In 1993, I was a 29-year-old Ohioan who, while attending a writers’ conference in Portland, Ore., met a young lady. Julie was a Washington State native and, much to my delight, loved the outdoors. Hunting, fishing, camping, gardening, retrievers, firearms—it was a match made in heaven.
The conference quickly become priority No. 2, replaced by exploring the Pacific Northwest with my impromptu guide. During that week, I was introduced to the Columbia River, the Cascades and Mount St. Helens, to name just three adventures. But it was the coast, and Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula, that captivated me the most. Never had I seen a place so full of outdoor opportunity.
Today, some 30 years later, my then-guide is now my wife, and has been since 1999. There’s been quite a bit of water under the proverbial bridges since those early days, but what hasn’t changed is
