Recreation

Winter 2009

Olive the Little Woolly Bugger :: Olive and the Big Stream :: Olive Goes for a Wild Ride

olivebugger-cover

Kirk Werner ’85

Johnson Books, 2007, 2009

Flyfishing— a sport and an art practiced for centuries—fascinates me with its smooth casts and rhythm, but I had never connected flyfishing with kids. At least not until Olive the Woolly Bugger, a cartoon “streamer” fly starring in a series of three books that introduce flyfishing to children.

Playing off goofy fly names—like zonker, yellow sally, and gold-ribbed hare’s ear—author and angler Kirk Werner (’85 Comm.) creates a … » More …

Fall 2004

Recycled shoes furnish Kid's Cave

FieldTurf now provides soft landings for more than 160 pre-school children playing in the “Kid’s Cave” at Washington State University. In April the 16- by-21-yard carpet was installed in the alcove beneath the WSU Children’s Center, formerly Rogers-Orton Dining Hall. The same rubberized synthetic material covers WSU’s football and baseball fields.

Judi Dunn headed the successful effort to collect 5,500 pairs of running shoes to qualify for a $20,000 grant from Nike and the National Recycling Coalition.

“I think I personally touched each shoe,” says Dunn, who is WSU’s recycling education coordinator. Rubber from the discarded shoes is chewed up and used in the FieldTurf … » More …

Spring 2005

Meeting the Challenge

I stand atop the steel pole and take a few deep breaths. There is nothing to hold onto, and balance is key.

Then I jump.

The ropes catch me before I can even recover my breath.

I’ve done it. I’ve completed the Cougar Perch, the hardest part of the Challenge Course at Washington State University.

I agreed to navigate the Challenge Course and convinced my roommate, Bryn, to come along. But when we showed up and saw the huge structure behind the Student Recreation Center, I almost changed my mind. After staring at the ropes and tall metal poles for a few minutes, we forced … » More …

Summer 2004

Hike Lewis and Clark's Idaho

Anyone interested in exploring firsthand the mountains and forests Lewis and Clark traversed in 1805-06 in western Montana and the Idaho panhandle will find this guidebook indispensable. Hike Lewis and Clark’s Idaho is a collaboration between writer Mary Aegerter, a frequent contributor to Washington State Magazine, and Steve Russell, a native of the region who has researched its historic trails.

The heart of the book is a set of detailed reviews of 44 trails between Lolo Ranger Station in Montana and Weippe, Idaho, accessible from either U.S. Highway 12, the Lolo Motorway—a primitive road that parallels the highway—or the Selway River. Aegerter rounds out the … » More …