Has it really been almost 2 months?

Snoqualmie Pass, WA (taken through the window of a charter bus...). Copyright (c) 2013 Wendee Nicole

Wow. I guess I'm slacking on the blog posts. I have been writing like a madwoman, with a tiny bit of travel thrown in. Here are links to my latest articles...

• Game On! Businesses have used behavioral science to influence consumers for decades. Can it be used to save the planet? Ensia Magazine (formerly Momentum) Spring 2013. [This one came out of attending the SXSW-Eco Conference in Austin last year! It is about the emerging trend of "gamification" and how it's being used to help spur conservation action.]
• Think for Yourself: Critical thinking skills are more important than ever in today's information environment. Ensia magazine online. Mar 7, 2013. [This idea arose from the Science Denial conference I attended at University of Wisconsin-Madison last March, which also led to the article in Environmental Health Perspectives, Flavors of Uncertainty: The Difference Between Denial and Debate?]
• An Obesogen Over Time: Transgenerational Impact of Tributyltin. Environmental Health Perspectives, March 2013. [This is a "Science Selection" piece, or summary of a peer-reviewed article in EHP. The research relates to the feature I did on Obesogens for EHP for their Feb 2012 issue.]
• Road Traffic Noise and Diabetes: Long-Term Exposure May Increase Disease Risk. Environmental Health Perspectives, Feb 2013. [Another "Science Selection" piece]

I traveled to the Pacific Northwest a couple weeks ago to attend the Wild Mountain Memoir Retreat held at the gorgeous Sleeping Lady Mountain Resort in the Cascades (WA State), with Cheryl Strayed as the keynote. It was 3 days, and I met some amazing women (only a handful of men attended) and had a breakthrough about my book structure, which was worth the cost of the retreat! Theo Nestor is a great teacher! I'll try to post some photos soon but just want to give a quick update.

I'll be traveling to Costa Rica soon, and soon after that to receive my..... drum roll please... Award from the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) for best magazine article in the science/technology/business category! I was and am over the moon! It was for the article, Did Tap Water Kill Lou Gehrig? for Miller-McCune magazine (now Pacific Standard), a piece that I really am proud of. That's enough for now... hope to update again before another 2 months pass!

a few of my favorites

Sunrise on North Padre Island
Copyright (c) 2006 Wendee Holtcamp

Just a super quick update. I am so close to being done with a full draft of my book. So close that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel but it's still not done which frustrates me because I was only one half-chapter away when I got back from Montana and I have not had time to just do that single half chapter!! I understand why, just basically getting caught up at home, spending time with my beautiful awesome kiddos when I can, some time with Doug, and then writing several Animal Planet blog posts so I can have a week to focus - this week. And here it is, Tuesday!

I wanted to link to some of my favorite Animal Planet Animals in the News blog posts in case you haven't had a chance to read them.

Massive oil spill off Australian coast puts marine life at risk - The news in yesterday's post horrifies me because some 400-2,000 barrels of oil per day are spilling into the Timor Sea off Western Australia and it's been going on since August 21st. Yet it's barely made the news. WWF-Australia made an expedition there to survey the damage to wildlife.

Hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" may kill animals- I like this post because it reports on something that, once again, has only started getting the public attention it deserves. It's a frightening story that we all should be aware of! My friend Sharon Wilson who writes the Blue Daze blog has been a longtime advocate of drilling reform in the Barnett Shale of Texas.

Open Season on Gray Wolves - I like this one because it's based on my recent visit to Yellowstone National Park and seeing the wolves in the wild, then I give an update on the first wolf hunting season in recent history.

Costa Rica’s “Leatherback National Park” threatened - Discovery Channel sent me to Las Baulas National Park in 1999 for a totally amazing expedition Love & Death on Turtle Beach! Now the national park may get downgraded by Costa Rica's own government.

Meatless Mondays - I have enjoyed writing about food/meat issues on the blog, which is something "animal" related that I never originally intended to write about. But as I come across story ideas, more and more I realize that food issues affect us all, and actually a lot more than many other wildlife or animal stories. I am trying to do "meatless monday" which means no meat on Mondays, and it's embraced by the likes of Paul McCartney and many others. The goal is to help curb global warming because meat production is one of the leading contributors to greenhouse gases. This post gives the facts about meat consumption as gathered from various sources, and the low-down on meatless Mondays.

Good year for endangered coho salmon - Again part of this was based on my visit to the Pacific Northwest and I really like writing about the places I visit, and learning more about the salmon hatcheries and the endangered species of salmon that live there. I like to choose sustainably harvested seafood and this blog has helped me learn a lot in that regard. According to most seafood watch reports, Alaska salmon is mostly ok, farmed salmon is bad to eat, and it depends on which precise river drainage in the Pacific NW you get your fish from on whether it's sustainable or not...

