I spent last weekend in eastern Washington deer hunting. On a very sunny and warm Sunday, I came acoss this butterfly.

I wasn’t sure if it was following me, or I was following it.

But when it landed on the trunk of a Ponderosa pine tree, I took a few photos.

Jeffrey P. Mayor

A Red Admiral suns itself on the rough bark of a Ponderosa pine tree.

In looking at a couple of guides, I think it is Red Admiral butterfly. If anyone thinks otherwise, I’m open to

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Crab fishing in waters north of Tacoma and in Hood Canal will reopen on Nov. 1.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife announced this afternoon that four areas of Puget Sound will reopen to recreational crab fishing, based on summer catch assessments.



Starting Nov. 1 at sunrise, marine areas 6 (eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca), 9 (Admiralty Inlet), 10 (Seattle/Bremerton) and 12 (Hood Canal) will reopen for sport crabbing seven days a week through Jan. 2.



Crab fishing remains open seven days a week through Jan. 2 in marine areas

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Johnston Ridge Observatory, the closest observatory to Mount St. Helens, will close for the winter Nov. 9 according to the National Forest Service.

The observatory will reopen in mid-May if weather permits.

The visitor center at Silver Lake, five miles east of I-5 on Highway 504 will stay open for the winter according to a statement from the forest service.

Other viewpoints and trails on the northwest side of the volcano will be open and the Department of Transportation will maintain Highway 504 as far as Coldwater Lake. However, the forest service says visitors should prepare

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The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has closed its Milepost 8 water access site on the Yakima River in Kittitas County. The site is closed through Nov. 15 for construction, said a department news release.

A department crew is working with heavy equipment at the site to improve the boat launch and add a disabled-accessible toilet, paved parking lot and nature trail.

The work is funded by a $238,000 state lands development grant from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office, the release said.

Other water-access sites in the Yakima River Canyon remain open,

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Defending Skate America champ Kimmie Meissner addresses the media Thursday afternoon.

Skate America, the first major event of the figure skating season starts Friday at 3 p.m. in Everett.

Some of the best skaters in the world will be at the Comcast Center for the three-day event. This season is especially important for the skaters because it sets the tone for next season when the big prize will be the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

I’ll be at the Comcast Center this weekend covering the event. You can read my dispatches on my 2010 Olympics blog or

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Perhaps he’s learned his lesson.

Staffers at Mount Rainier National Park believe a young black bear has gotten the message that hanging around the garbage containers at Paradise isn’t the best place to be.

Mount Rainier National Park

A small black bear leaps out of a trap at Paradise on Oct. 15 as park rangers stand by. The used rubber bullets and loud noisemakers to scare the bear away. The photo was taken by Jill Baum, Mount Rainier Student Conservation Association program director.

Ellen Myers, acting park wildlife biologist, sent

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I once asked John Kircher, owner of Crystal Mountain, to rank his ski area’s night life on a scale of 1 to 10.

“We probably rate a minus-50 nationally,” he said. “But for Washington, we’re a 10.”

Because Washington lacks a destination ski area, it’s never had a killer night life like Whistler or Sun Valley.

But if the November issue of Skiing magazine is any indication, Washington’s ski bars might finally being making a name for themselves.

Two bars were featured in an article called “34 Reasons to Drink in a Ski Town.

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Chris Biddle, a 39-year-old Puyallup resident, was injured Sunday after falling while climbing Mount Hood, Oregon’s tallest mountain.

Biddle fell 300 feet suffering bruises and scrapes on his face and was airlifted off the mountain by an Oregon Army National Guard helicopter, according to a report in the Oregonian.

Biddle told the Portland newspaper he did not suffer any broken limbs but said his face felt numb because of swelling.

Biddle lost his footing after summiting 11,249–foot Mount Hood

“I remember thinking that I might just slide a long, long ways down the

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