complete 2,000 miles in two years. She thought to herself, if he could do it, I could too. “It was a light bulb moment,” Annette recalled. Suddenly Annette looked at her new job through a different lens. She found she could
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TOP: Annette Pitts takes a photo of herself on her way up to Blue Lake, a short hike in the North Cascades this past fall. RIGHT: Annette’s pet, Guapo, pauses during a spring hike on Sauer Mountain. FAR RIGHT: A water view on a Hatcher Pass hike Annette made with her brother, Loel.
take meals at her desk and walk or hike at lunch, starting with places close to home: Saddlerock, Dry Gulch and Sage Hills. As she settled into the job, she branched out more, taking advantage of work travel to schedule hikes around meetings. As a result, she’s hiked places she’d never visited before: Lake Janus, Lake Valhalla, Tronsen Ridge,
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Smithbrook Trail, Ingalls Lake and many more. “But there’s still lots of unexplored territory out there for me,” she said. When the Valley was smoked-in in September, she used WenatcheeOutdoors (www.justgetout.net/wenatchee) and the Washington Trails Association (www.wta.org) as resources to get out of town and
find new hikes. Her farthest away hike was Hatcher Pass in Wasilla, Alaska while on vacation this summer. Over all, the experience broadened her interests and taught her much. “You become more attuned to your environment, things you can eat out in the wild, how to identify animal tracks, etc. You also become a lot more comfortable with yourself and being in silence. It clears your mind.” And it improved her health, too. Annette no longer needs blood pressure medication, and pretty much eats what she wants without worrying about calories. Her grandmother, who passed away last year at the age of 101, was an avid walker and Annette’s major influence. “She was still out walking in her 90s.” She told Annette happiness was key to a long life, and would have approved of her
methods. “She said, ‘Don’t do weird diets. Eat everything you want, just use common sense. Find a country road, and walk it.’” Not that there can’t be dangers to hiking both near and far. Her worst experience was stepping off an embankment at Carne Mountain, and on another hike, not being able to operate her new Camelbak water system. “That’s why glasses are helpful. And knowing your tools before you go out.” Some of the walking she did here in town. In all, as of Dec. 6, she had got out and exercised 253 days and averaged 3.88 miles per day. The most she did in one day was 12 miles. Annette uses an app for her phone called Runtastic to track her miles, so she can be very precise with her numbers. “It GPS’s you and counts for elevation and tells you how high up January 2013 | The Good Life
you went and how far.” Amazingly, her 11-year-old daughter did almost three-quarters of the miles with her. Her ultimate dream is to hike the Pacific Crest Trail when she has a full three months to spare. But Annette does have a new goal for 2013: through-hike from Colchuck Lake, over Aasgard Pass to Snow Lakes. That’s an 18-mile one way hike, with an elevation peak of 7,800 feet. It would require her to step up her fitness level and find a guide. “I’m adoptable,” Annette quipped. Her friend and Sports Council marketing director, Matt Kearny said he wouldn’t be surprised for a second if she pulled it off. If Aasgard Pass has any sense, it will prepare to be conquered. Yvette Davis is a writer and amateur hiker living in the Wenatchee area.
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Lloyd Smith speaks from experience: You, too, can be at ease on a podium By Susan Palmer Gillin
Picture this: Retired
educator Lloyd Smith of East Wenatchee, dressed in suit and tie, sporting a white moustache and rimless glasses, takes the stage in the ornate Marie Antoinette ballroom of the Davenport Hotel in Spokane. About twothirds through his speech, the audience of 150 begins to sing It’s A Small World. That exuberant audience participation clinched the Best Humorous Speech award for Lloyd — who also was named Toastmaster of the Year — at the organization’s District 9 conference in November. “The trophy is nice, but for me the highlight was looking out from the stage … and leading the audience in a rousing chorus of It’s A Small World,” Lloyd said. “When I got that reaction, I was pretty sure I had it in the bag. Leading them in Louie, Louie at the end was just frosting on the
cake.” Lloyd’s speech was about earworms, those annoying pieces of music that get stuck in your head and won’t go away. Lloyd has been a Toastmasters member for five years. He’s participated in about 15 public speaking contests sponsored by the organization and won awards at all but two. You might say he has the gift of gab, but that’s not it at all, Lloyd said. “Public speaking is entirely a learned skill,” he said. “And it can be taught.” That’s the goal of Toastmasters: to help people get over their fears, learn new skills, and practice public speaking. Lloyd has spent much of his life learning to become a better speaker and helping others to do so. As a freshman at Eastern Washington University, Professor Larry Kraft (now retired) convinced Lloyd to join the debate team. It was “blind luck,”
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Lloyd Smith in front of an audience: “Even the most fear-wracked, tonguetied person can get better. For me that’s a lot of fun, helping people do that.”
Lloyd said, that he turned out to be good at it. He and a partner participated in over 500 debates as well as 200 individual events in impromptu, extemporaneous, dramatic, expository and other fine forms of speaking. Lloyd decided to become a teacher, first selecting math, then settling on English. “Math requires all the right answers. In English, as long as you keep talking you’re OK,” he joked. He landed a job in the Eastmont School District, where he served as an English teacher, debate coach, and later, assessment coordinator from 1970-2005. The debate teams he taught and supervised were large, ac-
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tive, and a lot of work for both Lloyd and the students. “It’s not like basketball where kids have been playing for a decade or more,” he said. Students arrived with no prior exposure to debate, but quickly learned that participation requires extensive research and preparation. Teams are given a policy question in advance and must be ready to argue for or against the prearranged topic. “It’s more of a game than it is public speaking,” Lloyd said, with rules and jargon only debaters know. And rapid-fire responses. Lloyd’s own fast-talking style — he packs a lot into his prepared speeches — is a holdover from
his debate days, he said. Lloyd joined Toastmasters because he likes giving speeches, listening to speeches, and teaching others. “The vast majority of people who join want two things: to feel a little more skilled and to feel a little more comfortable. Toastmasters provides guided practice. And you get feedback, which is probably the most valuable part, because other people see things you don’t.” Participating in Toastmasters’ speech contests is a niche activity enjoyed by about 10 percent of members. Most members instead focus on attending weekly meetings where they give prepared speeches, practice impromptu speaking, and help evaluate others’ speeches. It’s done in an encouraging, welcoming atmosphere. “Like everything else in life, you get out of it about what you’re willing to put into it,” Lloyd said. “However, I’ve never known anybody who walked away without feeling improvement. “Even the most fear-wracked, tongue-tied person can get better. For me that’s a lot of fun, helping people do that.” Toastmasters was formed in 1924 by Ralph Smedley, director of a YMCA in Santa Ana, Calif. who noticed that a lot of the young men he encountered were smart and hard-working but had trouble expressing themselves. He formed a club and created materials providing a step-bystep process for becoming better communicators. The club eventually became Toastmasters International, with 280,000 members in 116 countries today. The Toastmaster of the Year award means Lloyd is the top member among 64 clubs in eastern Washington, northeastern Oregon and northern Idaho. Nancy Shatto, district governor from Veradale, called Lloyd “a shining example of servant leadership,” noting his work as a club coach in Wenatchee, a lead-
Learn how to be a better speaker
Wenatchee offers two Toastmasters clubs where guests are always welcome: The Electric Toasters meets at 7 a.m. Tuesdays at the Chelan County PUD Auditorium, 327 N. Wenatchee Ave. The club includes members from the public as well as PUD employees, and meetings last only 45 minutes. Cascade Speakeasy meets at 5:30 p.m. Mondays at the First United Methodist Church, 941 Washington St. For information about either club, contact Kristina Stepper, kristina@nwi.net, 888-9876. To learn more about Toastmasters International, visit toastmasters.org.
by-example contest competitor, and co-chair of the fall conference to be held in Wenatchee in 2013. “Lloyd is first and foremost a teacher,” said Natalie Palmer, a former Wenatchee Toastmaster now of Spokane, who sought Lloyd’s help when preparing for an international speech contest. “Lloyd helped me strengthen my message, and to find clear language to speak to my audience,” she added. With his experience, Lloyd is entitled to call himself an expert. But he still makes mistakes. “Sometimes I’ve written two or three different drafts on a topic, and I’ll be giving a speech and accidentally run down the wrong road and hit a dead end. On the fly I’ll have to create a bridge back to where I intended to go. “Nobody does it perfectly,” he added. “Even Shakespeare probably thought he could do it better next time.” Susan Palmer Gillin is a writer and member of the Electric Toasters club. January 2013 | The Good Life
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A waterfall and cliff topped by cacti is lit up by resort lighting in a four-second timed exposure.
