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What happens to your creativity when you're in pain or sick, and can you ever get it back? How can you find and sharpen your author voice? J. Daniel Sawyer talks about voice mastery, writing with chronic pain, and building an eclectic author business. In the intro, leaning into your Strengths and deciding what you want to achieve by the end of the year; and Bones of the Deep by J.F. Penn. Today's show is sponsored by ProWritingAid, writing and editing software that goes way beyond just grammar and typo checking. With its detailed reports on how to improve your writing and integration with writing software, ProWritingAid will help you improve your book before you send it to an editor, agent or publisher. Check it out for free or get 15% off the premium edition at www.ProWritingAid.com/joanna This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn J. Daniel Sawyer is the author of over 30 books across science fiction, fantasy, crime, short stories, and nonfiction, as well as being a podcaster and filmmaker. His latest book for authors is The Pitch-Perfect Author: Voice Mastery for Writers. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Writing fiction through chronic pain and re-emerging into health after surgery How your physical health shapes (and darkens) your fiction Rebooting an author business around a weekly Substack column What author voice really is, and why it's fundamentally about sound The building blocks of voice: functional vocabulary, dialect, and musicality The “crossing the line twice” trick for hearing your own voice objectively You can find Dan at JDsawyer.net or on Substack. Transcript of the interview with J. Daniel Sawyer Jo: J. Daniel Sawyer is the author of over 30 books across science fiction, fantasy, crime, short stories, and nonfiction, as well as being a podcaster and filmmaker. His latest book for authors is The Pitch-Perfect Author: Voice Mastery for Writers. So welcome back to the show, Dan. Dan: Hello, Joanna. It's good to be back. Jo: Goodness me, you have been on the podcast a few times, but actually, the last time was April 2017, which is crazy. It's nine years ago. When I saw your book, I was like, “I can't believe we haven't talked for that long.” For anyone who doesn't know you, tell us a bit more about— What does your creative and author business look like these days? Dan: Oh, well, these days it's in a state of recovery because it basically ground to a halt while I was dying a few years ago. It turned out I had an organ disease from the time I was a kid that I didn't know about, and it just progressively got worse and worse, putting me in more and more pain. I hit a point around about 2020 or so where I was in so much pain that I couldn't write fiction. I continued to write nonfiction, but when you're carrying around a lot of physical pain, there comes a point where so much of your brain's activity goes into coping with it that you actually lose the ability to model other people's emotional states—or at least well enough to write fiction. So I was very frustrated, and I was despairing that I was ever going to be a novelist again. Then suddenly, what I was sick with went acute. I went to the emergency room, and they're like, “Oh, if you don't have surgery in the next 24 hours, you're going to die.” So I went and got surgery, and there was one bed in the whole state. There was a three-hour drive to get to the one that was available in the time window. I get there. They wheel me into the OR. I wake up afterwards, and I realise that I'm not in pain, and that I had never felt that before in my adult life. Jo: Wow. Dan: Just the walls of my whole reality came caving in. Two weeks later, I was back up and working, and since then I've been slowly reacquiring my ability to write fiction. So now I've got four novels going again, like I used to have going all the time, as well as doing a weekly column and all sorts of other stuff. Jo: I think a lot of people will be interested in this. A lot of writers have chronic pain issues or chronic health issues, and yours sounds like it was a sort of down, down, down, down—and then more of a sudden up. Maybe just talk a bit more, because I feel like a lot of the time people are too hard on themselves about, “Oh my goodness, if I can't write fiction, is it the end of everything?” So how did you adapt to that, with the mental health aspect of dealing with that change in circumstance? Dan: Well, it was happening so gradually, and it happened at the same time that a whole bunch of other weirdly stressful things happened, like COVID and a couple of family emergencies that derailed my whole life for a couple of years. I assumed it was just really bad stress that would pass with time. So I had the despairing feeling, because when you write fiction, it tends to occupy a central place in your self-concept. I'd also been through very tough times before, so I was like, “Well, got through that then, maybe I'll get through this now.” I just made sure to keep writing something, because at least you keep the discipline of the words flowing. There was still thought going on, so I would have ideas for novels and write them down. There were good days and bad days. Occasionally I would sit down and be like, “I feel like fiction today,” and I would write a couple thousand words, and then it would be 10 months before I could do that again. When you work with your mind, it is really easy to develop or sink into the delusion that your mind is not your body. Now, if you're paralysed or you're missing limbs, you can still write—but your mind and your body are a single system, and eventually, if something terrible is wrong with your body, it's going to affect your cognition, your emotive abilities, and all the things that we depend on for creativity. That doesn't necessarily mean that if you're sick or injured, or you've got chronic health problems from birth, that you can't write. It just means that it really is one of the factors that goes into shaping your experience of the world, that goes into shaping the way you process things and they come out on paper. When there's a massive change in your health, it's going to show up in your fiction somehow. If your health goes way down, especially if you get into a lot of pain or you have a terminal illness, your fiction's going to get darker. One of the reasons—I discovered this after I got my surgery—one of the reasons is that the sense of impending doom is actually a medical symptom of organ death. Jo: Well, don't say that to a dark writer like me. I have a sense of impending doom the entire time. Dan: Well, there's a cognitive sense of impending doom that you get if you're modelling systems and you see how things can go wrong. But the sense that you feel the claws of demons grasping at your heart all the time—that can be a medical symptom. So pay attention to that. I didn't know that until afterwards, or I'd have gotten looked at a lot sooner. Jo: That is really interesting. You mentioned there you are reacquiring the ability to write fiction, or that's what you've been focusing on. You also talked about having to reboot the business. So what are some of the concrete things you're doing to rebuild? Dan: Well, the first thing I did is I allowed myself to get talked into doing a weekly Substack column a couple of years ago, and that's worked out really well. Pay is pretty decent. I've been posting most everything for free except for some previews of upcoming books, but I'm now learning the art of paywalling, so that also helps. Getting paid for the weekly column is quite nice, and a side effect is that it does drive people occasionally to the fiction, even though I'm writing nonfiction. It more frequently drives people to the nonfiction books, but it gives me a good place to announce new releases, to promote book bundles, Kickstarters, and all that sort of thing. It's a very good place for that because the people who are subscribing there—especially the people who are subscribing and supporting—are interested enough in what I'm saying that they want my email every week. So it's a good filtering mechanism for building the email list as well. Jo: You used to do a lot of audio. That's how we connected way back, like 17 years ago, I think, when we first connected. So are you still doing a lot of audio? Dan: I am not at the moment. It's not because of a decision to drop the audio. It's because I am now building my house, and I don't have a place that's quiet enough to record dependably. I'm living in a little RV at the moment while I build the house. In the deep winter, everything is quiet enough in the forest to record some things, and so I do audiobooks for clients, and I work on audiobooks of my own that are coming out. It's not quiet enough to podcast, and it's not quiet enough to be recording any other time than when the whole world is asleep. Hopefully by next year I will have the recording studio building built, and then I'll be back at it. Because boy, I miss it. Jo: I know. So you mentioned there bundles and Kickstarters and things, and we reconnected because I bought a StoryBundle, and your new book, The Pitch-Perfect Author, was in the StoryBundle, which was part of why I bought it anyway. So let's get into the book and what's useful. Let's start with— What is author voice anyway, and why is it important? Dan: Author voice. Everything about the way that you write is part of your author voice. The themes that you gravitate to, the way that you turn a phrase, the way that you tell a joke, the way that you handle dramatic tension. When all of that combines, it creates in the reader's mind an emotional fingerprint, a gestalt that says, “This is a Joanna Penn book. This is a Dan Sawyer book,” or whoever. When you bring the focus down further, author voice is fundamentally an auditory phenomenon. You can see this if you look at the careers of writers who had major worldview shifts during their career, or who shifted genres. If you read an Isaac Asimov mystery, and you read Asimov's Guide to the Bible, and you read Isaac Asimov's The Robots of Dawn, they're all Asimov. You can hear him talking to you through all of those different venues. So author voice is not a genre thing. It's not dependent on content. It has to do fundamentally with how your brain processes language and how it comes out of your mouth. That, in turn, is based on patterns that were laid down when you were pre-verbal as an infant. You learned language by mapping the music of the conversations around you, and then gradually learning that the sing-song you were hearing corresponded to ideas. That's how the brain bootstraps itself into language. So when you start writing, just like when you start speaking, you wind up imitating a lot—unconsciously—the people you've read and heard, because that's how you develop your voice. There comes a point at which all the various influences on you, and who you are, and how they pass through you, crystallises into something definite. By the time you're a moderately competent writer, and you're finishing novels and short stories well, your author voice is pretty well established. But that doesn't mean it's sharp, because most people don't actually concentrate on learning to hear their author voice, so they can't tell when it's off. This is why new writers who revise a lot tend to revise their voice right out. When they write, they're using language as feels right to them, but when they read, they're reading it like an English teacher, or through the lens of someone who has very definite ideas about how grammar should work in all circumstances. So they tend to smooth the quirkiness out of their voice, and what you get is something flat. It doesn't feel alive. It may convey information, it may tell a good story, but it doesn't feel like you're entering something that's living. Jo: I think this is so difficult, especially for people who are new to writing. Because I remember very much spending the first few years going along to writers' conferences, and there were always sessions on “you must find your writer's voice.” You must find your author's voice, and we publish books because of the voice, and all this. It was very, very confusing to me. As you say, it has to emerge somehow, and yet that emergence seems to be very hard to accept. So what are some of the ways we can perhaps think about voice? You mentioned there some patterns. You talk about music. So what are some of those angles? In the book, you have different chapters on all of these things, but maybe just talk more about some of the elements. Dan: The first and most obvious is functional vocabulary. This