Portland Camping - Four picks for pitching a tent near Portland, rated for beauty, quiet, cleanliness and more.

Saddle Mountain - Powerful in the way only old, worn down mountains can be . . . hiking, biking, wildlife watching and—for those who really want to float free— hang-gliding.

Family Weekender: Seattle - Six delicious destinations for light hiking, fishing, paddling, biking and backpacking in the Seattle area.

Camping
Renting Fire Lookouts in the Pacific Northwest - From luxurious to down-right rough, renting a (private!) fire lookout in Oregon and Washington.

Caving
Ape Caves of Mount St. Helens - Mystery joggers, giant meatballs, but no sasquatches in these chilly lava tubes in the shadow of Mt. St. Helens.

Fiction
The Woman Who Turned to Soap - A deep rural lake, haunted by spirits of the drowned, sends one back.