FOLLOWING THE SUN By Peter Bauer
T
hree hundred days of sunshine. That’s what the brochures promised when I moved to Wenatchee. And sure, by mid-August in Wenatchee it’s pretty easy to feel you’ve gotten the 300 days with back interest. But by mid-November? Not so much. So my wife Janet and I decided to find the sun. We flew to Arizona. Any vacation for our family has to have good answers to two main questions: where are we going to hike (or bike, or similar human powered locomotion) and what there is worth photographing? Since Janet had been to the Grand Canyon recently, we chose the Tucson area (for hikes and photographing saguaro cactus) and Sedona (for hikes and photographing rock formations). Happily we were not disappointed. First of all, our 300 days of sunshine are alive and well, they just moved south for the winter. We woke daily to cloudless skies and brilliant light pouring over the saguaro cactus forest marching up the hillside behind our hotel. By 10 a.m. the windbreakers were off and we A four-second exposure helped by were hiking in shorts through a lights from the parking lot captures a riparian saguaro forest (Ventana prickly cactus at night.
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Cathedral Rock, Sedona, which is the highest point you can get to without formal rock climbing skills, offers a very nice vantage point.
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Canyon) or a desert mountain (Wasson Peak in Saguaro National Park). Like any travel worth doing, this trip jangled new places in our brains with the beguiling strangeness of the landscape. I made myself an assignment of shooting at night, which I have little experience with. So the first evening there found me lying on my side in the driveway of the hotel shooting up at an enormous cactus while listening for arriving customers so I could pull my legs away from their car tires. After three days in Tucson the vortexes* of Sedona beckoned, so we drove north. (*Footnote: near as we could tell, vortexes are places in Sedona that are special because they have an asterisk on them on the map. They are also pretty cool looking rock formations.) Sedona did have a seductive aura caused by a confluence of light, altitude and ingenious colorful rock formations. And as for trails: they’re absolutely everywhere.
We climbed a “peak” (Mount Wilson, really just a mesa), walked through a narrow canyon with running water (West Fork Oak Creek), climbed on Cathedral Rock and Bell Rock. Bell Rock, by the way, is the “vortex” spot with the shortest access trail. We went there immediately upon arriving in Sedona, but failed to experience any “woo-woo” paranormal sensations. It was a definite piece of landscape eye candy, however. In fact, everywhere we looked red sandstone formations had been hammered into eye candy by eons of erosion. Refreshed by the sunshine when we returned from our trip, we began to look forward to snow, especially to cross country skiing in the Methow. I hear they have 300 days of sunshine there. It’s in their brochure.
TOP: View from Bell Rock, Sedona. LEFT: “Hugging cactus” in Ventana Canyon, Tucson.
Peter Bauer is a local family physician and an aspiring outdoor photographer, finding healing in the beauty of nature. January 2013 | The Good Life
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when you’re on the road, you run across some strange folks
Shepherd artist Editor’s note: Lief and Mary Carlsen recently pedaled their tandem bike from Chelan to Florida. This story is from one of the stops made along the way. The shepherd artist watches over his goats in the distance.
By Lief Carlsen
Sept. 29, near Langtry, Texas — We had
planned to ride only 60 miles because the next campground was an additional 60 miles past that and even though we’re sorta hot shots now that we have 3,000-plus miles under our wheels, we weren’t too keen on a 120-mile day. Certainly our butts weren’t. But when we got to Langtry, which was the 60-mile mark, the tailwind was so strong and the day so young that we simply couldn’t bear to stop. We climbed aboard the big Cannondale tandem and pedaled off in the direction of Del Rio, 60 miles down the road. Perhaps it was our aging bodies, perhaps it was the dwindling concentration of caffeine in our veins but by the time we had reached the 90-mile mark our rash enthusiasm had subsided. In a happy coincidence, the Desert Hills RV Park came into view just about this time. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” I asked Mary. She was. She, too, had had enough riding for one day. We coasted through the park’s gate — but not before I noticed a sign, handpainted on a sheet of plywood and propped against the fence. It read: SHEPHERD ART - FOR SALE I had no idea what shepherd art might be, which gave me a moment’s pause, but my curiosity over the matter was quickly shunted aside by more immediate concerns like steering our skinny-tired bike through the loose gravel.
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fet, they seemed unable to eat fast enough as they sampled each of the tender young plants in quick succession. Following close behind the flock was a slender old man with a substantial white beard. Slung over one shoulder he carried a plastic chair. Atop his head was a sweatstained baseball cap to which broken sunglasses were affixed with electrical wire. A small dog trotted at his heels. He stopped briefly to examine our bicycle and offered this assessment: “Quite a bike.” With that he walked off in pursuit of his Mary and Lief Carlsen: Seeing strange sights in goats who were ravenously nibbling their America from a bike seat. way across the camp. Rendered speechless and motionless by the suddenness of the inAfter a short search we located the manvasion, I watched them recede into the brush ager, paid our $10 fee and set up camp. Aside at the far side of the campground. from a few small travel trailers, which no When I returned to camp after my shower, one seemed to be using at present, we were the shepherd and his goats were out of sight the only guests. but I could hear in the distance the clanging The park occupied a small clearing set of the bells that hung around their necks. in a landscape of lush grass and flowery I regretted not having engaged this 21stshrubs that stretched to the horizon in all Century anachronism in conversation when directions. “Desert Hills” in the park’s name I’d had the chance. I had never talked to a seemed a bit of a stretch amid all that green- genuine shepherd before. ery. Guided by the clanging bells, I walked over I was gathering the necessary accouterto him. I found him watching over his goats ments for my shower when a flock of perhaps from the comfort of his plastic chair, his 20 goats burst into the clearing and overran little dog seated on the dirt beside him. our camp. As an opener I asked, “Are you a shepThey caused no harm. Their focus was on herd?” although I suppose that was obvious. the weeds and grass around our tent and “And a painter” he replied. I let the painter they nibbled voraciously at everything in comment pass for the moment. I was more sight. Like gluttons turned loose at a bufinterested in shepherding. | The Good Life
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Shepherd’s art: A helmeted diver descends from the clouds over a shepherd tending his flock.
I told him that I had once owned several goats and found them to be fine animals — docile and friendly. He agreed that goats have many qualities that make them preferable to other domesticated farm animals. To back this up he proceeded to talk at length about the individual personalities of his goats which he appeared to treat more as pets than stock. Once started, the old man talked freely. I learned that he had acquired his goats piecemeal, often as drop-offs or strays. He lived in a far corner of the RV park, rent-free at the generosity of the park owner. He had once had a flock of goats in the hills near San Francisco but had been run out of town by neighbors who objected to his animals. After that he
had wandered homeless until he eventually got a job on a Texas ranch. Now he was living entirely on his Social Security check. Not only were his goats not a source of income, he told me, they were a considerable financial burden during the winter when he had to buy feed
for them. The lush vegetation around us was the result of recent rain and it all but disappeared during a typical winter. “What does a shepherd do all day?” I asked. He smiled and turned to me conspiratorially. “I watch the clouds,” he said. “They’d call me crazy and send me to the state hospital if I just sat out here by myself and looked at clouds all day. But because I’m here with my goats they leave me alone.” At this he chuckled to himself. Then his demeanor turned serious. “I see things in the clouds.” “What things?” I asked. “Beautiful things. Scary things. Things I don’t understand.” I waited respectfully for him to elaborate. He began earnestly: “I saw a man in a diving suit step out of a cloud one day. He signaled me to come to him but I was afraid. But then I recognized the face inside the helmet — it was me. I was the man in the diving suit.” He paused. “What does that mean?” he asked as if he expected me to know. “Sorry. I have no idea,” I said apologetically. My ignorance seemed not to bother him. He continued, “I have these paintings of the things I see. I want people to understand.” I asked to see the paintings, curious to at last find out what shepherd art is. The goats, the dog and the two of us walked
“I see things in the clouds.” back to his trailer home. From its cluttered depths he retrieved three circular canvas paintings. Each depicted a pastoral scene with an elfin shepherd tending his flock. Descending from the clouds in one of the paintings was the helmeted diver he had spoken of. “Have you sold any of your paintings?” I asked. I was thinking of the sign I had seen by the entrance. He then took a deep breath and brought his hands to his forehead as if he were wrestling with how to express a complex idea. “I don’t... really want to sell them... to just... anyone. It has to be... the right person.” The words came to him slowly, almost painfully, it seemed. “I’m asking $50,000 for all three. You gotta’ buy all three. I want a billionaire to buy them. A billionaire could become my patron and he could put them in a museum where they belong.” Then he added as an afterthought “...and I could buy hay for my goats this winter with the money.” Lief and Mary Carlsen are retirees whose home base is Chelan. They travel extensively — afoot, tandem bicycle and RV. Lief documents their travels and his random thoughts in his blog: chelantraveler.wordpress. com.