is not the number of words that you know. These are the words that you can reach for in the moment. You can expand your functional vocabulary by deliberately using more words—burnish your inner thesaurus. The greater your functional vocabulary is, the more your personality is going to come out through your voice. When you've got more options to do something that's just the way that you want to do it, the closer it's going to be to the way you want to do it. So there's functional vocabulary. There's your native dialect and accent. You, being British, have a different set of preferred terms for everything than I, being a West Coast American, do. One of the great differences that's always visible between an English writer and an American writer is that you guys have a different way of speaking. When you speak of a difference between one thing and another, you talk about how this car is different to that car. And Americans say this car is different from that car. It always marks out a British writer versus an American writer. There are 100 little things like that. They happen not just between major countries, but within regions in every country. You could tell on paper the difference between someone from Yorkshire and someone from London, just as I can tell on paper the difference between someone from the West Coast and someone from Mississippi. Even if they're highly educated, the idiom, the preferred turns of phrase, the preferred imagery—all of that is going to be a little bit different, and it conveys that regionality. There's also the musicality of the language. This is the actual rhythm of the words with which you speak. When you learn to analyse poetry or to write poetry, you learn something called scansion. How a poem scans is—what are the beats of the lines, how are the beats of the lines related to each other, and how does the rhyme move in and out of that? A Shakespearean sonnet, or a sonnet from the Elizabethan era, has a specific metre, a specific number of lines, and a specific rhyme scheme, and the metre is iambic pentameter. An iamb is “bum-bum,” if I remember right. It's the rhythm of the heartbeat. It's “bum-bum, bum-bum, bum-bum.” And you can hear it in the name of the metre, the iamb. The iambic pentameter is where the stressed syllable is the second syllable and the unstressed syllable is the first syllable. All of Shakespeare is written in blank verse, which is unrhymed iambic pentameter. The pentameter is five feet per line, so one iamb is “bum-bum”—that's one foot—and five of those makes one line of Shakespeare. We all have inherent rhythms like that in the way we naturally speak, but we can also tweak those rhythms on purpose to achieve dramatic effect. The iamb has the sound of the heartbeat. It's a very reassuring speech rhythm. The trochaic is a much more rapid one—it mirrors the rhythm of a rapidly beating heart. So you see this a lot in Edgar Allan Poe, especially in his frenetic poems like “The Bells,” how they jingle, jingle, jangle on a hoary moonless night. There's a rushing sound to that metre. You're going to find that you will automatically do a little bit of this, just the way that you'll automatically have picked up the convention of breaking sentences up into shorter lengths during really exciting or suspense-filled parts of your book. Once you know what it is, you can start to use it on purpose. Quite a lot of developing your voice is learning to recognise these latent, existing qualities in the way you communicate, and sharpening them up and making them conscious tools that you can pull in whenever you want. Jo: On the one hand, there are a lot of technical words there that are really interesting, and maybe poets know a lot more of those words than most other writers. The book is really interesting in that way—kind of learning about these different things. I guess I want to reassure people as well that, as you said, some of this can be unconscious. So often when I'm self-editing and I'm reading a sentence to myself, there's something that doesn't feel right about it. So I will rewrite that sentence so that it feels right. Sometimes we do something that might be grammatically less correct, but it sounds better than it did before. So many of these things we almost know instinctively, just from reading so much. Dan: Oh, yes. From reading so much and talking so much, and again, from the way you acquire language. That gives you a template in your head of what sounds right. Language is inherently musical. So if you've ever listened to a song—especially one that wasn't recorded by a professional, but someone singing in a church choir, or your kid practising for a recital, or you practising for a recital—you know that feeling that happens when someone hits a wrong note. There's that little wince down in the core of your being, and then the song carries on and you forget about it, unless there are too many of them, in which case you just sort of cower and ooze out of the room. That feeling of “Ooh, someone just hit a wrong note”—that's exactly the feeling you get when you're reading through to edit your work and something is off in the technical layer of your voice. You should pay attention to that and rewrite so that it feels good, or feels great, which is even better. You've got the opposite of the wince, which is that sense of rapture and joy if you're listening to a professional musician and they go on an amazing guitar solo, or a flautist does an incredible trill that just sends shivers up your spine. That sense of excitement and joy—that's what happens when you're reading and the author does something with the language that makes the whole piece fly. So you want to be paying attention for those too, because those you'll commit without intending to. When you're reading back and you find those, you want to make note of them, because that's you seeing where you are at your strongest with your voice. By learning both where you're making mistakes and where you're being brilliant—just like with anything else—you can start to advance towards being brilliant more often and making fewer mistakes. Jo: Then there's a difficulty around where the line is, especially when you're an early-stage writer. Many people work with editors, and you mentioned the problem of revising your voice away, and that may also happen if you're working with an editor. Like you said, as a Brit, I work with an American editor, Kristen, and she's excellent. She's very, very good at letting my voice be my voice, and then fixing things that make it better. But a lot of people don't feel that way about their editors. So how can people understand where those lines are between being well-edited and becoming a better writer, and then needing to hold the line on their voice? Dan: It really helps if you understand where you are weak. Why are you hiring the editor in the first place? I'm a big believer in the utility of having other eyes on the manuscript, but it's really important to know what you're looking for from them. You and I have both been to the Oregon Coast writing seminars, back when that was a thing. Jo: Mm. Dan: One of the things they would talk about with editors is when you've got a story editor or a beta reader who says, “Hey, something here didn't work in the story for me,” you usually don't want to look at that point. You want to trace back from that point to figure out where you set the wrong expectation. Any editorial feedback is going to have a gap between what they notice and what really needs to be fixed. As a writer, learning to interpret the feedback properly so that you actually elevate the material, instead of interpreting the feedback like you're trying to do customer service for an employer, where you just want to make the customer happy, is a really important skill to develop. That's regardless of whether the feedback has to do with voice or plot or characterisation or whatever. Some editors are really good at back-tracing and actually spotting the real problem. Editors make their money, or get hired, or get picked by you to volunteer, because they're good at being an audience—not because they're good at being a writer. So learning to interpret the editorial feedback is a really important step in that maturation journey. Jo: Yes. I think “maturation journey” is a good way to put it. Personally, I think it was around book five when I really felt, “Okay, now I see what my voice actually is.” Like, it had to be five novels, and then I was like, “Okay, now I know.” I just didn't get it before then, and then finally—I don't know—a penny dropped or something. Maybe I grew into it, grew more confident, that kind of thing. Dan: Yes, and that's actually about right. If you look at writers with a big catalogue, five books in is usually where they start really sounding like them. So that's a pretty normal maturation curve. There is a way to speed it up, which is to read your books aloud—or even better, make audiobooks and then listen to them a thousand times. Listen to them until you are sick of them, and then listen to them until you start to like them again. Jo: That's a lot. Dan: It's a lot, but there's a really specific neurological mechanism at work. You're familiar with the comedy term “crossing the line twice,” right? Jo: Not really. Dan: Okay. Have you seen the Monty Python Spam sketch? Jo: Yes. Dan: Okay. So for those of you who have not seen this—in the Monty Python Spam sketch, there's a couple, they're in a diner, and everything on the menu has spam in it. They say the word “spam” so much that you just want to shoot your television. But they keep it up, and then suddenly, at some point—it's a different point for everybody watching—they keep it going on long enough that everybody gets there. At some point, the word “spam” itself becomes hilarious, and you can't stop laughing, and you don't know why, because it shouldn't work, but goddammit it really does. It's so funny that we named junk email “spam” after this sketch, because it's a whole bunch of stuff that you don't want, but it keeps showing up anyway. That's crossing the line twice. What's going on is that your brain is getting accustomed to a sound. It has extracted all of the meaning it can, and so it's doing what it does with all sensory input. When it thinks it's got it mapped out, it's trying to filter it. Unless you are going to sit and concentrate on it, you can't feel the texture of the fabric of your clothing on the back of your legs, because your brain—despite the fact that it's getting that input all the time—is filtering that out, because it needs you to have your resources free for thinking. When you experience something over and over and over, no matter what it is or how complex it is, the brain habituates like that. But if that signal refuses to be filtered, and the input keeps coming, and it keeps getting more intense, or it stays persistent and it's too complex to filter easily, your brain starts to think, “Oh, maybe I shouldn't be filtering this out.” “Maybe there's meaning here that's important for my survival that I hadn't extracted.” And so suddenly it starts searching for meaning to associate with that sensation—and that's the point at which the joke becomes funny again, or you start to experience your voice as if it's somebody else's. When you begin to experience your author voice as if it's somebody else's, you can hear it as a distinct, objective style, rather than just as an echo of the voices that are in your head. That's why music students practise over and over and over, even on a piece they know cold. They're doing the same trick that I'm advocating with listening to your audiobooks until you're not sick of them anymore. Jo: I mean, I think that's terrifying, because I just don't want to listen to my books over and over again. I think it's very interesting that you think it could shortcut that voice process. Staying on audio—since we last spoke, I have done a lot of my own audiobook narration, mainly for nonfiction, but also my short stories. I haven't done my full-length fiction. What I discovered in doing this is that what read fine to me when I was self-editing my own work on the page—and obviously I'm hearing it in my head—when I perform the audiobook, I actually have to edit things again. So what are some of your tips for how we can bridge that gap? Because that's kind of strange. Dan: So what's happening is that there's a much wider latitude of things that work on the page than what works with voice. The reason is that with voice, all of those rhythmic elements I was talking about before are really pronounced, as well as all the sensual elements. Basically every word and sound has a mouth