The winner of Best Companies to Work For in 2022 goes to a health care provider that not only cared for the community during the global pandemic, but their employees, too. Congratulations to Open Door Community Health Centers! The pandemic has caused many of us to rethink the way we earn a living, inspiring many […]
Meg Wall-Wild
Posted inLife + Outdoors
History Looped at Fort Humboldt
We walk through our world in the footsteps of those who came before, sometimes treading the same path unaware. As a teen, I visited the Ulysses S. Grant home in Galena, Illinois. As an adult I helped with an historical recreation of the dinner U.S. Army pork supplier William “Hog” Ryan threw for his friend […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Samoa Sidestep
On Samoa Road there is a mile marker that always puts a smile on my face: Hum Co 0. The zero line is across the street from a not-so-secret trail, opposite the Samoa Boat Ramp and campground. A quiet path to the beach is sandwiched between dune restoration, a U.S. Coast Guard station and trails […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
The Winter Hotel
When recovering after surgery, I was faced with a dilemma: Where to go for a gentle walk that was long enough without tempting me beyond limitations, yet interesting enough to keep hardened hikers happy, as well as amply benched for when the spirit was willing but the flesh needed to take a load off? On […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
A Walk with the Departed
Mist floats along the grass, flowing around headstones and disappearing with a swirl as it meets the afternoon sun. Instead of searching for gauzy materializations down long hallways, I stroll local cemeteries for restless spirits. First is lumber magnate William Coleman Carson (1825-1912). If any house should be haunted, it’s his magnificent Victorian, the Carson […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Trinidad Toil
Every day, locals and visitors wind up and down the trails to Trinidad State Beach. As I walked to the break in the red curb at the end of the parking lot off Stagecoach Road, I anticipated some killer views. It is Trinidad after all. What I did not expect was a close footpath that […]
Posted inPerfect Trips
Perfect Summer Trips
The rubber has hit the road. Your hand caresses the car door handle. Your anticipation is beyond scope. You look up to see the first destination you’ve picked. So many choices! Slake a well-earned thirst with a Smokey Hazy Hemp Ale at Humboldt Brews after hiking Samoa’s dunes and wetlands. Ride a Redwood Cycles eBike […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Nightwalkers
I am a child of the night, daughter of a third-shifter dad who had a penchant for 2 a.m. sky watching. The feel of night is different in unexplainable ways, more so in big cities, like where I grew up — block after block of hushed porches and weak nightlights painted to the tune of […]
Posted inLife + Outdoors
Van Duzen Venture
My spouse and I follow winding State Route 36 on a lovely July day. We, like many, have not been out in a long time and it feels good to be wandering, even with masks. We follow the bends and gentle curves that weave through Hydesville and Carlotta, the landscape changing from river bottom to […]