January
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PET PIX
Submit pet & owner pictures to: editor@ncwgoodlife.com
Is our dog really helping my heart heal? By Jim Russell
P
et devotees say retirees are healthier with dogs. But what if we have an unhealthy attitude towards dogs? For years, my wife, Karen ached to replace a beloved dog. I didn’t want a yippy, little dog in our active good life. We bought a condo so a klutz like me could avoid responsibility. I held firm but felt guilty. Then doctors diagnosed me with dangerous heart failure. I plunged into a full-scale effort to heal my heart with medications, supplements, changing my sleep habits, simplifying my life, and even accepting a dog because they’re supposed to be therapeutic.
Two years ago this January I agreed Karen could get a dwarf comet called Haley. I expected her to make little change in my life as my heart healed. And I shed my guilt. Doctors say my heart is healing but whether Haley helps is questionable. We walk her daily, which unquestionably helps my heart. I admit she’s loveable wagging her windmill-tail as she streaks over to welcome me. But she warps my behavior into pathetic patterns. She sheds hair on my clothes so I wear an apron in my La-Z-Boy. She interrupts my reading by shoving under my newspaper to aim at my face with her skin-seeking tongue. I have to choose between
THE GOOD LIFE PET DIRECTORY
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Jim Russell, in his La-Z-Boy and wearing his protective apron, holds the fourlegged comet called Haley.
resenting her for crumpling my newspaper or dumping her on the floor. If I dump her on the floor she zooms onto Karen’s apron to lick her. Karen pets her and says, “No licking, Haley.”
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“Petting reinforces her licking,” I say. Karen ups the guilt. “She loves you.” I’m embarrassed when women meet Haley. She’s a wonder in
“That is the most beautiful dog I have ever seen.” a 14-pound Jack Russell terrier body with a beagle tail, brown, white and pink markings and Chihuahua ears. The wonder is women fawn over her. “Oh, that’s the dog I’ve been waiting for all my life,” said one. “That is the most beautiful dog I have ever seen,” said
another. Karen adored her face on the Internet so we hurried across frigid passes to adopt her from a rescue agency in Yakima. Haley yips. She didn’t yip in Yakima. Karen insists Haley is not a yippy dog because she only yips once-in-a-while for a little while. She yips at men. I hold a leash on a wimpy dog yipping at men with disgust on their faces who say, “I can’t stand a yippy, little dog.” I defend the yipper. “She’s usually not like that,” I mumble, or even less congenial, “She doesn’t
seem to like men.” She yips at doorbells. I turn to hold her muzzle while petting her, a devoted owner unavoidably greeting people from a bottom-up position. She yips at toddlers. One evening I found Haley confronting a grandmother gripping a terrorized toddler, the only animal Haley has frightened besides quail on a walking trail. Thankfully, the grandmother and her husband are friends. She wants a dog like Haley and he doesn’t. He has health issues, so she encourages me to bring Haley over and change his mind.
Incredibly, I do. Haley aims for his lap and he wards her off with a look of disgust as he pets her. I like to watch him squirm. If I have to have a dog, he should have a dog. I’ve entrapped myself into hairy clothes, embarrassing conversations, a yipping dog, irritated friends and new guilt. Logically, I can’t believe Haley is healing my heart. Other times I believe it, especially when she wags her windmill tail to thank Karen and me for exercising us, or dozes in my lap as I pet her and Karen says, “See, she loves you.”
Wanted:
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Remember to tell us something fun about your pet!
Send photos of pet and owner to: editor@ncwgoodlife.com
Target market, pet-friendly pages
Do you have a business that caters to pets and their owners? Then you should use the PET PIX page to target your advertising to thousands of pet owners in North Central Washington! Call today for rates and availability! John Hunter • 699-0123 • johnhunter@ncwgoodlife.com Lianne Taylor • 669-6556 • lianne@ncwgoodlife.com
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Checking off the ‘to-do’ lists
Sometimes the months just get away
from you, and even the best resolutions, especially regarding home improvements, dwindle from a got-to-do-it project into a former good idea. They’re added to the ever-growing “someday” list. To inspire you (certainly not to shame you into action come spring) here is a quick update on three homes featured in 2012 issues of The Good Life. You can see full features in past editions on line or in your own GL stacks. These homeowners — the Shorts, the Mathews and the Van Reenens — added beauty and value to their homes in different ways. But they set their sights clearly on what improvements they wanted, and they got it done. Just in time to enjoy the New Year.
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This Marc Dilley photograph of Colchuck Lake has been a long term fixture on a prominent wall at Tom and Jan Short’s home. It inspired them to seek out more photos that bring the area’s natural beauty into their home. Photos by Marshall Mahler
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“We have come to believe that we don’t have to travel great distances to find beauty.”
This small windowed nook (pictured with a lucky dog) is just enough space for fireside and riverside pleasures.
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HAPPY BETWEEN A ROCK AND A RIVER Tom and Jan Short (May 2012)
T
om and Jan Short chose a steep river site near the Peshastin Pinnacles for their homecoming house — after years away, most of them in Hawaii, they were glad to live up close and personal with this area’s natural formations and wildlife. Tom said earlier, “We decided from the very beginning not to visually compete with nature — we knew nature would win out.” Architect Brad Brisbine accommodated their needs with an easy-care, compact home that’s unobtrusive and private. It’s situated at the end of an orchard road and faces the Wenatchee River, not only gracefully inserted between rocky outcroppings but open on all sides to the beauty they craved. Even though well-placed big windows already abound in this home, to further bring the outdoors indoors the Shorts decided to decorate
Kinnikinnick Dancer, by Marc Dilley.
January 2013 | AT HOME WITH The Good Life
using oversized canvas-wrapped photographs of local scenes. The photos’ placement, plus the bold size and simple framing all serve to echo and enhance the views. The two photos they added most recently are both by Marc Dilley. The first, taken at Spider Gap by Lake Wenatchee is called The Gift. The second photo, shown here, is Kinnikinnick Dancer. (The photographs of Dilley’s work were provided by Marshall Mahler.) Tom and Jan’s relationship with local outdoor photographers Marc and Marshall means the couple can readily screen new offerings, perhaps to add to their collection any photographs that capture special moments. Tom said, “We have come to believe that we don’t have to travel great distances to find beauty.” Not only can they remain in north central Washington to enjoy the mountains and the life they harbor, they can stay even closer to home — they can relax inside every day surrounded by artwork that offers them a world of nature beyond their beachfront cliff.
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The wine cave “cleared up a lot of workspace in the winery.”
Home is where the winery is Al and Kathy Mathews (April 2012)
W
hen your house is just a few strides away from your business, in this case down a trail bordered by sage in the shadow of Jumpoff Ridge, sometimes it’s hard to know where to place your intentions. Plump up the comforts of home? Or make the work place a lot more workable? Al and Kathy Mathews aimed for the latter when they recently built their new 8 foot x 50 foot south facing “wine cave.” Over a decade, Al and Kathy Mathews created Malaga Springs Winery on 20 hardscrabble acres south of Wenatchee — a vineyard of 4,000 mature vines, a workshop that morphed into and remains their home, and then the winery and tasting room, finished in 2010 with all the flavor and flair of the American Southwest. The hard-working couple decided from the very first to
The tasting room reflects the painted red stucco theme of the property.
The still unfinished wine cave looks deceptively small here. Facing south toward the main entrance of the winery and tasting room, it extends another 40 feet into the hillside.
experiment — first time for both of them — with straw bale construction. Ninety pound bales of highly-compressed Ellensburg
straw formed every structure on the place, including this elegantly-designed storage space. Al stacked the walls and
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Kathy, also the architect, stuccoed them with all but the finish coat. The outside treatment — terra cotta to match the Taos look — is due in the spring (as is the accustomed bright green of the vineyard surrounding it). The new addition holds thousands of bottles and some barrels of wine, “about two years of production,” Al said. “It cleared up a lot of workspace in the winery.” Bermed deep into the hillside, with bale-width walls, the cave will provide consistent temperatures winter and summer. Next year’s improvement plans are already gathering momentum and 2013 may be the year to finally build a house that wasn’t once their shop. Or maybe — add another extension on to the winery’s tasting room?