shape. The mouth shape affects the emotional valence of the sound. Stuff that's unpleasant tends to have a really close-in feel—I'm trying to scrunch my face up—where you would grit your teeth and scrunch up your face if something is unpleasant. And if something is really pleasant, it tends to have a rounded feel, and our language reflects it. In fact, all languages reflect this, because language is a physical thing that's based on the sensuality of the body. So, like, in all cultures “mama” is the word for mother that babies first say, regardless of what it is. It has a round feel, because babies associate their mother with roundness. A lot of language is built up that way, from baseline sensual cues. When you're working just in text, that aspect is not nearly as obvious to you. When you're reading, it's not as obvious to you. It's still at play, but when you go to do something verbally, and you go to read a text, all of those sensual cues come in at the same time. Then the rhythm comes in hard, and you suddenly realise that—hey, that conveys the thought, but it doesn't feel right. So you wind up retooling a bit. There's also occasionally tongue twisters, which you have to work your way around. So that's why that happens. Jo: Then I guess another thing—I hear quite often, people say, “Oh, I don't like my voice.” And they mean, “I don't like speaking out loud. I don't want to be on video. I don't want to be on audio.” I wonder— Does that sort of resistance potentially affect their writing voice? Are there ways people can get over that feeling? Dan: Yes, for sure. There are a few things that go into that. One is basic self-loathing. A lot of people carry it around. Most people learn to make a decent life even though they kind of secretly suspect that they're not worth anything, or they secretly find themselves revolting. That kind of thing you can't really fix with exercises. That's something you fix with — Jo: Therapy. Dan: Psychological work, or spiritual work, or that kind of thing. Jo: Yes. Dan: But the not liking the sound of your own voice—that's easy to fix. Here's why it happens. When you're listening to your voice as you speak, the bones in your head are amplifying the bass signals and attenuating the treble. It's kind of like if you were to shout in another room and your spouse hears you, but they can't make out the consonants. That's because all the consonants are being filtered out by the wall in between, but the bass is being resonated through. The same thing happens in your head. So when you get on a microphone—especially if it's an accurate microphone—you're suddenly hearing what everybody else hears when you speak, and it sounds thin and tinny and unpleasant compared to what you're used to hearing. The really easy way to get around this is to get a microphone that is tuned for singers. The condenser mic that I have isn't made anymore, so I can't really recommend a good condenser mic. If you're on a dynamic mic, the Shure SM58 is the one to use. I podcasted with that for years before I could afford an upgrade. It is tuned for singers to sound as good as possible without any other help from the sound engineer, which means that the baseline sound for that microphone is what you're hearing in your head. If you use the right equipment, you get around that problem really quickly, to the extent that you can technically. Then after that, it's just a matter of crossing the line twice. You listen to yourself enough that you stop hearing, “Oh my God, I'm talking,” and you start hearing, “Oh, that voice is making this sound.” And once you hear, “Oh, it's that voice making this sound,” you don't have that problem anymore, ever again. Jo: Oh, good. Well, hopefully that's fixed it for people. And of course, there are lots of brilliant things in the book, The Pitch-Perfect Author. Before we finish up, I did want to return to your Substack. I was having a look at it, and it includes some really interesting things. Like, you're doing this metalwork, which is really cool. It felt coherent to me, because I know you, and you're a polymath, and you're interested in so many things. So your Substack kind of stood out to me as quite eclectic, compared to, say, other writers who are going on Substack to try and sell specific books. So is this a deliberate marketing choice, or is it just be an interesting person and you will attract people who are interested more generally? Dan: Well, I suppose it kind of winds up being the latter, but basically it's that I get bored easily. If I'm going to be writing every week, I need to stay interested in it. One of the books I wrote when I was really sick—that's not out on the market yet, but it is serialised on Substack—is a guide to self-education. It'll be coming out later this year on the general market. It's called Reclaiming Your Mind: An Autodidact's Bible. I talk in there quite a bit about the illusion of discrete areas of knowledge. There is a level of learning at which the silos of information start to collapse together. Woodworking and writing have a lot to do with each other. A lot of the terminology we use in writing is pulled from the trades—especially woodworking, and metalworking, and gunsmithing. As you begin to spot these connections between different areas of knowledge, it becomes really easy to slide between them for your hobbies, for your writing, for just your personal gratification. As I've gotten older—and also as I've gotten access to a little space that's not contained within a teeny little apartment—I have just gone with it. As I've discovered, “Hey, this thing is tangentially connected to this other thing over here,” I'm like, “Oh, well, I'm going to go over to this other thing and see what's over there.” It's tremendously creatively fertile. Since a lot of the things that our language connects us to have to do with trades and crafts and nature, it gets you out in the open air, which is really good for any writer—because sitting at a desk all day is worse than smoking three packs of cigarettes a day for 40 years. Jo: I love that. Dan: My curiosity is the chief feature of my Substack, and it kind of works for me as a writer, because it's also one of the chief features of my fiction. Jo: Me too, and I was actually quite inspired by your Substack. Because I think this happens when you've been in the writing industry long enough. Substack has become the sort of trendy place to be now. People are going into specific niches, very much like blogging did, and then podcasting had to be on a specific niche, and all this. Of course, we know logically that, marketing a book—you know, if you had just a Substack on voice mastery, then for sure that would be a better marketing vehicle. But, as you say, how boring. Dan: Well, it depends a lot on what you're trying to cultivate as an author. If you're a single-genre author with a very narrow niche, and you're really happy writing that kind of stuff, then a narrow column supporting it is not a bad idea. Especially when you serialise old novels, once you've got 20 or 30 under your belt. That's not a bad idea, because you're trying to attract people who want one thing and want it regularly. If I were to get a reader who wants one thing and wants it regularly, and finds it, say, in my Clarke Lantham mysteries, and then they hop over to my science fiction—oh boy, are they going to be pissed. If they're not there for my voice, and they're just there for the way I write a mystery plot, then not only are they not going to get what they're looking for—but they're going to start to doubt whether they can trust that they're going to get what they're looking for in my next mystery. Whereas if they're coming to me through something where the multiplicity of what I'm doing is on display—whether that's this Substack, or whether that's what I used to do on The Every Day Novelist when I was podcasting that, or whether it's what I did with all the after-shows on my fiction podcast when I was doing that—then they kind of know what they're in for. The people who stick with me are more likely to be people who are in it for the experience of my voice. And for my bibliography, that's what I've got to offer, because I'm all over the place in terms of genre and subject matter. Jo: Yes, which is why I find you interesting. Dan: Oh, why thank you. Jo: So where can people find you and your books online? Dan: Well, you can find pretty much everything at JDsawyer.net. I've got the weekly column at jdanielsawyer.substack.com. At jdsawyer.net there's a page with all of my podcasts on it, and there's also a store with all of my books on it. Of course, everything is also available on Amazon and just about everywhere that the distributors take you. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, Dan. That was great. Dan: Thank you, Joanna. It was great to talk to you again.The post Author Voice Mastery, And Rebooting an Author Business With J. Daniel Sawyer first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Save Ocean Sensors: The Fight Over the Ocean Observatories Initiative A $386 million network of nearly 900 ocean sensors stretching across five sites from Oregon to Alaska to Greenland was being quietly dismantled, with no warning to Congress and no explanation to the public. In this episode, we trace the fight to save the Ocean Observatories Initiative: what this network actually does, why it matters far more than most people realize, and how a Democrat from Oregon and a Republican from Alaska teamed up to pass a bill stopping it in the span of a day and a half. We talk with Craig McLean, who spent more than 40 years at NOAA, including two stints as NOAA's Chief Scientist, about what's really at stake when ocean monitoring infrastructure disappears, and why this fight is part of a much bigger pattern. We also revisit a warning from a past guest, marine ecologist Dr. Andrew Thaler, that's looking less hypothetical by the day, and lay out exactly what you can do to help make sure this win sticks. In This Episode What the Ocean Observatories Initiative actually measures, and why it matters for your weather forecast, your insurance rates, and what farmers plant each season The Coastal Endurance Array off Oregon and Washington, and why pulling it out right as an El Nino forms is especially bad timing, per OSU oceanographer Jack Barth How Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) found out sensors were already being removed, and how they got the Saving the OOI Act passed unanimously in under two days Craig McLean's read on why this kept happening, from the role of the Office of Management and Budget to the broader pattern of cuts to federal science A look back at a warning from marine ecologist Dr. Andrew Thaler about Project 2025's plans for NOAA, and how that warning is playing out in real time What happens next: the NSF's review process, and how you can track it and find out where your own senators stand Featured Voices Craig McLean spent over 40 years at NOAA, where he founded the Ocean Exploration Program and served as NOAA's Chief Scientist, including being reinstated after being removed from the role for defending scientific integrity. He is now a senior fellow at the Ocean Foundation. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) led the bipartisan push for the Saving the OOI Act, featured here via Senate floor remarks. Dr. Andrew Thaler, marine ecologist and conservation technologist, returns in spirit from a past episode where he broke down Project 2025's plans to dismantle NOAA. Jack Barth, oceanography professor at Oregon State University, provided background on the Coastal Endurance Array via KATU News. The Bill The Saving the OOI Act passed the Senate unanimously, pausing NSF's decommissioning of the Ocean Observatories Initiative pending a full review with stakeholder input. It was led by Senators Merkley and Murkowski and cosponsored by Senators Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Patty Murray (D-WA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). Resources & Links Saving the OOI Act, full text and cosponsor list: Congress.gov NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative updates: oceanobservatories.org Senator Merkley's press release on the Saving the OOI Act: merkley.senate.gov "Scientists warn Oregon could lose critical ocean data under federal cuts," KATU News Take Action If your senator is one of the twelve who championed or cosponsored the Saving the OOI Act, send them a thank you. If they didn't, let them know this issue matters to you. Watch for the NSF's Dear Colleague Letter and expert panel process, your chance to weigh in on what happens to OOI long-term.

