Three years ago, when I wrote about cycling from the Crannell Road exit of U.S. Highway 101 to the end of the Humboldt Bay Trail (“Cycling Along the Water,” March 10, 2022), I was not optimistic about being able to ride past the “End of Trail” sign in the foreseeable future. It wasn’t because I […]
Life + Outdoors
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Milky Way Over Benbow Inn
The historic Benbow Inn keeps quiet watch along the South Fork Eel River, a century-old host lit in gold while the stars swing silently across the sky each night. In summer, the Milky Way takes its turn, marking time as it sweeps by like a clock hand through the night. I traveled down there the […]
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Birds of the Sea(sick)
A few weeks ago, I learned two very import things. First, the vast Pacific Ocean is home to numerous unusual and wonderful bird species. Second, they belong out there. I almost certainly do not. But when you’re on a quest to see at least 300 bird species in Humboldt County in a single year, at […]
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The Moons of Mars
In the first volume of his Mars trilogy Red Mars, science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson has the larger of Mars’ two moons, Phobos, destroyed after it had been weaponized. Which would be a tragedy IRL, since Phobos may well be a stepping stone to exploring the Red Planet. It could also give us information […]
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Bittersweet Championships and Players of the Year
It was an amazing run to end the summer for the Crabs. The Crabs hosted game one of the Pacific Empire League Championship Series, and the crowd of 1,400 fans was electric. “In all my years here, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this park like that. It was amazing,” said Crabs coach and three-time […]
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Usual Suspects Lead Crabs to Championship Series
After an amazing stretch of winning baseball, the Crabs were clotheslined and stopped in their tracks the weekend before last. After getting swept by the first-place Packers, they entered the week tied for the final spot in the Pacific Empire League championship series with the Lincoln Potters, from whom the Crabs had taken four out […]
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Crabs’ Backs Against the Wall After a Tough Series
Last week’s big story was the San Francisco Giants drafting the Humboldt Crabs’ Elijah McNeal, the 18-year-old, 6-feet-3-inch, 180-pound infield prospect out of Dublin, California. Having graduated high school in May, McNeal joined the Humboldt Crabs for the summer. Now, McNeal has signed with the Giants organization and went from batting practice in Arcata to […]
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Dog Days of Summer
This last week was the most grueling week of the summer for our Humboldt Crabs. With the exception of a travel day on Monday, the boys have played a game every single day since the Fourth of July, including two on Saturday. This Crabs team has impressed all year, but they took things to another […]