3 A NEW NEST IN THE FAMILY ORCHARD Kevin and Stephanie Van Reenen (September 2012)
Kevin Van Reenen, who designed his future abode just before he proposed to his future bride Stephanie, is all about family heritage. Kevin and Stephanie have come home to his family’s original hillside orchard site in East Wenatchee, where their Tuscanstyle house abuts his mother’s property, and a side door will someday serve as the entrance to a future children’s wing. Although Boeing provides his cyber-livelihood now, Kevin is firmly situated back on the land that’s borne pears for his family for over 100 years. Featured (finished) in the September issue of The Good Life, the new home already boasts one major improvement — the fully-surfaced driveway with an iconic pear design in specially-tinted stamped concrete. Only a third generation pear farmer would understand the subtlety of this particular artistic choice: “Interested in a more personal icon, we shied away from the traditional picture of a Barlett pear and brought the characteristics of our d’Anjous into the design, which I pencilsketched on the back of an old rug until I got it right.” Kevin didn’t stop at one design of one pear — “There are smaller accents of pears and wine grapes throughout the pour to highlight our passion for the original pear orchard and the three different varietals of wine grapes harvested on the property.” With the final sealant just recently applied, Kevin has praise
A new pear icon adorns the driveway of the Van Reenen home.
for the good timing of the driveway installation. Pennington Concrete Construction diligently worked around this fall’s fickle weather to ensure the family’s winter access to the garage. Resolutions for the near-future of this well-planned house? Already a richly-textured feature
on the dining room wall — rockwork veneer — will soon be visible on the exterior. Kevin said, “This spring we plan to see that same stone encasing the four major pillars to complete the Italian country look.” And, yes, that was always in the plan.
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column GARDEN OF DELIGHTS
bonnie orr
Recipes for a healthy difference D
r. Chandra Villano, a local naturopathic physician, helps her patients create healthy lifestyles. One of the facets of a healthy life besides great self regard and a non-toxic physical environment is a nourishing diet, according to Chandra. Chandra’s best piece of advice is “Eat something raw at every meal.” For Thanksgiving, she made a raw pumpkin puree pie with a nut crust that was the very best pumpkin pie I have ever eaten. I guess that raw can include dessert! Chandra’s vibrant appearance and positive attitude show she lives her nutritional advice. Her patient education focuses on meals for people with food allergies. The recipes eliminate foods that cause inflammation such as dairy, wheat and sugar. She teaches cooking classes to help her patients follow the intent of living a different diet. She has developed recipes that feature whole grains and beans and lots of veggies. The dishes are essentially vegetarian. In January, she kicks off a 12-month membership program focused on how to eat well, live well and be well. Chandra’s favorite vegetables are beets, kale, squash, tomatoes and beans. These are all produce that she and her husband, Brian Ohme, grow in their garden in East Wenatchee. They freeze, can and dehydrate about 40 percent of their
food supply for the year. Their garden is impressive, and I love to eat the produce they share with me. I love Brussels sprouts. Some people feel they are too strong or are too “cabbagy.” The way to eliminate the sulfur smell is to drop the sprouts into a very hot frying pan containing a few tablespoons of oil. Stir them for a minute or two, and the sulfur compounds are volatized — that is they evaporate. This leaves the sprouts tender and sweet. I harvested my Brussels sprouts after Thanksgiving this year because a frost also sweetens the vegetable. These two dishes that Dr. Villano has designed take a little longer time to cook, but the results are worth the wait.
Savory Brussels sprouts sauté with garlic
Serves 10 Time: 30-40 minutes
2 1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 6 large garlic cloves, minced 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (She uses the vegetable “unchicken” broth) 1/2 teaspoon sea salt Coarsely ground black pepper, to taste Optional: grated fresh Parmesan cheese 1.Trim stem ends of Brussels sprouts. Using the slicing blade of a food
Relish your days
1 large onion 1 medium potato 1 medium butternut squash 2 celery stalks, 1 carrot 1 tomato 1 cup brown, green, or red lentils 4-8 cups filtered water or vegetable broth (or chicken broth) 11/2 tablespoons tomato paste 2 teaspoons dried oregano Sea salt, to taste Freshly ground black pepper or a little cayenne Dr. Chandra Villano: “Eat something raw at every meal.” processor, process sprouts into thin slices. Or slice thinly by hand. 2. Heat olive oil in a large pot, and sauté garlic until just starting to look golden. 3.Add Brussels sprouts and one cup of the broth. 4. Simmer at a very low temperature until sprouts are bright green and crisp-tender. You will need to stir frequently, for about 25 minutes. Add more broth, if needed, to keep sprouts from drying out. 5. Add salt and pepper. Serve immediately. Grated Parmesan cheese may be an optional garnish at the table.
Lentil vegetable stew
Chandra recommends using broth for more flavor for this stew, but it is still tasty if the stew’s liquid is water. Serves 6 Cooking time: Six hours in the crock pot
Wash and chop the potato and onion into cubes. Peel and chop the butternut squash into cubes. Coarsely chop the celery and carrot and tomato. Rinse the lentils and drain. In a large crock-pot, combine the lentils, water/vegetable broth, all the vegetables, the tomato paste, oregano, sea salt and pepper. If the liquid isn’t full to the top of the crock-pot, then add more liquid, because some will cook off. The amount of liquid needed will vary based on the volume of vegetables used. Throughout cooking, add a bit more water or broth if the stew seems to be getting too thick. Cook on high for approximately six hours. Check vegetable firmness for your preference.
To find out about Dr. Villano’s cooking classes and life programs, contact her at vibranthealth@nwi.net. Bonnie Orr — the dirt diva — cooks and gardens in East Wenatchee.
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column THE TRAVELing DOCTOR
jim brown, m.d.
Evidence-based medicine: How it will affect you Generally patients put their
faith in their physicians when they are sick. Usually their doctor helps them recover or diagnose the cause of their symptoms. Often these patients leave the office with little understanding as to why or how the physician made that diagnosis or recommended a specific treatment. For decades the physicians’ decisions were based on what they learned in medical school, internship and in their residency. Often this information and treatments had been passed down through several generations before them. Modern medicine is evolving, and the amount of information, scientific research and medical literature has exploded exponentially in this information age we now live in. It is increasingly more difficult for physicians to keep up with these advances and the changes in technology. Today’s physicians are becoming empowered more with data than dogma and as a result are increasingly practicing what is now called evidence-based medicine. Physicians have long been required to have significant hours of continuing medical education (CME) in order to renew their medical licenses. Most medical specialists, including family medicine, have to take recertification exams every five or 10 years in order to maintain board certification in their specialty. This is good, but is it enough these days? A Canadian physician, Dr. David Sackett, is credited with creating the term “evidencebased medicine” (EBM) in 1996. There has been an explosion
Our health care system can no longer afford or condone treatments or diagnostic modalities regardless of cost. in this field with the literature, specialty journals and advanced training in this approach to modern medicine. Evidence-based decision making in medicine is a result of collaborative efforts between scientific researchers, physicians and patients so that the diagnosis and treatment provided to the patient leads to better outcomes. EBM uses real data to lead to the best mode of treatment and to optimize outcomes of that treatment. EBM is more than just using clinically proven procedures. Just as important is using the evidence to decide what not to do. Why is this important? In addition to improved outcomes, we are facing a societal necessity for efficient use of our increasingly scarce financial resources. Our health care system can no longer afford or condone treatments or diagnostic modalities regardless of cost. Doctors need to take into consideration the cost effectiveness of their decision making, testing and treatments as well as explaining these reasons to the patients in a collaborative physician-patient effort. In April, 2012 the American Board of internal Medicine January 2013 | The Good Life
launched a multi-year effort called “Choosing Wisely” to discuss the need, or lack thereof, for frequently ordered tests or treatments. Nine national medical specialty societies each identified, “Five things physicians and patients should question.” All of these were tests or procedures commonly used in their fields. In the coming year 20 more specialty societies are expected to release their evidence-based lists. The following are a few typical examples of some of the recommendations from the American Academy of Family Physicians, The American College of Physicians, the American Colleges of Cardiology, Radiology, Oncology (cancer) and the American Gastroenterology Association: 1. Do not do imaging studies including X-ray, CT scans or MRI scans for low back pain within six weeks of its onset unless “red flags” are present including neurologic deficits or serious underlying conditions are suspected. 2. Do not routinely prescribe antibiotics for acute mild to moderate sinusitis unless the symptoms have lasted over seven days. (98 percent of sinusitis is viral, which is not affected by antibiotics). 3. Do not do DEXA (bone scans) for women under age 65 or males under 70 who have no risk factors. 4. Do not do annual electrocardiograms and cardiac screening tests for low risk or asymptomatic patients. 5. Do not do pap smears for females under age 21 or females who have had a hysterectomy for non-cancer reasons. 6. Do not do cardiac stress testing as an initial evaluation for patients with no cardiac www.ncwgoodlife.com
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symptoms. 7. Do not do CT or MRI brain scans for patients with syncope (passing out) or in patients with a normal neurologic exam. 8. Do not do a preoperative EKG without any clinical suspicion of heart disease for patients having non-cardiac surgery. 9. Do not do PET, CT or MRI scans for men with prostate cancer or women with breast cancer before surgery or other treatment who are at low risk for metastatic disease. 10. Do not make a diagnosis of asthma without a spirometry lung test. 11. Patients who have one or two small low risk benign polyps on a screening colonoscopy do not need a follow-up colonoscopy for five years. If that fiveyear follow-up exam is normal then future colonoscopies only need to be done every 10 years, not five years as currently is the case. These are just a few examples of what is changing in medicine and how physicians will be making their decisions and what you as patient might expect in the future. I also would predict that these guidelines will eventually affect how third parties will be paying for or not paying for treatment or testing that is not evidence based. I predict this will lead not only to better medicine and less unnecessary testing but will be more cost effective to society as a whole. Jim Brown, M.D., is a retired gastroenterologist who has practiced for 38 years in the Wenatchee area. He is a former CEO of the Wenatchee Valley Medical Center.