The Charleston Marine Life Center offers touch tanks, whale skeletons and hands-on exhibits while connecting visitors with marine science on the Oregon coast.

We are SO back. On this edition, the preview episode for the first Oregon Coast trip that doesn't require me to fly thousands of miles. Added bonus: Brock frieking Dittus is going to be returning to the podcasting airwaves for this one as we ride a portion of the Oregon coast. As usual… there are question marks for any ride I ride, so we'll cover them here.

In September 2025, Oregon became the first state in the nation to be verified for its accessibility for travelers with disabilities by the travel website Wheel the World. The company worked with Travel Oregon to assess hundreds of hotels, restaurants, tourism providers and state parks in seven regions across the state for their accessibility. That includes features like step-free entrances at museums or specialized wheelchairs available to venture onto a beach on the Oregon Coast.    But the state’s efforts to promote its accessibility doesn’t mean that barriers don’t still exist for travelers with physical or neurocognitive disabilities. Small hotel owners and tourism operators may also lack awareness about best practices to engage with these travelers or struggle with how to become more accessible online and in person.    To address these gaps, researchers at Southern Oregon University received a grant from Travel Oregon to develop and roll out training workshops at 12 locations across the state for travel industry professionals and other stakeholders. The training includes guidance on best practices and role-playing exercises where participants can experience, for example, what it’s like to navigate a carpeted hotel lobby in a wheelchair or to receive information during an emergency as a person who is hard of hearing.    Pavlina McGrady, an associate professor in the school of business at Southern Oregon University and Rebecca Williams, an assistant professor in the school of business at SOU, joined us on Oct. 2, 2025, to discuss the project. We also heard from Ulysses McCready, a junior at SOU who is blind and assisted with this effort.  

Coos Art Museum in Coos Bay celebrates the 90th anniversary of its historic Art Deco building while showcasing maritime art in its annual "Surge" exhibition.

Travels With Randy Summer Of '26 Episode 2 is here! The Oregon Coast  Randy's Travel and Health Routine Randy and Bubba discussed Randy's routine while traveling in Washington, including his daily visits to Starbucks and his property maintenance activities. Randy shared that he has lost nearly 20 pounds by eating only twice daily (at 9 AM and 2 PM) with under 1,500 calories, and his goal is to live to at least 90 years old to match his father's age at death. The conversation touched on health and aging, including discussions about maintaining mental faculties and the appearance of older actors in media. Aging, Stunts, and Road Trip Bubba and Randy discussed memory lapses associated with aging, followed by a conversation about Tom Cruise's physical stunts at his age. The discussion then shifted to Randy's current road trip along Highway 101, where he shared his observations about the Oregon coast, including its long beaches and sand dunes, particularly in the Bandon area. Highway 101 Coastal Route Challenges Randy discussed the historical context of Highway 101, which was built in the 1920s-1930s around the same time as Route 66, and described how sand dunes are encroaching on the road in some sections. He explained the challenges of driving along the Oregon coast, including erosion, rockslides, and rough road conditions that require careful driving at lower speeds. Randy shared that this was his first successful attempt at completing the entire coastal route in four years, as previous attempts were hampered by storms and road closures. Oregon Travel Exploration Highlights Randy shared details about their recent trip through Oregon, describing how they slowed down their typical fast travel style to explore small towns and experience local attractions. They visited several lighthouses including Heiseta Head Lighthouse, stayed at a Harvest Host location at a cheese farm in Tillamook, and tried sparkling Chardonnay wine for the first time. Randy explained their approach of using meal times as a guide to find popular local restaurants and making use of free overnight stays at businesses like wineries through the Harvest Host program. Oregon Coast Travel and Photography Randy discussed his recent trip along the Oregon coast, describing the distinctive characteristics of West Coast beaches including rocky terrain, driftwood, and tide pools. He compared the coastal development to Route 66, noting that the Oregon coast road has consistent demand due to its proximity to major population centers like Portland and Salem, resulting in more homes for rent rather than the motel-heavy development seen on Route 66. Randy also shared his approach to photography, explaining how they use AI to remove unwanted elements from photos, particularly power lines and people, while emphasizing the ethical importance of disclosing when AI modifications are made to images. AI Tools and Travel Discussion The participants discussed their use of AI tools, particularly Beth (an AI assistant) and ChatGPT, with Randy explaining he primarily uses Beth for questions while traveling and recently started using ChatGPT's image editing features. They had an extended conversation about Route 66, including details about Ted Drewes custard shop in St. Louis and the history of Highway 101 in Oregon, which was completed in 1936. The discussion concluded with Randy sharing his positive experiences visiting Newport on the Oregon coast, describing its various attractions including lighthouses, wildlife, and restaurants. US Road Trip Recommendations Randy shared recommendations for road trips in the United States, highlighting the Pacific coast route as their top choice due to its beauty, while Route 66 holds personal significance. He discussed driving conditions along the coast, including winding roads and the need for flat terrain for data center construction. The conversation also touched on recent stock market gains in AI-related companies like Dell and AMD, with Randy noting that while consumer AI applications may not generate significant revenue, the technology is creating efficiency and job opportunities rather than replacing them. Future Travel Planning Discussion Bubba and Randy discussed their recent travels and plans for future trips. Randy shared details about his upcoming road trips, including a planned journey along Highway 2 and a potential ferry trip to Alaska. They also talked about the upcoming centennial celebration of Route 66 and Randy's plans to travel it again in September. The conversation included recommendations for visiting the Oregon coast and the Columbia River area. SO. MANY. PHOTOS - Come join the conversation on Facebook with our 33,000 friends! https://www.facebook.com/travelswithrandypodcast Have a great idea for the guys?  Want to sponsor us?  Want us to sell something National Park or Route 66 related? Want to be a guest? Want to pay for both of us to go to Alaska? Want me to stop asking questions?   bubba@travelswithrandypodcast.com !!

