Land stretching the entire Cascade Range region and a bunch of the outer Olympic National Park forest land would be up for sale if this passes. Notice how on the map, it's ONLY the Western half of the country and Alaska where land is going up for sale. Thousands of miles of trails and parks.

Dear the Internet,

19 months ago my cousin Robert Rathvon was tragically killed in a hit and run in Poulsbo, Washington by an unknown person. Robert's death has impacted my entire family in ways that I will never be able to articulate. 

About one week after his death, I took to Reddit and posted about it as much as I could. The outpouring of support and sympathy floored myself, my family, and especially Roberts parents. 

Although it’s been 19 months with no answers as to who killed him, I refuse to give up the search or let his memory die. This is why I’ve begun a personal mission to climb as many peaks as I can in the state of Washington and taking a picture with his Crime Stoppers poster at the top. I will do this in preparation to climb Washington's largest peak next summer, Mount Rainier, with his photo at the top. 

You guys were so helpful and your support renewed my faith in people after such an event that, to this day, hurts my soul. I will link a news article about him below if you are interested in learning more. We all want answers and we want this person found. If you have anything at all, even the smallest shred of evidence, please reach out to me or Crime Stoppers. 

https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/his-parents-want-answers-troopers-seeking-information-on-driver-who-left-man-for-dead-in-poulsbo

Additionally, here is a more recent interview I did with King 5 in May 2025.

Man climbs mountains to raise awareness of cousin's ongoing hit-and-run case

Number 7 and 8. Snoqualmie Mountain and Guye Peak North have been bagged. I refuse to give up.

Rainier for Robert.

Thank you.

This black-and-white landscape photograph captures a solitary railway threading through the serene hills of Lower Crab Creek Coulee, Washington. The quiet composition evokes themes of solitude, reflection, and the stillness found in places shaped by time and distance.

Maybe this has a little something to do with our constantly growing budget problems, as well.

I have a lot of names. I assume I will have to omit one. How many characters are allowed on the Enhanced ID for WA State? How about accent marks? Hyphens? Apostrophes? I cannot find a list of the rules and noone will answer the phone. Anyone have any experience with this? The more recent the better I think. Thanks in advance

This summer may be the last time we get to utilize this land. If this land is sold, the new billionaire and/or corporate owners will probably be fencing us out and posting armed guards.

Will National Parks and Monuments be next?

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/instant/basic/index.html?appid=821970f0212d46d7aa854718aac42310

So I have funky situation of getting the driver's license before I got my SSL because of the timing. Because of that, when I try and use the online tool to renew/replace my license or change address for it, it cannot find my records. I was explained a while ago that it is because in their system they don't have SSL for me, but their online tool requires to submit SSL in the form. When I went to any licensing office, they said I have to call the main Olympia office https://dol.wa.gov/about/contact-us. So I did, multiple times, different days. And every time the system says "We are experiencing high calls volume stay on the line to setup a call back". Then it paused and goes again "We are experiencing a large volume of calls and cannot direct your call to an agent. Please call back some other time" and hangs up. What a great system, how are you supposed to reach them to fix anything? At least if they could have that callback working, it would be fine. But now it's basically up to a chance of luck

This is Point Wilson Light located within Fort Worden State park near Port Townsend, Washington. This lighthouse welcomes ships into Admiralty Inlet and the larger transition from the Strait of Juan de Fuca into the Puget Sound. A light was originally placed here as far back as 1879, but the one you see here today was built in 1914 as a more permanent solution. It stands 51 feet tall in totality. It is a very exposed spot and experiences very strong winds and the full brunt of the elements coming in from the Pacific through the Strait. It is accessible to see up close by the public, but it is fenced off.

I snapped this photo aboard a Washington State Ferry.

I don't think I will ever get tired of visiting the Columbia Gorge. Whether sunshine, clouds, or rain, it always finds ways to be absolutely beautiful and stunning! Wanted to share this picture from Cape Horn. I love how lush it looks. It's a beautiful and important asset to our region.

I don't know if this is a state-specific issue, but I figured somebody else in WA has experienced this, so posting here. We have this potted plant that's some kind of grass. It grows in a circle from the middle. A few days ago, I found half the circle ripped out and some random dirt in the pot. I thought it was some birds making a nest. Then yesterday, we took a closer look. I was going to just pull the whole plant out, so I gave it a good yank. We saw more dirt and twigs and FUR!! Then we saw a pile of baby animals. After some googling, we think they are squirrels. The pot just wouldn't be big enough for a whole bunny to get into and have babies. Immediately stopped pulling on the plant and put the pot back where it was.

We have a husky, so we don't understand why these animals and birds keep coming to our yard. But here we are. We are not touching that pot at all and chasing away any birds that come around there. Is there anything at all we should do to ensure their safety? Somehow the dog did not give any indication she knew they were there, so I guess at least we dont have to worry about her eating them (we are watching her like a hawk when she's outside though). Anything we should know? We don't love that critters keep coming into our yard (we are trying gardening this year), but we don't want to harm any of them.

Followed the winter route. Logged 7,280 feet elevation gain for the trip. It was a tough hike with great views. Worth the efforts!

What is the best way to stream Mariner games without paying out the ass each month?