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column moving up to the good life
june darling
Choose the right goals to chase in 2013 Richard figured out how to
achieve his goals. I’ll tell you how he did that. It really isn’t much of the story. The provocative part of the story begins after he reached his goals. Richard learned how to achieve his goals in a rather standard way. He heard about the S.M.A.R.T acronym approach to goal-setting. The “S” in S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific. Richard took some time being quite specific with his goals. Instead of saying “I want to make a lot of money.” Richard wrote down the exact amount of money he wanted to make. The gurus told him to make his goals Measurable so that he
would know if he was making progress toward them. Richard made his goals measurable. His paycheck would tell him how much he made each month. They told him to make his goals Achievable or attainable so that he would be more motivated. Richard chose goals that he believed were just right for him, not too easy or too hard. The gurus told Richard to make goals that were Relevant and realistic. Money was very relevant to Richard, he thought about it all the time. The amount of money he chose as his goal was approximately the same as others in similar situations, so it seemed realistic enough. Last, the gurus told Richard to make the goals Time-bound
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so that he could track himself. Richard did exactly that. Richard even asked a friend to help him stay on track with his S.M.A.R.T. goals. Everything proceeded pretty much as expected. There was only one, very significant problem. And here’s where the real story begins. Richard had achieved his goals, but he wasn’t one iota happier. So what’s the problem? According to goals and motivation experts like Dr. Heidi Grant Halvorson and Dr. Ken Sheldon, people like Richard are unhappy because they have chosen the wrong goals. How could someone choose the wrong goals? We all probably do it more often than not. What we should do accord-
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| January 2013
ing to the experts is choose goals that are connected to our basic psychological needs. When we achieve those goals, we are happy (and we usually also perform better). What are our basic psychological needs? According to research that has held up well for the last 20 years, our true needs are for competence, for autonomy and for relationships. The goals that aim toward competence are those that are oriented toward acquiring, developing and using our skills and strengths, becoming more masterful. The desire for competence is the impulse to continue
Many of us wrongly choose and obsess on these goals. to grow and improve. When we choose to learn 200 new Spanish words because we want to be able to speak to neighbors, we are choosing a goal aimed toward increasing our competence. Autonomy is the need to choose, to have a say in what we do and how we live our lives. It’s the desire to shape our lives in ways that feel right and authentic. A goal oriented toward more autonomy might involve starting your own business so that you can have more say in what you do and how you do it. Relatedness is the need to feel that we belong and are connected to others. It is the universal desire to interact and experience caring for and from others. When we choose a goal of getting together with friends each Sunday for a movie and dinner, we are choosing a goal aimed toward increasing relatedness. What Richard did however was to choose goals that psychologists call extrinsic. These goals relate to having more money, more status, more popularity, more power. Many of us wrongly choose and obsess on these goals. Psychologists say this preoccupation with extrinsic goals (often fed by the media and marketers) is a prescription for trouble. We falsely believe we will get our needs met through fame, fortune, possessions and popularity. We buy more Gucci bags and Ferraris as strategies for being loved and accepted. We’d be much wiser to spend our time and resources in developing community and growing as human beings. Many readers simply won’t believe what the researchers are
Learn how to set the right goals in 2013 Did you know that conflicting goals can increase the likelihood of stress and chronic illness? Would you like to know how to motivate others to attain goals? Join Dr. June Darling at The Good Life U this January for more fascinating goals talk. We are making it easy for you to move up to The Good Life with a happy hour of fun, growth and inspiration at the Caffé Mela, 4 telling us. So try this little experiment yourself. Set aside five minutes to write or talk to a friend about a few of the most satisfying events of your life. Notice what needs are being met. See if you, too, are most happy when you are among friends, being masterful and authentically expressing your values. This January America will go
p.m. to 5 p.m., Jan. 17. There will be an open mike for people to talk about their goals for the new year as well as the problems they’ve had with goals (and a chance to receive audience suggestions). No host bar, light appetizers, cost $7, seating limited. Contact June Darling at drjunedarling1@gmail.com with questions or to reserve space. at the whole goals things anew. You’ll have another chance. If it seems right for you, and if you dare, you can be different from Richard. You can incorporate more intrinsic goals — goals to deepen your relationships, to grow and to choose your path. You can choose goals that will truly make you happier. You’ll see and hear talking heads roll out the S.M.A.R.T approach again. Don’t get me
wrong. There’s no problem with it as long you know it’s incomplete. It’s incomplete because it doesn’t help you choose the right kind of goals. By relying on it exclusively you may successfully arrive at the wrong place. If you want your story to end well, to move much closer to happiness and well-being this year, add to the acronym. Make it “S.M.A.R.T. C.A.R.” Visualize that image. Choose goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timebound AND that are oriented toward more competence, autonomy and better relationships. This year how might you move more toward The Good Life by choosing intrinsic goals? June Darling, Ph.D., is an executive coach who consults with businesses and individuals to achieve goals and increase happiness. She can be reached at drjunedarling1@gmail. com. Her website is www.summitgroupresources.com.
Walk-in Clinics Wenatchee - 820 N. Chelan Avenue
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Mon. - Fri. 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. Saturday 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
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Our Walk-in Clinics provide convenient, high quality, low cost family health care when you need prompt medical attention for non-emergencies.
When to visit our Walk-in Clinics: Sprains, strains Fractures Minor burns Flu or cold
Sore throat and fever Ear ache Stings or bites Work-related injuries
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Zach Miller: Making art with stacks of rocks.
Wood carver Michael Keller has turned to the wine venue.
Not resting on their art These five artists are all folks
you learned about — or learned a little more about — in the pages of The Good Life during 2012. The workday life of an artist can sway with the winds of the larger economy, and artistic direction sometimes veers in response to personal challenges. Here’s how these five local people’s creative lives have evolved since they were last featured in the magazine.
1.
ROCK ARTIST PAINTS A PICTURE WITH STONES Last August, Leavenworth artisan Zach Miller was busy stacking stone for a grand patio area along the Columbia River. Here’s an excerpt from that story: Zach… has flourished as a visual artist with stones on his palette, matching or contrasting myriad textures and colors, “Most people compare the process of building with stone to completing a puzzle,” said Zach, “But in truth... when I get a good creative job it’s like painting a
picture.” He plans everything out but loves the serendipitous found pieces and odd juxtapositions that add drama to a project. It seems that “planning everything out” has been an imperative in his young life. Returning to the area to be near family and delve into the rock trade was a well-considered transition from a lucrative office job, and now, perhaps with a little divine help, he’s made another thoughtful move. Zach, in working with church youth and leading worship services, has known for years that the ministry is what personally enriches him the most (Last year he was confident that, “God will call me to be a pastor somewhere.”). Recently he’s been appointed associate pastor at the church in Plain, a position he’s familiar with and eager to begin. Mentored by his rock-working father, Zach enjoyed learning the craft and over the years took on an increasingly larger share of jobs for their two-man company. Now, with his new church responsibilities, their partnership will be closer to 50-50.
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Zach said, “We are still planning on working as much as we can, pursuing the most artistic jobs we can. Hopefully this will allow us to be more selective about our work, although any work is a blessing.”
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. CARVING AWAY THE WOOD TO FIND THE ART INSIDE Michael Keller, the woodcarver who lives on a ridge high above the north side of Lake Chelan, was only too glad to retire from a career in the city and devote all his time to his craft 10 years ago. But, this being the 2000-teens for all of us, he recently needed to dip back into his previous life work in “securities regulatory compliance,” if not the antithesis of art, then at least a strong contrast. Happily for him, a new commercial art opportunity presented itself, and may make the new year brighter — which means more time spent in his big sunny workshop.