That's all for now! :) Visit and leave some comments, if you get a chance!

Last memories of the Pacific NW

Today was my daughter's first day of HIGH SCHOOL!! Holy moly mackeroli, how does the time go so fast? Only four more years of my baby girl at home. :( I'm so incredibly proud of that amazing girl, though, she is such a brilliantly smart, kind-hearted, genuine, funny and super-creative talented young woman, and proudly a Christian too! And she had a good day, despite being initially nervous, and for that I'm very grateful. (I took the photo above of my girl at a local place called Old McDonald's Farm back in 1997 or so... she's so adorable! Copyright (c) 1997 Wendee Holtcamp)

Before too much time passes, I want to upload the photos from the last day of my trip to Oregon and Washington. I flew into (and out of) the Seattle airport because I found a ticket using frequent flier miles there rather than Portland so just rented a car and drove down to Oregon and all around. Since my cousin lives in Tacoma (just south of Seattle) I stayed with her on my arrival and departure. She has a beautiful home overlooking Puget Sound and I always enjoy visiting her and her adorable kiddos! I stayed there in December when I visited and it snowed and snowed and snowed, too!

After leaving Portland, I met up for a power unch with my friend Francis Zera, who is an incredibly talented photographer. We collaborated on this story, Candid Camera, for E/The Environmental Magazine and another on paddling Texas rivers for Canoe & Kayak.
We ate outside on a perfectly gorgeous afternoon at The Ram Restaurant & Brewery, which overlooks Puget Sound. We saw some people out there parasailing, which was very cool. One thing that isn't visible in this small version of the image is Mount Rainier just to the left of the tall building in the distance. If you click and get the larger version you can make it out. Or... you can look below.
Aha! Here it is, Mount Rainer, cropped out of the previous image, in a bigger size. Amazing isn't it? Especially amazing how it's so cryptic when the photo above is small but visible when larger.

After lunch with Francis, I went back to Holly's and we talked and hung out with her kids, and in the evening had a lovely dinner of stuffed salmon out on the deck. This is a view of sunset over the Sound, with a cross in the upper left corner and silhouetting our wine glasses. A perfect end to a perfect working vacation! (Just about all vacations are work for a writer, since I get story projects and network! And that's the way I like it!)

lingering memories

Coastal temperate rainforest in Oregon's Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach.
Copyright (c) 2009 Wendee Holtcamp

I can still feel the cool moist air of Mount Hood's temperate rainforest on my face and skin. I can still smell the fresh scent of the forest. Terri told me to capture that feeling in my mind and go back there when I needed a respite from the world. The air is indescribable. It was so, so, fresh. That's the best word I can think of! It reminds me very much of the forest around my dad's cabin as a child though much of his land has changed since the early days there, back in the 1970s. But I have very fond memories of a very lush forest full of ferns, giant trees, rotting logs, mushrooms, streams, Oregon grape, and much more.

At any rate, I'm back home in suburban Houston now, trying frantically to get caught up and balance all the many tasks I have with the kids starting back to school, doc appointments, grocery shopping, email catch-up, and spending time with the kids and the like. I had a truly spectacular trip, and loved every single minute of it!! I can't say enough about the joy I experienced every day, to just be there, whether hanging out with my dad and Bev, going solo to the beach, working on blogs and my book chapter at the Fresh Pot coffee shop, hiking, Thai food and Ben & Jerry's ice cream with Terri, hiking at Wildwood, visiting old friends and making new ones, and the laughter and comaraderie shared by the kindred spirits I spent time with there.

I still have a few more photos of my trip to upload and hope to do that tomorrow. I'm trying to get some blog posts written and then have a feature to write on bats. I love wildlife!

On an unrelated note, here's a link to my latest story in Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine - Larger than Life: The inimitable Edward 'Ned' Fritz changed the face of Texas conservation.

friends new and old

Here I am at my cousin's house in Tacoma, about to hit the sack, because I fly out at 6am tomorrow but have to get up at 345am - ack! Yesterday was a very busy and fun day! I'll leave you with some pics rather than write about it! G'nite and I'll see ya on the flip side!

Self-portrait of me, Terri, & Eliza before our hike in the Wildwood Recreation Area on Mount Hood.
Eliza & Terri on a wooden bench with salmon carved on it. Salmon spawn on the Salmon River which runs through the Wildwood Rec Area. It was such an amazingly stupendously gorgeous place, the AIR was sooo fresh and everything was so green and lush. It was heaven on earth! And the company was awesome! I love these gals!
The Salmon River.
Terri and Eliza chatting by the river with a model of Mount Hood in the background.

Terri & Eliza hugging a huge tree!
The Salmon River.

