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Jan 16, 2025 | 
outthereoutdoors.com | Lisa Laughlin
It’s never too late no matter how old you are and there’s no better time than now to learn to ski or snowboard. Two of our writers went out on their own paths this season in pursuit of doing just that, and, in the process, gained insight and experience into the cult of snow-sliding fanatics. Working for this magazine, I’d long been inundated with notions of “the stoke.” I’d googled ski terms and jargon, sometimes without answer. I’d even found myself amongst skiers watching Warren Miller ski films.
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Nov 4, 2024 | 
outthereoutdoors.com | Lisa Laughlin
Cover photo courtesy of Spokane RiverkeeperGet ready for a night of river stories and socializing in this event benefitting our local nonprofit the Spokane Riverkeeper (SRK). At this annual fundraiser, river stories will be shared by local artists in addition to a cocktail and appetizer hour, silent auction, and year in review by the Spokane Riverkeeper. Guest speakers include Marc Fryt, Greg Gordon, Heidi Lasher, and Mery Smith.
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Jul 14, 2024 | 
outthereoutdoors.com | Lisa Laughlin
Cover photo courtesy of Brian HeerThe first time I saw a grouse in the backcountry, I thought it was a chicken. It’s just one of many backpacking stories that have solidified in our family’s repertoire of stories from the mountains.
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Jul 12, 2024 | 
outthereoutdoors.com | Lisa Laughlin
Why the Spokane River’s fate runs through us allCover photo courtesy Cutboard StudiosThe Spokane River tumbles powerfully through the heart of the Spokane metro. It’s a small section of the river, which threads 111 miles from Lake Coeur d’Alene to Lake Roosevelt, but the location is a metaphor for how we should view the river: central to the health of our region, people, wildlife and culture.
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Jul 3, 2024 | 
outthereoutdoors.com | Lisa Laughlin
Cover photo courtesy of Nick ThomasDrumheller Springs is a 12-acre park with historic tribal significance near Ash Street, just north of downtown Spokane. While the park has undergone recent restorative efforts from the Upper Columbia United Tribes, it now faces a dense, adjacent development project. Directly across the street (50 feet) from the park there is a slated proposal (Ash-Place Townhomes) to bring 21 townhomes to only 1.3 acres of land.
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Jun 11, 2024 | 
outthereoutdoors.com | Lisa Laughlin
Have you ever hiked away from a city and noticed the glow that remains in the sky above it? Or how it’s harder to make out the stars when your porch light is on? Light pollution is excessive artificial light in the outdoors, and it carries environmental and health impacts in addition to obscuring the natural night sky. As animals, our human bodies are attuned to the amount of light we detect throughout the day (and night), and our bodies respond to it.
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May 14, 2024 | 
outthereoutdoors.com | Lisa Laughlin
When my brother and I finally carved out a weekend last summer to meet at an alpine lake in the Cascades, stargazing became a goal for our hike. Imagine what the night sky will look like up there, we mused, the wilderness area being far from the lights of even the nearest town, Twisp. We expected bright scatterings of stars. We expected the Milky Way. We anticipated awe.
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Apr 20, 2024 | 
outthereoutdoors.com | Lisa Laughlin
(Memoir/Nature, 2020)When I’m best engaged in nature, I’m being curious. I look at things closely: How light sifts through trees. The water line of the river. The way a bee excavates a tulip. Nezhukumatathil’s memoir, “World of Wonders: in Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments,” inspires me to continue doing just that—noticing the small wonders of our natural world and pondering what they may offer to ground or enlighten us.
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Apr 4, 2024 | 
outthereoutdoors.com | Lisa Laughlin
Cover photo courtesy of Lisa LaughlinMy husband was the one who brought this post-run fuel into our home, and I’ll admit at first sip I wrinkled my nose. It tasted like salty chocolate milk. I later realized this was because I hadn’t just sweat. Because, do you know what sounds fantastic after a hard run that isn’t going to sound good to someone just standing there in the kitchen? Salty chocolate milk. You other runners know what I mean.
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Mar 30, 2024 | 
outthereoutdoors.com | Lisa Laughlin
Cover photo courtesy of Lisa LaughlinI didn’t recreate as a kid, per se, but I did spend a lot of time outside looking at things. I was in central Washington, where the sky took precedence in the swallowing, expansive way it does in a high desert. As I wandered, I learned weather signs. Tiger-striped clouds meant wind. Tall clouds held the energy of rain. There are scientific names for those clouds, but I learned their form through observation. It settled deeper in my bones than Latin.