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Mike is pleased to announce, “I participated in a Chelan Hope fundraiser where local artists applied their art to wine barrels for a silent auction. I carved my barrel, and found out it was not only a fun project, but it occurred to me the North Central Washington wine industry is growing faster than the grapes are! So, perhaps I could promote my wine barrel carving in 2013.” The first carved barrel, an experiment, turned out to be a hit, Mike said. That good fortune lead to a local winery requesting a carved logo on their barrels. Now he’s back to the woodshop. He’s also newly changed
Melissa Carlson: Now a producer.
his public promotional presence from White Eagle Studios to the more direct Michael Keller Woodcarving.
3. PRODUCING IS A NEW
STAGE IN MELISSA CARLSON’S LIFE Last winter, Melissa Carlson had just come off a high from her successful directorial debut with Harvey at Music Theater of Wenatchee. Trained in the Wenatchee Youth Theater and mentored by some of Wenatchee’s best theater artists, she had returned home after working on the Coast to delve into everything she could about community theater on-stage and back-stage. Her new aim is to take on one of the most demanding and least applauded roles in the theater: the producer. That job uses strong organizational skills — a successful producer needs to be a Big Picture visionary as well as a devil-in-the-details multitasker. Melissa explained her new position this way: “As producer, I’m responsible for all of the details that surround a show… it’s a complete 180 from being onstage. As an actor, I loved the lights coming up and being a part of the show. When direct-
Aimee Stewart: Traveling to Hollywood next.
ing, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my vision come to life. “As a producer, I find the job of making sure the show is successful and taking care of the cast and crew to be a fun and challenging job.” She is currently producing One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest which runs Jan. 10-24 and preparing to bring to the stage the 2013 Apple Blossom show Happy Days, a New Musical.
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. AIMEE STEWART: Working in a Fantasy world Cashmere digital artist Aimee Stewart was busy in her techfilled upstairs office with a dozen small commissions and enterprises last spring, but the care and feeding of her beloved children’s book project continued to dominate each day as it had for many months. Happily, the pressure’s off now. The book, co-birthed with writing partner Chris Dane Owens, is finished, sent and funneled through one enthusiastic publisher to Foundry Media in New York. “We are hoping to hear back from them any day now!” Aimee said. She continues to design internationally-distributed jigsaw puzzles, and is delighted with January 2013 | The Good Life
Dennis Willard: Slow writing.
an uptick in sales of art directly from her website. The next big thing? Aimee will travel to Hollywood soon to co-produce a fantasy-adventurethemed music video, creating green screen backgrounds. It’s a first for her in that medium, and she’s heartened by the good support she’s already received by industry professionals. Aimee reflected on her own arts life: “I have had to scale back on accepting smaller, random commissions. While I hate saying ‘no’ to anybody, it is too easy to become overwhelmed and that sends inspiration skidding right off the rails sometimes. Learning how to keep my inspiration flowing while not overloading myself has been a wonderful bonus of everything I’ve learned in 2012.”
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. WHEN THE EXCUSES RAN OUT, DENNIS BECAME A WRITER Dennis Willard has, as he said in June, “…so many ideas. Sometimes I have to step aside and let them flow.” He won’t run out. His writing space is filled with notebooks, journals, observations and story starts. Years of outdoor work in the Northwest wilds and a second corporate career in software www.ncwgoodlife.com
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have given him a broad perspective and a wealth of topics. His latest (co-written) book, Green Water Strategy, started as a satirical look at business but, he said, “surprisingly ended up being a much more serious management strategy work… a new way of looking at the world of corporate process.” In the works is a crime series, set around Washington State, about two dissimilar but compatible detectives at a firm called Sound Investigations. He’s recently entered into a year-long project manager position with UW Medicine in Seattle (“spurred by the need to recharge may bank account,” he said) but knows that next winter he’ll be ready to return to his place at Lake Wenatchee and writing full time again. Dennis sees some good in slowing down the literary output. “I didn’t realize how much energy and emotion it takes. “With my writing moving at a much slower pace I see some change… my approach has largely been to slam onto the page as much as I can as fast as I can. The actual writing these past months has been much more thoughtful and methodical.” — by Susan Lagsdin
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WHAT TO DO
We want to know of fun and interesting local events. Send info to: donna@ncwgoodlife.com
Improv/Acting Workshop, 1/1, 7 p.m. Every Tuesday night with theater games for novice and experienced players. Fun, causal and free. Riverside Playhouse. Cost: free. Info: mtow.org. Perfect Pairing Wine and Cheese, 1/3 & every Thursday, 4-6 p.m. Are you daring enough to try
a goat’s milk cheese with your Kamari Black Label Reserve Cabernet Franc or will the aged cheddar and Firá Chardonnay be your new best friend? Wine Girl Wines, 222 E Wapato Way, Manson. Cost: $10. Info: winegirlwines.com. Wenatchee First Fridays, 1/4, 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. Walk downtown for art, music, dining and entertainment. Downtown Wenatchee. Two Rivers Art Gallery, 1/4, 5 – 8 p.m. Featuring Twisp artist Ginger
Reddington. Ginger will present a new exhibit of her paintings never seen in the Wenatchee area. Forty five other member artist will be a part of the new exhibit. Live music by the Tumbleweed Trio. Wines by Saint Laurent Winery. Complimentary refreshments. 102 N Columbia, Wenatchee. Cost: free. Tumbleweed Bead Co., 1/4, 5 -8 p.m. Dustin Spencer, founder and owner of Vermilyea Pella, began his leather obsession as a child and has been creating handcrafted, durable goods using premium heritage materials for over 20 years. His incredible bags, wallets, leather bound journals and shoes will be showcased during Wenatchee First Friday. Cost: free. Info: tumbleweedbeadco.com. Cashmere Art and Activity Center, 1/7, and every Monday, 9:15 a.m., water color classes. 1/12 & 1/19, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. wine glass painting classes. Located at Cashmere Senior Center. Hours: Monday - Friday, 9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m., Saturday, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Sunday, 1:30 - 3 p.m. Ski for Health Day, 1/6, noon – 3 p.m. Receive free ski equipment, trail passes and Nordic lessons. Icicle River Trails. Cost: free. Info: skileavenworth.com/events. Alzheimer’s Café, 1/8, 2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. Mountain Meadows Senior Living Campus hosts a cafe the second Tuesday of every month. This is a casual setting for folks with Alzheimer’s, Dementia, their loved ones and caregivers. Desserts and beverages will be served free of charge. Entertainment and activities for those wishing to participate. Join us to meet new friends and share experiences. Located at 320 Park Avenue, Leavenworth. Info: 548-4076. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, 1/10-12, 1/17-19 &1/24-26, 7:30 p.m. 1/19, 2 p.m. A play about a petty criminal Randall P. McMurphy vs. tyrannical nurse Ratched in a ward full of mental patients. Riverside Playhouse, Wenatchee. Info: mtow.org. Winterfest Fire and Ice Festival, 1/11-13 & 18-20. Outdoor ice sculptures created by talented international sculptors, live music, beach bonfire, polar bear splash, soup fest, Artisan Alley, wine walk and fireworks. Manson and Echo Ridge. Info: lakechelanwinterfest. com.
