Northwest Coast Magazine

Mercy on Nestucca Spit

By Matt Love A November storm raged and I wanted to see 30-foot waves whipped up on the distant ocean meet their end at the landfall of Nestucca Spit. I wanted them to die at my feet and I didn't want to share their death with anyone else. Wind and ...

Salal (Gaultheria shallon)

Story and Artwork by Brian F. Harrison On everyone's list of Top Ten Plants That Define the Pacific Northwest, you'll probably find Sitka spruce, red alder, hemlock, Douglas fir and western red cedar. But look between and beneath those fine trees and you'll likely encounter another Top Ten contender: the ...

Who is Charlie Choker?

In Aberdeen, Grays Harbor College is home to the Chokers, one of the most appropriate yet misinterpreted names in the annals of collegiate history. The Chokers are not stranglers with a homicidal bent or athletes foreordained to implode at crunch time. Instead, the Chokers and their burly mascot, Charlie Choker, ...

Sneak Peek: Northwest Coast, Winter 2008

Dear Readers: The Winter 2008 issue of Northwest Coast is due out on newsstands December 4th. Here are some of the featured stories that you can expect... The Espy name is well-known around the Long Beach Peninsula, most famously Willard R. Espy, the noted philologist and wordsmith and author of "Oysterville: Roads ...

Carl Wirkkala

Making Music On His Own Terms By Jim LeMonds Carl Wirkkala would love to make a splash on the country music scene. But if it happens, it will be on his terms. The 33-year-old Castle Rock resident has written nearly 200 songs-a handful of which are currently being considered by publishers and producers-and ...

On The Cover

George Vetter's first exposure to the camera was his mother's Brownie, which was used on special occasions to document their growing family in the 50's and 60's. After college, George joined the Peace Corps and the thought of spending two years in Honduras, Central America, was more than enough motivation ...

Sneak Peek: Northwest Coast Fall 2008

The Fall 2008 issue of Northwest Coast is only a few weeks away. Here are some of the featured stories that you can expect... Suppose you found a seal writhing in pain on an isolated strip of Pacific coastline. Is it your obligation to put it down? Or would you let ...

Eating Local: The Farm to Table Movement

by Suzanne Martinson Here a locavore, there a locavore, everywhere a locavore. A locavore - the word of the year in the New Oxford American Dictionary - is someone who seeks locally produced food. Their numbers here are sprouting. Farmers markets in the region have been growing in size and numbers the past several ...

Smoked Salmon Essentials

Some Useful Tips On Cold Smoking Smoked salmon is a regional delicacy enjoyed by almost everyone. The taste is mesmerizing and the ingredients basic, but to many, the techniques for making it seem veiled in smoky secrecy. It's true that many of those who have mastered the time-earned craft are ...

Anchored In Astoria

By Donna Quinn In an age where generic big box chain culture and soulless cookie-cutter developments are rapidly changing cities and transforming landscapes, special communities with a unique and powerful sense of place offer a deep connection with the authentic. Psychologists posit that when we are detached from the place ...