On the Road again – in dieser Podcast-Episode dreht sich alles um die schönsten Scenic Drives in den USA. Egal ob entlang der Küste auf dem bekannten Highway #1 in Kalifornien, weiter nördlich an der Oregon Coast sowie an den Outer Banks in North Carolina oder in einem State- bzw. Nationalpark – die beiden Nordamerika-Profis teilen ihre persönlichen Lieblingsrouten und verraten, welche Strassen Ihnen in den Vereinigten Staaten am besten gefallen. Wo aber hat es die meisten Scenic Highways, welche sind überhaupt mit dem normalen Mietwagen befahrbar und was gilt es bei der Planung zu beachten? Die beiden go2travel-Gründer klären auf und verraten, wer der etwas Mutigere der beiden ist und auch schon mal eine Empfehlung eines lokalen Touristen ignoriert. Weshalb aber hat Michi ein Buch zur Podcast-Aufnahme mitgebracht und wieso wird der Podcast eigentlich nicht auf Video aufgenommen? Antworten hierfür gibt in dieser go2travel Podcast-Episode. Moderation: Manuel Wälti

In last week's episode, host Aislyn Greene shared the story of towing a 20-foot Airstream down the Oregon coast in an all-electric Rivian truck — the campsite mishaps, the strangers who became friends, the joy of slow travel. This week, she's back with the practical guide: how an EV road trip actually works when you're towing, and what to know before you try one yourself. Aislyn sits down with Sarah Eslinger, who heads up Rivian's Adventure Network, to talk about how the company has been quietly building fast-charging infrastructure in the places EV drivers actually want to go — not just along interstates, but on the edge of Death Valley, outside Yellowstone, along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and yes, all along Oregon's Highway 101. They get into why 70 percent of Adventure Network sites are trailer-friendly, how the built-in trip planner factors in elevation, heat, and trailer weight, and why Rivian tested its charging bays with an Airstream. Then Aislyn shares the five things she wishes she'd known before hitching up — from how much range to expect when towing, to the adapter you need to charge overnight at a campsite, to the trailer mirrors that will change your life. Whether you're EV-curious, RV-curious, or just love a good road trip, this one's a window into how the infrastructure for adventure travel is changing — and how much easier it's getting to take the scenic route. Chapters 00:00:00 Bonus Episode Setup 00:01:08 Inside Rivian's Adventure Network 00:03:15 Why the Trip Planner Works 00:05:08 Towing-Friendly by Design 00:06:50 Five Things to Know Before You Tow 00:09:25 The Verdict and What's Next Be sure to subscribe to the show and sign up for our podcast newsletter, ⁠Behind the Mic⁠, where we share upcoming news and behind-the-scenes details of each episode. And explore our second podcast, ⁠⁠⁠⁠Travel Tales⁠⁠⁠⁠, which celebrates first-person narratives about the way travel changes us, and ⁠⁠⁠View From Afar⁠⁠⁠, where we spotlight the people and ideas shaping the future of travel. Unpacked by Afar is part of ⁠Airwave Media⁠'s podcast network. Please contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠advertising@airwavemedia.com⁠⁠⁠⁠ if you would like to advertise on our podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

 If you’ve ever driven to the Oregon Coast, you’ve likely been on Highway 101. The scenic roadway was officially designated a federal highway 100 years ago in 1926. The highway changed how people across the state accessed the coast, bringing new opportunities for industry and tourism from Astoria to Brookings.  The Oregon Historical Society is celebrating the highway's 100th anniversary with an exhibit that runs through Oct. 11. Megan Lallier-Barron, curator of exhibitions for OHS, joins us to share more about the history of Highway 101.

What happens when the person who knows how to tow has to leave — and you're left with a 5,000-pound Airstream, an electric truck, and 800 miles of Oregon coast ahead of you? On this episode of Unpacked, host Aislyn Greene shares the story of the eight-day road trip she and her wife Jeannie took down the Oregon coast in August — towing an Airstream Basecamp 20 XE with a Rivian Tri-Motor R1T, with exactly zero towing experience between them. What was supposed to be a fully sustainable cycling-and-camping trip with friends became a crash course in trailer physics, EV charging, and the unexpected generosity of the RV community. In this episode you'll learn How Aislyn and her partner, Jeannie, went from zero towing experience to navigating a 5,000-pound Airstream down 500 miles of Oregon coast—and what actually made it possible The RV community secret nobody tells first-timers: once you've parked, everyone sits back and watches you do it Why the Rivian R1T's onboard charging calculator made range anxiety a non-issue, even towing a trailer across eight charging stops What Fort Stevens, Nehalem Bay, Cape Lookout, and Sunset Bay State Park each taught them about slowing down and asking for help The case for traveling in a way that forces you to rely on strangers—and why it felt especially powerful right now Plan your own Oregon coast trip Stay at the campgrounds we loved: Fort Stevens State Park, Nehalem Bay State Park, Cape Lookout State Park , and Bay Point Landing in Coos Bay. For your sunset swim: Sunset Bay State Park, south of Coos Bay. Plan your Oregon trip with Afar's Oregon guide. Read more about Afar's guide to road trips, including EV trips Borrow or rent a Rivian R1T and explore the Rivian Adventure Network — many sites along Highway 101 are designed for trailer-friendly pull-throughs. Tow an Airstream Basecamp 20 XE — Airstream's small, off-grid-friendly trailer built in partnership with REI. Chapters 00:00:00 The Plan vs. The Reality 00:03:30 Picking Up the Airstream Alone 00:06:10 First Drive on the Highway 00:08:30 Our First Parking Angel 00:11:00 The Nehalem Bay Disaster 00:14:30 Cape Lookout, Finally 00:18:30 A Bolt Falls Out 00:20:30 Why the Rivian Was the Hero 00:23:30 Sunset Bay 00:25:30 Coming Home Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ben & Woods start the 8am hour by talking about Ben's next golf trip, which is actually coming up next week as he heads up to the Oregon Coast to play Bandon Dunes for the very first time! Then we play a game of Take On Woods before we get to an early edition of The Reindl Report and some of Paulie's top stories of the morning before a guest-heavy 9am hour! Listen here!

Our fearless Tarot reader & Oregon blatherer T pulls a card for us & narrates a bit about the Oregon Coast & Willamette Valley. Trigger warning: near deadly car accidents may be mentioned! Oh wait, I just mentioned one already, in the trigger warning.Photos, more episodes, personal Tarot readings, donate, support:tiffanyleebrown.com

David and Mark discuss this rock and worship classic Petra- Beyond Belief (1990)! Conviction? You bet. Petra means Rock. They talk about end times prophecy, Revelation and other biblical references, different sounds and lineup over the decades, the "film" including music videos on an island rock in the Oregon Coast, skippable tracks and possible worship songs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

According to scientists at the Cascadia Research Collective, gray whale populations off the Washington coast are experiencing a higher level of early-season mortality than they’ve ever recorded. Just this year, three gray whales have been found off the Oregon Coast, and 14 have been found off the coast of Washington. The whales that have been found stranded in Washington and Oregon appear to have been extremely malnourished. Scientists think that melting sea ice due to climate change in the arctic is reducing the whales’ food supply, leading to the uptick in whale deaths recorded along the entire West Coast. John Calambokidis is a senior research biologist and a co-founder of the Cascadia Research Collective who has been studying gray whales for over 50 years. He’s one of the first to dispatch when a gray whale washes up on the coast of Washington. Calambokidis joins us to discuss these trends and what it means for gray whale populations in our region.

The Heceta Lighthouse Bed & Breakfast on the Oregon Coast used to be a lightkeeper's home–and it has a reputation for being very haunted. So Spooked producer, Zoë Ferrigno, went to investigate. Produced by Pam Porter's Granddaughter, Zoë Ferrigno. Original score by Doug Stuart. Artwork by Teo Ducot. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Send us Fan MailAstoria Visual ArtsJan sits down with Annie Eskelin, Executive Director of Astoria Visual Arts (AVA), to explore how a passion for art can shape an entire community. Annie shares her journey from growing up in rural Alaska — where she never met a professional artist until college — to leading one of the most vibrant arts organizations on the Oregon Coast. They talk about AVA's artist residency program, the rapid growth of free kids' art classes, outdoor summer art camps at Fort Stevens, the newly expanded gallery on Commercial Street, and the beloved Astoria Open Studios Tour coming up July 25–26. Annie also opens up about what it means to lose yourself in the creative process, why art is more than just paintings, and how community funding is the backbone of it all. If you've ever believed art is a luxury, this conversation might just change your mind.[00:01] Jan: Are you looking for an inspiring listen, something to motivate you? You've come to the right place. Welcome to Women of the Northwest, where we have conversations with ordinary women leading extraordinary lives.[00:12] Motivating, inspiring, compelling.[00:16] Jan: Hey, everybody. Welcome to Women of the Northwest. I am so glad you're here today, because I have an exciting interview for you.[00:24] I have Annie Eskalin, who is the executive director of Astoria Visual Arts, also known as Ava Welco. Welcome, Annie.[00:32] Annie: Hi, Jan. It's wonderful to be here. Thanks for having me on.[00:36] Jan: Some of you know that I started chapter of 100 Women who Care,[00:42] where we recognize local nonprofits and Annie. And came to represent SRE Visual Arts. And, oh, what an exciting program that is. And I just thought, wow,[00:55] more people need to know about this and find out about it and come and see it. So,[01:01] Annie, I want to start out by asking you,[01:03] what drew you to art? Is that something you did as a little girl, or is it something.[01:09] What's your story?[01:11] Annie: Well, I have an art degree and also a business degree. And I.[01:17] When I was growing up, I was naturally drawn to art. It was an advanced art whenever there was an opportunity for it. I grew up in rural Alaska,[01:29] and there wasn't a lot of art opportunity there.[01:33] There were not a lot of professional artists. I actually didn't meet my first professional artist until I was in college.[01:43] Yeah. And then I think, like a lot of art majors, you just end up taking art classes because they are so fun and fulfilling, and then you find yourself with a art degree.[01:57] Jan: And now what? Yeah. Yeah.[01:59] Annie: So, yeah, this is the path that has led me. Actually, one of my art professors,[02:05] he turned me onto a job that was in legrand as the executive director of the Union County Art and Culture center, which is now Art Center East.[02:15] And so that was my first involvement with a nonprofit.[02:20] And it was really exciting. And really, it was one of those things where the bus stopped there for me.[02:29] And then my husband and I moved to Astoria a decade ago,[02:34] and this job came up, and I applied for it and got it. And no, it's. It takes a lot of your heart, your soul, and time.[02:45] But I definitely found that I have,[02:48] you know, role that's very fulfilling for me.[02:51] Jan: Because you're passionate about it.[02:53] Annie: I am passionate about it, yes. Absolutely.[0  Subscribe to the Women of the Northwest podcast for inspiring stories and adventures.Find me on my website: jan-johnson.com