Mountain Music Festival, 1/12, 5:30 p.m. The Mighty High, a Tacoma Reggae group, will kick off the festival. Dinner, beer and wine available. Mission Ridge Hampton Lodge. Info: wenatcheevalley.org. The Platinum Bridal Show, 1/12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Presented by Bella Sera, with booths, giveaways, wedding pros, a fashion show at 1 p.m., dancers from Rebecca Allen’s Next Step Dance Studio, wine from Martin Scott Winery and a contest for local wedding vendors to show how clever they can be on a tiny budget. Performing Arts Center. Cost: free. Info: Wenatcheeweddings.com. Multicultural Fest & Martin Luther King Celebration, 1/12, 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. Interact with more than 25 local multi-cultural groups from our community through booth displays of art, food, crafts, clothes and pictures. Tables will be set up throughout the museum by the cultural heritages groups. In the Children Activities Center, children’s hands-on arts and crafts projects will highlight cultural traditions. Each person will receive a passport, with their picture, and travel to each “country” (booth) to receive a sticker in their passport. Throughout the day the stage will come alive with multi-cultural dance, music and song. For lunch visitors will enjoy food from our ethnic food vendors. Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Info: 888-6240. Jazz and Wine, 1/12, 7 p.m. An evening of jazz and wine. A fundraiser for the Jazz Workshop and wines from Wenatchee Wine Country. Music and Art Center at Wenatchee Valley College. Cost: $10 adults, $5 student. Wine additional. Winterfest Snowshoe Run, 1/13. 10 a.m. Snowshoe runs of 5k and 10k at Echo Ridge for men, women and children of all abilities. An event of the Lake Chelan Winterfest. Pre-race drawing for sponsor swag giveaways, as well as post-race hot soups and food. This race is part of the Snowdog Events Snowshoe Series, so points will be awarded towards the series standings. Cost: 5k is $35, 10k is $40. Add $5 after Jan 6, and $10 for day-of registration. Info: snowdogevents.com. Environmental Film Series, 1/15, 7 p.m. Arid Lands explores the richly diverse landscape of the Hanford nuclear site. Sponsored by Wenatchee Chapter of Native
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WHAT TO DO
We want to know of fun and interesting local events. Send info to: donna@ncwgoodlife.com
}}} Continued from page 32 Plant Society. Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Info: wenatcheevalley.org. Vibrant Health Alliance, 1/16, and every other Wednesday through Dec.18, 2013. Twelve months of learning how to eat well, live well and be well. Taught by Dr. Chandra Villano, N.D. and Annie LaCroix, L.M.P. Info: www.crimassage. com and click on news/events. Movie Night, 1/18, 7 – 9 p.m. Salmon Forest is a movie that reveals the fragile connection between salmon, bears, trees and people in the Northwest rainforest through the nutrients salmon bring inland from the ocean. Learn about the research that is happening right here in the Wenatchee River watershed. After the movie there will be a discussion. Barn Beach Reserve, Leavenworth. Info: ccfeg.org. Empty Bowls Dinner, 1/18, 5 p.m. A simple soup and bread dinner will help feed the hungry in our area. Come see painted bowls on
display by community members and take home an artist made bowl from a silent auction. Featured local artists include Martha Flores, Karen Dawn Dean, Michael McClun, John Craddick, Tim Lynch, and Anita Eaton. Auction items will be drawn at 6:15. Proceeds benefit the local area food banks. United Methodist Church, 941 Washington St. Cost: $15. Info: cdcac.org/empty-bowls. html. Mountain Music Festival, 1/19, 5:30 p.m. Brent Amaker and the Rodeo will be playing. Dinner, beer and wine available. Mission Ridge Hampton Lodge. Info: wenatcheevalley.org. Break, 1/19, 7:30 p.m. The Urban Funk Spectacular traces the history of Hip Hop dancing over the last 30 years. It is a high-energy tribute to this creatively charged American art form. A combination of pure physical strength and agility propels this group of New York’s finest urban artists through a show of breathtaking movements to a pumping soundtrack with a live DJ and master percussionists. Performing Arts Center Cost: $25 adults, $23 seniors, $20 students. Info: pacwen.org.
Skirennen Citizen Race, 1/19, 8 a.m. Nordic races for 1, 2 and 10 km. Leavenworth Gold Course Trails. Cost: $8-$25. Info: skileavenworth.com/events or 548-5477.
5 – 8 p.m. Ski Icicle River Trails. O’Grady’s Pantry will keep the doors open and the fire burning with Chef Ken’s dinner specials. Info: skileavenworth.com.
Winter Piano Festival: Faculty Concert, 1/19, 7:30 p.m. Experience the musical magic of Oksana Ezhokina, Christina Dahl, Gilbert Kalish and Seth Knopp. Canyon Wren Recital Hall –7409 Icicle Road, Leavenworth. Cost: $20, $16 students. Info: 548-6347 ext400 or visit www.icicle.org.
Interwest Communications Lunch, 1/23, noon – 1:30 p.m. Learn how to save 60 percent on your current monthly phone bill and eliminate 90 percent of the normal startup costs. Confluence Technology Center. Cost: free. Info: lreynoso@interwestcorp.net.
Fiesta de Mariachi, 1/19-20, 7 p.m. Wenatchee High School. Cost: $10. Info: whsmariachi.com. Winter Piano Festival: Young Artist Concert, 1/20, 3 p.m. Listen to what the young artists have learned In their week long training. Wren Recital Hall –7409 Icicle Road, Leavenworth. Cost: free. Info: 548-6347 ext400 or visit www. icicle.org. Ice Fest’s Movie Night, 1/20, 6:30 p.m. Movie, food, drinks and raffle prizes. Festhalle, Leavenworth. Info: skileavenworth.com or 548-5477. Ice Fest’s Snowshoe Demo and Relay Race, 1/20, 10:30 – 1 p.m. If you can walk you can snowshoe. Check out the snowshoes and walk Leavenworth Ski Hill. Bonfire at the base. Cost: free. Info: skileavenworth.com. Full Moon Ski, 1/24 & 2/21,
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Nissebakken TelEmark Race, 1/25, 6 p.m. Giant slalom race. Theme: Were going disco. Prizes awarded to the best ’70s costume. Awards and potluck. BBQ to follow at the lodge. Leavenworth Ski Hill. Info: skileavenworth.com. Wedding Show, 1/26, 1-4 p.m. Day is filled with food, fashion and wine. Tsillan Cellars, Chelan. Info: weddingsatlakechelan.com. Mountain Music Festival, 1/26, 5:30 p.m. Shivering Denizens will be playing. Dinner, beer and wine available. Mission Ridge Hampton Lodge. Info: wenatcheevalley.org. Burns Night Supper, 1/27, 6 p.m. Join executive Chef Ken MacDonald of the clan MacDonald for a traditional Ayrshire Burns Supper. Ken originally hails from the west side of Glasgow, Scotland. A Burns Supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns, author of many Scots poems. Cost:
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WHAT TO DO
We want to know of fun and interesting local events. Send info to: donna@ncwgoodlife.com
$39 adult, $16 kids. Kingfisher Restaurant and Wine Bar at Sleeping Lady. Info: sleepinglady.com/eventcalendar. Winter Wine Gala, 1/26, 6 -9 p.m. This event features award winning wines from the NCW Winemaker’s Invitational and food from Dream Meals. Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Info: 8886240. Follies, 1/31 to 2/2, 7 p.m. plus 1 p.m. 2/2. This community variety show occurs every three years showcasing local talent. This is its 65th year and has raised over $350,000 for local organizations and charities. This year’s beneficiaries are Wellness Place and Solomon’s Porch. Performing Arts Center. Cost: $32 & $28. Info: wenatcheevalley.org. Bakke Cup, 2/2, 11 a.m. Ski jumping, Nordic races and Alpine events. Watch or join in. Leavenworth Ski Hill. Info: skileavenworth.com. Mountain Music Festival, 2/2, 5:30 p.m. Scott McDougall will be playing. Dinner, beer and wine available. Mission Ridge Hampton Lodge. Info: wenatcheevalley.org.
featuring soloists and ensembles, wine tasting, hors d’oeuvres and desserts. Wenatchee Museum and Cultural Center, 127 S Mission. Info: wvmcc.org. Leisure Games, 2/13 – 16. Icicle Brewing Company, Stevens Pass and LWSC host competitive lawn games with incredible live music, food and beer. Leavenworth Festhalle. Info: iciclebrewing.com. Community Barn Dance, 2/16, 7:30 p.m. An evening of community dances including square, contra and couples. Featuring old-time fiddle band The Jake Lake Trio Stuart Williams, Sarah Comer, David Cahn, and caller Sherry Nevins. Canyon Wren Recital Hall –7409 Icicle Road, Leavenworth. Cost: $5. For tickets call: (509)548-6347 ext400 or visit www.icicle.org Environmental Film Series, 2/19, 7 p.m. The City Dark is about light pollution and the disappearing night sky. Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center. Info: wvmcc.org. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 2/20, 7 p.m. Live performance. Performing Arts Center. Info: pacwen.org.
Chicks on Sticks, 2/3, 8 a.m. This 8 km ski event is great for skiers of all abilities. Proceeds benefit The Wellness Place in Wenatchee. Register online by 1/25. Prize given to Best Dressed Chick. Leavenworth Fish Hatchery. Info: skileavenworth. com/events/chicks-sticks. building north central washington Home Show, 2/8-10. Town Toyota Center. Pride and Prejudice, 2/8, 7:30 p.m. Live performance. Performing Arts Center. Info: pacwen.org. Sweetheart Musical Soiree, 2/9, 7 p.m. The Symphony’s Valentine themed musical soiree
>> RANDOM QUOTE
To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all. Oscar Wilde January 2013 | The Good Life
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column those were the days
rod molzahn
Nashland, Okanogan City and Waterville Three townsites vie to be the leading community of freshly created douglas county
T
he first white men to see any of what would become Douglas County were Canadian explorer and fur trader David Thompson along with five French Canadian Voyageurs. They came down the Columbia River in June of 1811, and camped one night on the Douglas County side just above the Wenatchee River Confluence. It would be 70 years before white settlers began finding their way to the area. By the early 1880s homesteaders were claiming land west of Spokane and up to the Columbia River where it turns west to begin its half-circle around the Big Bend Country. As the best land was taken first, settlers moved farther west until, following stories of a high, rolling plain flat enough for the plow for miles and flanked by a timbered mountain, they set their sights on the Waterville Plateau.
