Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

Way back at the end of July, a couple of friends and I joined a guided kayak trip to the Sucia Island Marine State Park (San Juan Islands, Washington). The tour was run by Anacortes Kayak Tours , which did a fantastic job. Note on the photography: many of these shots were done with my iPhone 15 Pro Max, which does a very good job, for a phone. I didn't want to take a good camera onto the salt water, so the rest are shot on a long-retired Panasonic Lumix point-and-shoot, as the one of my old cameras with the longest zoom. It was not without issues.  Since the meet-up time was 9 a.m. on Orcas Island, we drove up and took the ferry to Orcas the day before. That gave us time to poke around the island a bit and get a seafood dinner. We camped at Moran State Park (it turned out that all the members of our tour did that, though of course we didn't know each other then and were in different campgrounds). As it happened, the morning ferry was 45 minutes late, so we all hung out at the b...

I got home a couple of days ago, so I haven't had time to get all the photos edited (ha!). So this isn't a trip report--it's just a selection of a few good shots from my latest wilderness adventure, to keep you entertained for a little while until I can get my next real post out.  I was backpacking in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness in Montana with a couple of friends. Our route included some trails that barely qualify for the name, and some totally off-trail hiking, so we didn't do high mileage. We did do high altitude and high reward hiking! I started the trip with a couple of solo dayhikes (and you can bet I had my bear spray handy; though this area doesn't have a lot of grizzlies, it is just north of Yellowstone, which is griz central for the Rockies!   This was my first real hint of the kind of country I'd be seeing, though where we backpacked was a little less jagged, for the most part. You know I love a good rock. Talk about deformation!   The drive ove...

Just before my book launches, I'm doing what any sane, marketing-savvy author would do... I've gone hiking. Enjoy a few random photos, and some more images of the completed paperback cover :)  Three more photos of Zebra Slot , because I like them.  And a coyote. We are just 2 weeks out from launch for  Edited Out ! It even looks like the paperback (maybe even the LT?) will be ready by then as well! \   ©Rebecca M. Douglass, 2025    As always, please ask permission to use any photos or text. Link-backs appreciated. 
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A few weeks ago, while weather in Seattle was waxing hot and hotter, I nabbed my backpacking pal Zeke and headed to the WA coast to hike the Ozette Triangle, with extras. It's peak season for backpacking, but by going midweek we were able to nab a permit for a nearly empty camping area at the mouth of the Ozette River (adding about 5 miles to make a two-day trip of just under 14 miles. I started early from my home in Seattle, choosing to drive around via Tacoma rather than take the ferry across the Sound (total time isn't much different, and the gaps between ferries were inconvenient).  Zeke brought Second Breakfast (some tasty home-made "egg mcmuffins" with bacon, a total treat for me), and we were ready to hike by half past 11.  Crossing the Ozette River where it leaves Ozette Lake. The river meanders a lot to cover less than 2 linear miles and drop about 150' to the ocean. Our trail cut a (comparatively) straight line through the forest instead, though I think ...