Feliks Banel's guest on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY is Andrew Smalldon, Education Technician at the Bureau of Land Management's Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area near Newport, Oregon. Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area is operated by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and is open to visitors year-round. It features the tallest historic lighthouse on the Oregon Coast, an interpretive center, plus miles of trails that give access to the area's rich geologic history, as well as places to witness seasonal bird migration and watch for whales. CASCADE OF HISTORY spoke with the BLM's Andrew Smalldon on Monday, March 23, 2026. Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area website: https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/oregon-washington/yaquina-head-ona Links to more information as well as images related to most topics discussed on the show are often available at the CASCADE OF HISTORY Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/groups/cascadeofhistory CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via flagship station SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms' quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle. Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes. "LIKE" the Cascade of History Facebook page and get updates and other stories throughout the week, and advance notice of live remote broadcasts taking place in your part of the Old Oregon Country.

Coos Bay and North Bend are the largest metropolitan areas on the Oregon Coast. One of the big draws is fishing. A local group of women works to ensure the fleet is safe, well taken care of, and they fight to keep up with legislation that threatens the industry.

Huge changes are coming to 2LaneLife, and we're taking you along for the ride!Join Lance and Gaylin as they pull back the curtain on our most ambitious year yet. From being named ambassadors for the Route 66 Centennial to hitting the Oregon Coast, Sturgis, and the Arkansas Pig Trail, the 2026 calendar is packed.We're also addressing the big questions: We talk about Josh's departure, introduce Paul to the team, and Gaylin shares a very personal update regarding his recent prostate cancer diagnosis and the importance of PSA tests. Plus, find out how YOU could fly out to California to ride with us as part of our 100K Subscriber Giveaway!Episode Highlights:Welcome & Intro (Meet Paul!)The BIG 100K Subscriber Giveaway AnnouncementChannel Updates: Where is Josh?2026 Ride Plans: Route 66 Centennial & MoreGaylin's Health Update: Prostate Cancer & PSA TestsPro Riding Tips: Downhill Cornering & BrakingSupport the Show:Our Website: 2lanelife.com (Use code: YOUTUBE for 10% off!)Rent a Bike: Get 10% off EagleRider rentalsLegal Protection: If you're in an accident, call Law TigersOUR WEBSITE: https://2lanelife.com/ USE CODE: "YOUTUBE" FOR 10% OFF OF PARTS & ACCESSORIES2LANELIFE INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/2lanelife/GAYLIN'S INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/xerox57/LANCE'S INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/biglancec/Want to SAVE on EagleRider Rentals? - CLICK HEREABOUT 2LANELIFEWe travel the country on our Harley-Davidson motorcycles, exploring some of the best roads the country has to offer. Our goal is to share all of the neat history and attractions across the back roads, a.k.a. the 2Lanes of America using a cinematic approach unique to our experiences. Along this journey, we meet tons of amazing people, and learn something new every time. We are here to inspire travel!Friends:Thrashin' SupplyLegend SuspensionsCustom Dynamics Motorcycle LightingEagleRider Motorcycle Rentals & Tours Feuling PartsKlock WerksCobra USAMaxima Racing OilsBell HelmetsSaddlemenRockford FosgateLaw Tigers Motorcycle LawyersGET YOUR MOTORCYCLE PARTS & ACCESSORIES AT ...

Feliks Banel's guests on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY are Rita Welch, director of the Tillamook Air Museum in Tillamook, Oregon and museum curator Christian Gurling. The Tillamook Air Museum is located in a World War II blimp hangar, the roof of which was badly damaged in a windstorm in December 2025. The museum - which is located on the Oregon Coast roughly 90 minutes by car from Portland, Oregon - remains closed. The hangar, which was built by the U.S. Navy in 1942, belongs to the Port of Tillamook Bay. As Rita Welch and Christian Gurling explain in this conversation recorded on Friday, February 27, 2026, addressing the damage and the future of the hangar is a complex and very expensive proposition - and much fundraising will be required. More information about Tillamook Air Museum: https://www.tillamookair.com/ Donate to support Tillamook Air Museum: https://www.tillamookair.com/donations CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via flagship station SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms' quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle. Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes. "LIKE" the Cascade of History Facebook page and get updates and other stories throughout the week, and advance notice of live remote broadcasts taking place in your part of the Old Oregon Country.

Portland MC Mat Randol believes in the challenges of hip hop: to grow and evolve, to live at the edge of his comfort zone, to tell the truth, and to find the joy. On the mic he's dexterous, dynamic, and confessional...but he also wouldn't say no to a few choice sips in the studio. His 2026 is scheduled to be a non-stop banger of releases, collaborations, and live music. Plus, he's a great hang, as you'll hear in this episode. He stopped by to discuss the timely feedback that altered the direction of his musical approach, building the experiences that add up to an artist, and keeping his core themes fresh. And he drops some WORLD PREMIERES on us! Music this week:"Randy's Song" by Mat Randol (16:39)"Lee Me Be" by Keys Open Doors ft. M.D (29:43)"Since You've Been Gone" by Mat Randol (43:11)"Hopscotch" by Mat Randol ft. Zavy and Saige Wolley (62:39)"Oregon Coast" by Sweeps, luv pug (80:39)

IP 28 is anything but a "PEACE" Act. If voters approve this ballot measure, hunting, fishing, raising animals....gone.  We'll talk about it.Also,  crab fishermen on the Oregon Coast are pissed over new possible regulations.  We have two fishermen joining us to explain. 

In this episode of The MFR Coach Podcast, I talked with master certified life and leadership coach Caryn Gillen about what values based leadership looks like in practice and how grounding your decisions in your values creates more ease, more clarity, and more confidence in your business. We explore why alignment is often disruptive in the best way, how calm becomes contagious inside client relationships, and why understanding your values is one of the fastest pathways to making decisions without urgency or external approval. We also talk about pricing, integrity, and what shifts when you stop waiting for permission and start leading from intention. What You'll Learn: What values based leadership means and how Caryn uses it with clients Why alignment often feels disruptive and why that's not a problem How calm becomes contagious and shapes client work How values help therapists make confident pricing decisions Why leading without waiting for permission changes everything Additional Topics: What both coaches are hopeful about in the future of coaching Why boutique and intimate business models are resurging How Heather and Caryn think about capacity, rest, and life outside work The fear-based questions clients often avoid and how to use them Behind-the-scenes conversations about speaking, workshops, and live events If you're ready to apply values based leadership inside your MFR business and create a calm, confident, fully booked practice, explore Heather's Foundations Coaching Program at www.themfrcoach.com/foundation. You can also grab a seat at the next free webinar at www.themfrcoach.com/webinar. If you want a quiet, grounding space to step away and reconnect with yourself, you can book a stay at Heather's beach house on the Oregon Coast at https://beachbungalow4.com/. Guest Contact Information Connect with Caryn Gillen — Business Coach & Leadership Coach | Website   **This podcast is not medical advice and is not a substitute for consultation with an appropriate medical professional. We make no representations as to any physical, emotional, or mental health benefits that may be derived from listening to our podcast. Likewise, we do not make any representations or guarantees as to any possible income, business growth, additional clients, or any other earnings or growth benefits that may be derived from our podcast. Any testimonials, examples, or other results presented are the experiences of one client. We do not represent or guarantee you will achieve the same or similar results. You understand and agree you are solely responsible for any decisions you make from the information provided.**   The MFR Coach's Podcast includes affiliate links in its show notes. This means we may earn a commission if you click on or make purchases via the links in our show notes.

