Wednesday is the last day to register for the second Paddle Kitsap, a two-day paddle trip around the north end of the Kitsap Peninsula.



Whether its a kayak, canoe, rowing, or other human powered craft , participants can enjoy the natural beauty, challenge of the course and making new paddling friends.



Paddlers will leave from Port Gamble and paddle around the north end of the peninsula to Kingston on the first day. Day two continues on to Poulsbo.



Paddle Kitsap is for all levels of paddlers. You do not have

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Families headed to North Cascades National Park Complex can let their children take part in a renewed Junior Ranger program.

The park complex has relaunched the free program with four new age-appropriate activity booklets.

The Junior Ranger program goals are for children to have fun in the park and to foster a lasting relationship with the North Cascades, said park superintendent Chip Jenkins.

"The free Junior Ranger program is a great way for families to explore the park together," Jenkins said in a news release.

The Junior Ranger booklets introduce the unique natural and cultural history

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Stevens Canyon Road should reopen by 5 p.m. Thursday.

Acting superintendent Randy King said final inspection of the repairs done to the flood damage stretch at milepost 14.1 is scheduled for earlier today. If all goes well, the road across the southern portio of the park will reopen that evening.

This road, east of Backbone Ridge Viewpoint, was damaged during a January storm and has been closed to through traffic all season.

South Sound reisdents wanting to access the southeast corner of the park have been forced to use Highway 7 and U.S. 12 or Skate Creek

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More than 40 volunteers spread across Mount Rainier National Park today to talk with park visitors about the trouble caused by people feeding animals.

I joined the group and just got home from the park.

The park is making a real effort to communicate to park visitors the problems created when animals become habituated to humans and conditioned to learn that people mean food.

Alyssa Herr, who led the program for the park, cited a 2006 study of observed animal behavior. Of the animals observed, 54 percent relied on food foraged left behind or taken from humans

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Staff at Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest have posted photos from the Mineral Park fire. Thunderstorms and lightning have started multiple small fires in the Glacier Peak Wilderness, about 40 miles east of Granite Falls.

Click here to see the photos.

Two lightning-caused fires are burning in the upper Duckabush and

Dosewallips River valleys, in the eastern section of Olympic National Park.

One fire is 10 acres while the second is one acre. Both are located deep within the park and in wilderness areas.

Here is the rest of the park news release:

"These fires were ignited by early-season thunderstorms and are a natural part of the Olympic ecosystem," said Olympic National Park Superintendent Karen Gustin. "Considering their size, extremely steep surroundings and location well within park and wilderness boundaries, we are managing these fires for resource

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Recreatioanl sturgeon fishing in the Columbia River estuary will run another three days, starting Friday. Fishery managers from Washington and Oregon announced late Thursday the joint decision after assessing catch data through July 19.

Here is the rest of the news release:

By their action, the two states will allow anglers to catch and retain legal-size white sturgeon Friday through Sunday (July 24-26) between the mouth of the Columbia and the Wauna powerlines near Cathlamet.

Those additional fishing days are designed to give anglers an opportunity to catch up to 2,400 sturgeon still available for

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Jeff and I teamed up to write a story about our favorite food stops after a day in the outdoors.

No fine dining here. Just fine burgers, fries, shakes and cherry pie a la mode (Twede’s famous pie pictured to the right).

Check it out and see if your favorite was included. If not let us know about your favorite. We’d love to check it out.

(Picture by Drew Perine)