Two history-making former University of Puget Sound rowers will soon set out on their newest adventure.

Two years after becoming the first Americans to row across the North Atlantic, Jordan Hanssen and Greg Spooner plan to row around the Olympic Peninsula.

The men will leave from Gig Harbor on Aug. 4 and row counterclockwise around the peninsula. The Adventure is expected to last two-three weeks.

There route will take them through Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca to the Pacific Ocean. They then plan to return to the sound via Grays Harbor and inland rivers.

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The lead story in this week’s section is based on a recent trip I took to the Deception Pass area. I knew the state park there was the most visited of our state parks, but I wanted to know what else there was to do in the area. The answer is plenty. We went on a wildlife watching tour, hiked, played on beaches, watched boats cruise the North Sound and based in the sunshine.

We also preview Saturday’s TrailsFest 2008. This is the annual event put on by the Washington Trails Association. Individuals and families will find plenty of

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Families who haven’t tried camping before, or want a little help getting started, should plan on attending a family campout July 26-27 at Kopachuck State Park.

Metro Parks Tacoma and REI are teaming together to help families who are less experienced with camping, said Tony Trautmann of Metro Parks.

The event will include several interpretive programs like a guided walk, a variety of outdoor activities and games. It also is an opportunity for families to learn about equipment and basic camping skills, said Trautmann. Staff members from both organizations will be on hand to answer questions and offer

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Here is an interesting item from The Associated Press:

The U.S. House has passed a bill that would continue fish stocking in North Cascades National Park if the National Park Service determines it won’t hurt lake ecosystems.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., passed Monday. An amendment limits the program to 42 lakes and to fish that are sterile and native to the Cascade Range.

The park service had asked Congress to grant it legal authority to continue stocking trout in the North Cascades, a practice fishermen began in the late 1800s. Most

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A 55-year old Seattle area woman is getting treated for rabies after being scratched by a bat in the Ozette campground late last week. Three Olympic National Park employees who responded to the incident are

also receiving treatment.

According to a park news release, the bat approached the visitor unnoticed while she was in her campsite around dusk. When she found the animal, she knocked it to the ground, receiving a scratch in the process.

The bat was stunned and remained on the ground in her campsite until the next morning when she reported the incident to

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What a difference a day and two gallons of fluid make.

After a day of cramping I decided not to head back to Centralia, but rather ride the final 56 miles from Kelso to Portland with the rest of my team.

Don’t worry, I intend to cut off a quarter of my finishers patch because I only rode about 150 of the 200 miles. I also rode the final 50 miles with a mark of disgrace. My wife took a highlighter to my bib number, 9150. She crossed out the 9 and circled and highlighted the 150

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Read tomorrow’s News Tribune for a story about some of the people I met along the route this weekend. Until then here are some interesting folks I met but couldn’t squeeze into the article:

- The four-person Braden family of Port Townsend did the entire ride on one bike. Dawn Braden and her 11-year-old daughter pedaled the first 150-miles on a tandem bike on Saturday. Sunday her husband, Peter, and 8-year-old son Tate finished the ride.

Tate hates wearing sunscreen – a must in 90 degree heat – so he compromised by wearing long sleeves and knee-high yellow

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As I laid on my back looking up at the blue and white roof of the massage tent in Centralia a few hours ago, I thought I would reach my goal of pedaling the first 150 miles of the Seattle to Portland Bicycle Classic on Saturday.

Centralia is the halfway mark of the 204-mile ride, but in the 92-degree heat I was one of many of the 9,500 who was battling cramps.

I drank about 140 ounces of liquid between Spanaway and Centralia, but it wasn’t enough.

My masseuse, Pilar Galup, was telling me about how the

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