Me and Annie Rose - a friend I went to visit the day before yesterday. I stayed with Annie Rose back in December when I got snowed into Portland!
After our hike, we met up with several journalists and writers from the Pacific NW at Hopeworks eco brewpub. It's Portland's only microbrewery run on 100% alternative energy. They use organic and locally grown food, and try to make the operations as sustainable as possible. This is a shot of the bar, which is decorated with old bike parts.
We sat upstairs at Hopworks at first and then migrated outside because it was a stunningly gorgeous day! This is, from left clockwise - Annie Rose, Jimmy (my high school boyfriend),
me, Valerie Brown, Dawn Stover, Orna Izakson, Lizzie Grossman (half hidden), Susan Hess, Terri Hansen and Eliza Murphy.
Annie Rose and Eliza chatting outside Hopworks. Telling roadkill stories! A shot of the beer cooler - all of their beers are organic!

Juergen and Susan Hess!

Elisa, Orna, Terri and I toward the end of our Hopworks get together.

But the night didn't end there! Me and Jimmy went back to Eliza's place and had some champagne! We walked around the neighborhood at dusk and chatted up a storm.

Eliza shows us her awesome sculpture and artwork. This is a piece on her wall.

This is a piece made of two roadkilled frogs. I like this photo!

Eliza reads a chapter of her book to us.

A shot of her sculpture, The Mermaid, made from garbage collected at the seashore. Notice also "the bird" in the foreground - another small scuplture that I think is really cool!

Jimmy and Eliza recreating the classic pitchfork farmer scene...she uses the fork to get roadkill! :)

This pic is actually from the other day at lunch at the Laughing Planet (Jimmy & I)- notice the T Rex toy dino in the forefround! I just like the pic and didn't put it up the other day :)

I love the Pacific NW!

The road to my dad's cabin, which I called Rocky Road ice cream as a kid!

Ken, secret agent man. I met my friend Ken for lunch at the awesome restuarant, The Laughing Planet.

Eucharist on Wednesday at the St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Longview, WA. Such nice, intimate gathering compared to the giant worship service at my home church!

A sign at my dad's church.


We had a potluck dinner and most of the meals were made from veggies from people's gardens. Yum!
My high school boyfriend Jimmy and I hanging over the porch edge at his house in Portland.

Jimmy and I - friends always!

I'll put up pics from my day today at Cannon Beach later, have to head back to my dad's rehearsal now!

agghhhhhh

My dad's log cabin in Oregon where I spent part of my younger years...
Copyright (c) 2008 Wendee Holtcamp

Wow this sumer has absolutely flown by. I think I am in the middle of a whirlwind. I want to update my blog more, but only feel like I am being responsible in doing so when I'm on top of my work, which feels dreadfully behind. So, here I am just to give a quick update. This is Shark Week so all my Animal Planet blog posts were on sharks (between 8/7 and 8/3), which was fun! I love sharks! Check them out if you can! As always I love comments, so post some comments - let me know if anything resonates!

Next Tuesday I fly to the Pacific Northwest and am more than a little excited! My dad is getting married to his soul mate, Bev, and I'm delighted for them! And I'm more than excited to be back in the Oregon air, and go hiking, and hopefully see the seashore. I'll try to update from there, but my basic plan is to fly into Seattle, Washington where I'll stay with my cousin in Tacoma and her two cute kiddos (her husband Ross in in Iraq for his second tour of duty, so prayers for him are much appreciated!). Then I'll spend the next few days alternating between working in Portland at a wifi coffee shop hotspot, visiting some friends, and spending evenings with my dad and Bev. I am hoping to get to the beach!!! Oregon's coast is incredibly beautiful, and it's been a long while since I've feasted my eyes on its shores so even if I have to go alone I probably will go. My dad gets married Saturday. As you may recall my last trip there in December I got snowed in!!

While there, I have helped organize a get together for writers in the Pacific NW, some of whom are driving in from out of town! This should be a blast. We're going to Wildwood Recreation Site on Mount Hood which looks amazingly beautiful. Here's a brochure that may take abit to download. Then after a half day hike, heading to Hopworks Urban Brewery, Portland's first eco-brewpub with organic hand crafted beer, and a sustainable building powered by 100% renewable energy. Coolio!

Then it's back to Tacoma to visit my cousin again before flying home. It should be a much needed respite from the drab suburban scenery of Houston... I would say the heat but it had been a scalding 108 in Portland! I heard it had cooled down to a high of 80 so let's hope and pray it stays that way! I hope to get a bit of work done in between my visits and explorations, too.

I took a bunch of pics from my birthday party in July and my trip to Dallas to visit my mom, stepdad and niece. I'll upload as soon as I get some time. I have to do "personal" things like this in micro-steps because I have soooo much work to do!! I'm sure I'm not the only one to have felt that way before. :)