The first settlers near Badger Mountain, including Platt Corbaley, Al Pierpoint, John Banneck, the Fiering brothers and Ole Ruud, staked their claims in April and early May of 1883. By the fall of that year other settlers had followed and two towns had sprung up in the area; Nashland and Okanogan City. Colonel L. B. Nash, later circuit court judge, along with O. H. Kimball and Peter Bracken, reached “Waterville City Hall” reads the note on the Badger Mountain on May back of this photo. It was also Douglas County’s first courthouse. Photo from Wenatchee 19, 1883. Kimball and Valley Museum & Cultural Center Bracken staked out land claims while Colonel Nash were hauled from Badger Mounreturned to Spokane for tain and the 16-by-40 foot store supplies. was built near Platt Corbaley’s The three men intended to ranch three miles west of presopen a store to serve the new ent day Waterville at the head of settlers. Corbaley Canyon. In June, Nash returned with Colonel Nash envisioned a 3,000 pounds of goods, includtown growing there that would ing a barrel of whiskey. Logs
be called Nashland. The Colonel wasn’t the only one with town building on his mind. In the fall of that year, a Kansas land developer and promoter named J. W. Adams staked out a claim six miles east of the future Waterville. Along with H. A. Meyers and a surveyor named Walter Mann he laid out a government town site on 40 acres and named it Okanogan City. In an effort to attract residents to buy lots in the new town they formed, Adams, Mann and Company, Real Estate Agents sent circulars across the country extolling the virtues of the town including the promise of plentiful water. Adams lobbied hard in Olympia for a new county for the area and on Nov. 28 of 1883 Douglas County was created, named after United States Senator and statesman, Stephen A. Douglas.
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Adams was successful in getting Okanogan City named county seat. The town boasted nine residences and several businesses. New homesteads were being claimed, cabins and barns were going up and fields were being plowed. The first county commissioners were J. W. Adams, his partner H. A. Meyers and Platt Corbaley. Walter Mann, Adams’ other partner, was named auditor and Sam Robins county sheriff. Amidst all these successes, drilling began on the well that would provide the new town’s necessary water supply. All would have been well if they had only found the much-promised water. Three miles away there was a small lake and in 1884 Jesse Wallace, from Illinois, settled near the lake. He built a house, a store and a school, where he served as superintendent, and called it Douglas. He married a woman, also named Jessie, in his new town. It was the first wedding in the Big Bend country. By the end of 1884 Okanogan City was a dry and dusty town with a 300-foot deep well that “met with no gusher, not even a seep,” according to Jesse Wallace. By then the town had added a store, a hotel and a post office along with several more houses. The town’s only source of water was at Douglas Lake where wagons filled barrels by backing into the water. The full barrels were hauled the three miles back to Okanogan City. Disillusioned residents quickly tired of that little part of daily life and began moving out. Okanogan City struggled on for two more years until 1886. In the spring of that year, six miles west of Okanogan City, A. T. Green dug a 30-foot well and found abundant water. He staked out a town site and called it Waterville. Lots were platted and began to sell quickly and by fall several
businesses had been built. A new election was called for to decide the permanent county seat. Okanogan City fought to keep the honor while others campaigned to move the seat to Waterville. Waterville residents hauled a barrel of their water to Okanogan City and presented it to the commissioners to prove their town deserved to be county seat. The voters agreed and in the fall of 1886 Waterville was named the new Douglas county seat. Over the objections of the remaining Okanogan City residents, Sheriff Sam Robins
hauled the county property, a stove and table, and the Commissioner’s records to the hastily built new courthouse in Waterville. The last of the Okanogan City residents left the town after that. J. W. Adams left in the fall of 1886 and Walter Mann moved away from the area a few years later. Colonel Nash’s dream fared no better. The first Badger Mountain post office was opened on the Corbaley ranch in early 1884. Later that same year it was moved to the store at Nashland. In spite of that the town never
attracted residents and Nashland was finally abandoned in 1890. Waterville prospered becoming the center of a productive stock and wheat growing region and A. T. Green’s 30-foot well made him the “Father of Waterville.” Historian, actor and teacher Rod Molzahn can be reached at shake.speak@frontier.com. His third history CD, Legends & Legacies Vol. III - Stories of Wenatchee and North Central Washington, is now available at the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center and at other locations throughout the area.
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column ALEX ON WINE
ALEX SALIBY
A blend of wine tales and facts A
few years ago, in another state, we had dinner with friends who had out of state guests visiting them — a fun set of folks from Texas. We dined al fresco on the rear deck and enjoyed the receding sunlight on the mountains in the distance. Dinner was splendid, and as you might well imagine, there was wine. Life was good. We ate, we drank, we talked and laughed, and enjoyed each other’s company. After awhile the host and hostess rose and began to clean up while we sat at the table enjoying the conversation with the stranger we’d just met, the man from Texas. We sat under the stars, with the gleam from the kitchen window highlighting the two
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nearly empty bottles of wine on the table. “Tex,” as I will call him, reached for the red wine, “You need more?” Me, wanting but far from needing and looking at the wine in my glass, “No, I’m done. Thanks.” He nodded and poured the remains of a good Cabernet Sauvignon — perhaps three or four ounces — into his empty glass. Then he put the bottle down and picked up the Chardonnay bottle and poured the remaining several ounces of Chardonnay into his glass, creating a blend of red and white wine. I confess to having been stunned by his actions. I guess I shouldn’t have been, for after all, the man merely created his own blend. Another time, another year, we dined at a small, two personowned and operated café serving only lunch and dinner. Food was good, fresh, well prepared, but the wine list was very limited. They offered only a modest Cabernet Sauvignon and a Chardonnay. At a nearby table a woman sat, looked at the menu and ordered, speaking to the owner/ waiter/chef. “And a glass of Rosé, please,” she requested. “I’m sorry, Ma’am, we’ve only a red and a white on the wine list.” “Oh,” she grumbled at hearing that. “I really wanted a Rosé.” “I’ll see what I can do,” was the reply. Fast forward to food and wine service and voilà, a glass of the desired Rosé. The woman finished her meal, ordered her check and spoke to the chef, “Lovely food, and thank you for that Rosé. It was excellent.” We were reasonably well
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I confess to having been stunned by his actions. I guess I shouldn’t have been, for after all, the man merely created his own blend. acquainted with the chef/owner, so we asked about that Rosé. He confessed: he had taken a glass of the chilled Chardonnay and added two tablespoons of the Cabernet Sauvignon, and presented it to her as his restaurant’s Rosé offering. In short, he blended. Blending: that’s the subject of this column, and I apologize for the rather lengthy segue into the topic, but those true episodes do set the stage for the topic. Winemakers have been blending for centuries, perhaps even since day one of wine making centuries ago. Blending is not only not a bad thing, but is, in fact, a very beneficial aspect of winemaking. The most famous wines of Bordeaux, France are all blends. Chateau Petrus, the most expensive wine from Pomeral is a blend of 95 percent Merlot and 5 percent Cabernet Franc. California’s world-famous Ridge Montebello Cab is a blend. As for the Chardonnay in the Cabernet, remember that in the Northern Rhone Valley, in places such as Hermitage and CôteRôtie, the area’s wine commission permits the Syrah wines to contain as much as 20 percent Viognier. Some of the producers co-ferment the red and white wine grapes together to create
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their Northern Rhone wines. Many of our local wines are wonderful blends. Take for example the Fielding Hills Cabernet Franc. I’ve never seen a bottle of this wonderful wine that wasn’t a blend of Cabernet Franc and Syrah wines, with the percentages varying in different vintages. The Cab Franc, to the best of my knowledge and taste buds, has always been such a blend. Similarly, there have been and will continue to be white wine blends. I could list scores of them here, but I’m enamored by the name Griesling from Karma Vineyards on Chelan’s south shore. The wine, as you might imagine from the name, is a blend of Gewürztraminer and Riesling… Griesling. I love both the wine and the name. Blending, too, is one of the reasons I love the name of WineGirl Wines Manson location, The Blending Room. That name conveys to me the message that this is the place where Angela will blend the wines. Recently we drank a Blending Room Cabernet Franc 2009 with a simple dinner of rack of lamb in a whiskey sauce (thank you Andrew). All of us at the table enjoying the food marveled at the wine. I wondered: is this a blend? The wine possessed qualities usually associated with blends and not single grape wines. I’ll ask Angela and let you know what I learn. Alex Saliby is a wine lover who spends far too much time reading about the grapes, the process of making wine and the wines themselves. He can be contacted at alex39@msn. com.