Refresh your wardrobe with Quince. Go to www.Quince.com/SWAMPED for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too!Download Swamp Dweller Scary Stories:Itunes: https://apple.co/2L7znZpSpotify: https://spoti.fi/2WUFDG8►join the swamp dwellers!►Subscribe to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyYjOfKMuuIv0oMjG68Reug►Follow me on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/swampdwellerofficial/►Join me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/iSwampDweller►'Like' my Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/SwampDwellerReads►Submit stories to http://swampdweller.net/ or swampdwellereads@gmail.com

In the first half our guest is professional adventure cyclist, route developer and community organizer Sarah Swallow who recently rode the new Golden Gravel Trail, a 3,700-mile route from the Oregon Coast to the Mississippi River. In the second half Nedra speaks with Sarah D. FioRito, Transportation and Mobility Coordinator for the City of Evanston, Illinois.

90% of seafood consumed on the Oregon coast is imported, while most Oregon-caught seafood gets exported. This week, we explore how that's changing. We talk with Suzie O'Neill, Kaitlyn Rich, and Jon Bonkoski from Ecotrust, who just launched "Tending the Tides," a podcast about mariculture on the Oregon coast. Learn how oyster farmers became climate sentinels in 2007 when ocean acidification killed their larvae. Discover urchin divers using rock climbing techniques underwater in 50 pounds of lead, and how their catch feeds innovative closed-loop aquaculture systems growing seaweed and sea cucumbers. From selective breeding programs creating climate-resilient oysters to kelp forests buffering acidification, this episode reveals how Oregon is building regenerative ocean farming that honors Indigenous stewardship, avoids parachute science, and redefines what sustainable food systems look like. Featuring the Oregon Coastal Mariculture Collaborative's community-led approach to expanding "unfed aquaculture"—oysters and seaweed that grow without any inputs beyond what the ocean provides.

Have you ever thought, “I should know what to do by now,” but clarity still feels out of reach? In this episode, Brenda Winkle explores why clarity isn't a thinking problem, it's a nervous system one. If you're empathic, intuitive, and high-integrity, you're likely carrying emotional responsibility that isn't yours. When your body doesn't feel safe, clarity can't land, no matter how much you think, analyze, or ask for advice. In this episode, you'll learn: Why clarity is a somatic event, not a mental one How chronic over-attunement drains your decision-making capacity The hidden cost of being “the responsible one” What nervous system safety actually feels like in the body How embodied self-trust is built (not forced) Brenda also shares a personal story about recognizing misalignment - not from fear, but from integrity - and why trusting your body is part of an identity upgrade. ✨ Invitation: If you're navigating a decision and want space to hear yourself clearly, registration is open for the Intuitive Leader Retreat on the Oregon Coast, March 3–5, 2026. Enrollment closes February 26. Each week before the retreat includes a live bonus call available only if you're registered. No replays.

Identity isn't something you “figure out.” It's something you shift into. In this episode, Brenda breaks down four practical ways identity actually changes - not through mindset hacks or pressure, but through embodiment, nervous system safety, and self-trust. If you've done the training, earned the credentials, and still feel like you're negotiating with yourself to move forward… this episode will land. You'll learn why identity shifts can feel so destabilizing, how child parts and protector parts quietly shape your decisions, and what actually helps you step into the version of yourself you already know is emerging. In this episode, we explore: Why identity change can feel threatening to the nervous system The concept of secondary gain (what you may be unconsciously protecting) How clothing, roles, and self-permission reinforce identity Child parts vs. protector parts -and how they impact confidence and visibility Why you don't need one income stream to be “legitimate” How turning the spotlight outward makes identity shifts easier What internal safety has to do with decision-making Why over-consuming information can stall momentum Ways to go deeper: The Elixir – 14 on-demand somatic tools for emotional regulation https://www.brendawinkle.com/elixir Intuitive Leader Retreat (March 3–5, 2026 | Oregon Coast) https://www.brendawinkle.com/retreat2026 Spiritual CEO Membership https://www.skool.com/thespiritualceo/about Free Clarity Guide – discern next steps and mentorship alignment Free Energy Audit: brendawinkle.com/audit Keywords: Brenda Winkle, Your Yes Filled Life, podcast, leadership guide, psychic medium, somatic coach, identity transformation, shifting identity, personal growth, coaching, entrepreneurial identity, secondary gain, self-inquiry, physical appearance, clothing, identity fluidity, multiple roles, income streams, Internal Family Systems, child parts, protector parts, emotional healing, nervous system regulation, somatic coaching, Intuitive Leader Retreat, spiritual entrepreneurs, self-acceptance, internal dialogue, self-compassion, identity integration, authentic self, emotional regulation, Spiritual CEO membership, personal narrative, psychological insights, mindset shift, overcoming barriers, coaching industry perceptions, self-worth, community recognition, professional identity, self-discovery, personal narrative, listener engagement, podcast growth, self-empowerment, compassionate engagement.

Medicine finds its way into our lives not through textbooks, but by getting sand in our shoes, salt in our hair, and noticing how our hands long to be in the dirt—or on people.Liz Vitale didn't simply move to the Oregon Coast. She rooted herself there among fishermen, surfers, firefighters, foresters, Latina moms, and retirees. Over time she became part of the village, not just as a practitioner, but as a neighbor, a volunteer firefighter, a customer at the grocery store and regular at the surfer pub.In this conversation with Liz, we explore what happens when medicine is not practiced from behind clinic doors, but amidst the actual people it serves. We talk about treating fishermen underserved by mainstream care, how not to impose our “Chinese medicine stories” on patients, how community softens judgment, and how sometimes medicine works quietly—by helping people first feel seen.Listen into this discussion as we explore how healing unfolds differently in rural places, why living joyfully may be part of the prescription, how treating everybody includes those who don't agree with you, and how sometimes you find out how your treatments are working not from a clinic visit—but from the local pub, where someone shouts over fish and chips, “Liz, the herbs are working.”

Today, we're looking into the latest actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that are affecting our region. Joining host Claudia Meza on this midweek roundup is our very own senior producer, Giulia Fiaoni. Discussed in Today's Episode: Where Things Stand 2 Months After Trump Ordered Troops to Portland [OPB]  Another Oregon City Declares State of Emergency in Response to Federal Immigration Enforcement [Oregonian]  Feds Say Oregon 17-Year-Old Used His Car To ‘Violently Attack' ICE Agents [Oregonian]  Reeva's Extended Closure in Portland, Hope for Roberto's Return [Bridgetown Bites]  ICE Contractor Seeks 200 Hotel Rooms on Oregon Coast for Secretive Federal Plans, Newport Mayor Says [Oregonian] Judge Orders DHS Secretary To Return Coast Guard Helicopter to Newport [KGW] Become a member of City Cast Portland today! Get all the details and sign up here.  Who would you like to hear on City Cast Portland? Shoot us an email at portland@citycast.fm, or leave us a voicemail at 503-208-5448. Want more Portland news? Then make sure to sign up for our morning newsletter, Hey Portland, and be sure to follow us on Instagram.  Looking to advertise on City Cast Portland? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise. Learn more about the sponsors of this December 3rd episode: Ace Handyman OMSI Our Just Future

Feliks Banel's guests on this BONUS EPISODE of CASCADE OF HISTORY are Ilyssa and Dave Kyu, authors and editors of the "CAMPFIRE STORIES" series for Mountaineers Books. Their most recent volumes in the series focus on specific regions of the United States, and present collections of place-based essays and poems along with carefully curated information for the thoughtful traveler. Their latest is called “Campfire Stories: The San Juan Islands: Tales & Travel Companion.” CASCADE OF HISTORY spoke by phone with Ilyssa and Dave Kyu on Wednesday, November 19, 2025. More info about “Campfire Stories: The San Juan Islands: Tales & Travel Companion" from Mountaineers Books: https://www.mountaineers.org/books/books/campfire-stories-the-san-juan-islands-tales-travel-companion More info about the CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS for a future volume dedicated to the Oregon Coast: https://www.campfirestoriesbook.com/call-for-submissions/oregon-coast CASCADE OF HISTORY is broadcast LIVE most Sunday nights at 8pm Pacific Time via SPACE 101.1 FM in Seattle and gallantly streams everywhere via www.space101fm.org. The radio station broadcasts from studios at historic Magnuson Park – located in the former Master-at-Arms' quarters in the old Sand Point Naval Air Station - on the shores of Lake Washington in Seattle. Subscribe to the CASCADE OF HISTORY podcast via most podcast platforms and never miss regular weekly episodes of Sunday night broadcasts as well as frequent bonus episodes.

