There is nothing like a good road trip during the summer, especially when the scenery is so lovely. This trip begins at the Oroville-Osoyoos Border Crossing into British Columbia’s Okanagan for part one of this two-part series. The second part of the trip continues onto the International Selkirk Loop through the Kootenay Rockies before crossing the border at the Porthill-Rykerts Border Crossing into Idaho and visiting the towns of Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry.

When planning a road trip, make a detailed itinerary mapping out how far you want to d...

May is the time many Gig Harbor locals mark their calendars and prepare for a day trap shooting at the Pull for a Soldier event. This year, due to COVID-19, the event is rescheduled for October 30, giving us all a little extra time to sharpen our aim. This year marks the fourth year of the event, started by the Permission to Start Dreaming Foundation with community leader and former board member Scott Sabo, owner of LaborWorks.

Sabo wanted to contribute to helping provide better outcomes and alternative measures for vets returning from service....

There are a lot of different kinds of relationships. Each one is different. There are romances that blossom into lifelong marriages. There are the relationships that we have with our children; first we care for them and then they care for us. There’s the ebb and flow of acquaintances; we wave to our local grocer and chat with our neighbors. There are the trust-filled relationships that naturally develop out of vulnerability: our therapists, dentists and doctors. We have enemies. And we have friends.

It would be impossible to say which relations...

Life continues on here in Gig Harbor as we learn ways to manage our new “normal.” Many of us find ourselves trying to work from home while also realizing our new roles as teacher, tackling the challenges of remote learning head on. We’re adjusting to living somewhat in isolation, surrounding ourselves with only those whom we live with, in order to do our part to keep ourselves, families, friends and members of our community safe.

And as busy as we all are during this challenging time, or for those looking to fill their unexpected “free” time, t...

For decades, the St. Anthony’s Hospital Auxiliary (SAHA) has provided financial support for hospital programming through volunteer hours and a variety of fundraisers. Like so many other nonprofits across the country, the COVID-19 crisis wiped out many of those scheduled fundraisers and the ability for volunteers to meet and interact as they did before. While raising funds might have temporarily slowed, the group’s commitment to service would not be, and it has embarked on a project that is perhaps one of its most widely felt over the course of...

Your online reviews matter. What is said about your brand online can determine the success of your business. It may seem a bit alarming, but most business owners don’t know where they rank versus their competition. And many do not know where to start in order to improve their digital marketing.

Did you know that 73 percent of consumers stated that they lose trust in a brand when an online listing shows incorrect information? Four out of five consumers use search engines to find local information like business addresses, hours and directions. Fi...

It was the late 1970s. Larry Steckman was a wrestler for Bonners Ferry High School, and his to-be wife, Shelly Barton, was a wrestling cheerleader at the same school. Seventy miles away, family friend Conrad Garner was wrestling for rival Lakeland High School in Rathdrum, Idaho. It was the beginning of a lifelong love of wrestling for both men—and also the seed for something bigger. Larry, Shelly and Conrad would all go on to use wrestling as a means to create positive change in communities, both locally and internationally: Garner as the wrest...

In the midst of the COVID-19 virus, our lives have been upended. From school closings and social distancing, to the more serious case of loved ones getting sick, many of the things we take for granted have become strikingly obvious.

Faced with closures of public events and in light of the pandemic, PenMet Parks was forced to reevaluate its events, including the beloved annual Spring Egg Hunt. As things play out, the board will consider whether to postpone the event or ultimately cancel it.

“To begin with, safety is really the name of the game,...

While a good portion of Gig Harbor residents enjoy playing on the water whether boating, sailing, kayaking, fishing, paddle boarding or swimming, there are many who also enjoy going all the way to the bottom for their recreation. Many assume that scuba diving is something done only while vacationing in warm water places like the Caribbean, Australia or Hawaii, but locals know that some of the most amazing waters in the world can be found right here in the South Sound.

“It’s like the whole Pacific Ocean is brought shallow. Some things that are o...

Spring is always a joyful time of year for the community, as the sun shines brighter and the days become warmer and longer. This is the time of year for many of those much-anticipated events the community has been waiting for—since last year—to once again take place.

This month would have marked the 87th Annual Daffodil Parade, ninth annual Gig Harbor Paddlers Cup, PenMet Parks Annual Spring Egg Hunt, the Washington State Spring Fair  and so much more. But due to the current situation facing the entire world, all has been put on hold, with some...