Join us for a cozy, rainy-day adventure in Yachats, Oregon — one of the cutest little towns on the entire Oregon Coast. We weren't expecting much on this quick stop, but the mix of misty weather, friendly vibes, small-town charm, and our two dogs exploring every puddle completely won us over. Next stop: Astoria! Please feel free to come along for the ride.

By now, many, if not most of you have heard that ICE has been secretly planning to build some kind of jail or detention facility in Newport here on the Oregon Coast.The community pushback has been immediate, fierce, inspiring, and seemingly successful, at least so far.This is a developing story, and only one skirmish in a wider war to protect our communities from these masked and lawless thugs.The Newport City Council has been proactive, out front, and clear in their staunch opposition to ICE, so I invited Newport Mayor Jan Kaplan on to the show to talk through what's going on with the facility, the huge groundswell of resistance, and what comes next.Note: this interview was recorded on the morning on November 17th.My email is coastrangeradio@gmail.com, I would love to hear your thoughts, feedback, guest ideas, all of that.Show Notes:https://lincolnchronicle.org/evidence-mounts-for-possible-immigration-detention-center-in-newport-as-two-companies-advertise-for-work-there/https://lincolnchronicle.org/my-dad-was-picked-up-sept-17-newport-girl-tells-packed-council-hearing-on-how-immigration-sweep-has-affected-her-family/https://www.instagram.com/coastrangeradio/

King tide season is almost here. The exceptionally high tides, which in 2025 will occur in November, December and January, according to the Oregon King Tide Project, are an opportunity for excitement on the Oregon coast, but come with a heavy dose of caution for anyone hoping to see them. Before you pull on your rain gear and head out into the elements, here is everything you need to know about the king tides this year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join us for Scary Bridges, Dead End Roads a few marriage tests, and some excellent clam chowder 

In this episode, host Zach Urness talks with author Dan Shryock about his book on Oregon's Scenic Bikeways. Shryock, who wrote "Cycling Across Oregon" in 2024, talks about what inspired the book, his eight favorite rides and what he discovered along the way. The routes Shryock rode took him through deep forest, over the Cascade Mountains, onto the Oregon Coast and into eastern Oregon canyons.

The Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians recently opened its first affordable housing development in Salem. The city is the second-largest population center for tribal citizens outside of Siletz, according to tribal housing officials. As reported in Underscore Native News, the complex includes two- to four-bedroom homes, with half of the 39 units reserved for residents who make below 80% of the area's median income. Vera Vasquez just moved into a home in the development, known as Kloshe Illahee Haws. Sami Jo Difuntorum is the executive director of the Siletz Tribal Housing Department. They join us to talk about the importance of creating affordable housing and fostering tribal culture outside of the Siletz reservation on the Oregon Coast.

In this episode of the Explore Oregon Podcast, host Zach Urness brings back a second volume of his favorite weird, wild and quirky stories from the first 70 episodes of the podcast. This edition features: - Why Hood River was once called "Dog River" - A ghost wagon rising from the Detroit Lake - A major drug bust on the Oregon Coast that led to a beautiful collection of trails - The history of Hoodoo Ski Area - Why it's dangerous to visit Proposal Rock with a significant other - Valley of the Giants and the Grove of Titans

The Mysterious Oregon Coast adventure is in the rearview mirror, but we always like to peek back before moving on. On this edition we marvel at the fun we had on a fairly cursed tour of some of our favorite parts of the Pacific coast!   Bike prep is key — but stuff still breaks. Even a tiny crank arm pin can end a day. Know shops and backup transport. Have Plans A–F ready. Flexibility and quick pivots kept the ride alive when mechanicals hit. Buses & rideshares save tours. Coastal transit and surprise Ubers kept us moving. Greatest hits still feel fresh. Cape Lookout, South Beach, Newport — new vibes, upgrades, and slower pacing. Weather's shifting. Got one classic foggy Yachats day, but most were sunnier/warmer — pack for both. Shorter mileage = more joy. 30–40 mi days let us linger in towns and stay energized. Hydrate & fuel early/often. Morning “camel up,” steady snacks, and Red Bulls beat last year's bonk. Hotel nights reset morale. Lincoln City, Yachats, Florence stays turned stress into mini-vacations. Logistics flexibility saves cash. Mid-trip flight/car/hotel changes avoided big losses. Ditch the perfect plan. Embracing detours and improvisation brought back the adventure and fun

Host Zach Urness breaks down how the government shutdown is impacting Oregon's public lands and three other news stories focusing on wildfires, salmon and Douglas fir trees. Urness talks about the status of national parks and monuments such as Crater Lake and the Painted Hills during the closure, before talking about how bad the 2025 wildfire season was compared to recent years. Finally, he talks about the rebound of coho salmon on the Oregon Coast and the historic "dieback" of Oregon's Douglas fir trees in southwest Oregon and in the Willamette Valley.

 Last month, Oregon became the first state in the nation to be verified for its accessibility for travelers with disabilities by the travel website Wheel the World. The company worked with Travel Oregon to assess hundreds of hotels, restaurants, tourism providers and state parks in seven regions across the state for their accessibility. That includes features like step-free entrances at museums or specialized wheelchairs available to venture onto a beach on the Oregon Coast.    But the state’s efforts to promote its accessibility doesn’t mean that barriers don’t still exist for travelers with physical or neurocognitive disabilities. Small hotel owners and tourism operators may also lack awareness about best practices to engage with these travelers or struggle with how to become more accessible online and in person.    To address these gaps, researchers at Southern Oregon University recently received a grant from Travel Oregon to develop and roll out training workshops at 12 locations across the state for travel industry professionals and other stakeholders. The training includes guidance on best practices and role-playing exercises where participants can experience, for example, what it’s like to navigate a carpeted hotel lobby in a wheelchair or to receive information during an emergency as a person who is hard of hearing.    The goal of these trainings and the education they provide is to create a statewide network of “Accessible Tourism Ambassadors,” according to Pavlina McGrady, an associate professor in the school of business at Southern Oregon University. McGrady and Rebecca Williams, an assistant professor in the school of business at SOU, join us for more details. Ulysses McCready, a junior at SOU who is blind, also shares his perspective about inclusive tourism and the assistance he provided McGrady and Williams on their project.   

A leisurely morning at South Beach State Park sets the stage for what should be the triumphant finale, but James's bike has one last surprise in store. Sometimes a cursed bike adventure is the best kind. But with tire splits threatening the final miles and Eugene's punishing heat waiting ahead, will we actually make it to the finish line or become stranded out on the coast?   Key Highlights South Beach State Park downgrade - Charging lockers removed, replaced with non-charging metal versions Classic Oregon coast weather returns - Fog, cool temperatures, and the riding conditions that originally attracted them Yachats exploration - First real visit to Tim's long-desired coast town (population: 800) Cape Perpetua finale - Tackling one of the coast's most challenging and scenic climbs Tire crisis intensifies - James's rear tire split worsens but limps to the finish Eugene revelation - $5 bus ride opens new coast access possibilities   Route Details Day 1: South Beach to Yachats Short, rolling ride through Waldport and Seal Rock Classic foggy conditions with seagull air-surfing entertainment Hotel night in Yachats for town exploration   Day 2: Yachats to Florence 25-mile challenge over Cape Perpetua Multiple climbs through "the windiest part of the Oregon coast" Cape Creek Tunnel navigation Final descent to Florence via Sea Lion Caves   Yachats Assessment Population: 800 residents Vibe: Full spectrum from blue collar to "bougie-est of bougie" Tim's verdict: "Punches above its weight" for a small coastal town Accommodation: Ocean view hotel with perfect fog viewing   Mechanical Drama Final Act James's tubeless tire split progressively worsens Tube begins protruding through tire damage Bike shop in Florence (Bicycles 101) permanently closed Tire successfully limps final 52 miles to completion Post-ride tire replacement arranged in Eugene   Transportation Victory Florence to Eugene bus: Only $5 (compared to $17-20 Portland routes) Bus rack accommodates James's 29+ tire width with minor deflation Direct connection to Eugene's Amtrak station and airport Opens new coast access strategies for future tours   Cultural Observations South Beach platforms: Composite decking mystery continues Book club continuation: Tim's author criticism ongoing Charging infrastructure: State park downgrades noted Coast tourism patterns: More cyclists spotted this year vs. last   Food & Fuel Strategy Yachats: Fresh fish and chips (James's rare fish consumption) Cape Perpetua prep: High-calorie loading for big climbs Florence finale: Safeway provisions for final night Eugene heat preparation: Dramamine procurement   Eugene Transition 89-90°F heat shock after cool coast weather Travel Lodge fan so impressive Tim orders same model for cabin Cold Fire Brewing pit stop with brisket and low-alcohol beers Hotel early check-in for heat recovery   Statistics Miles Biked Day 1: 25  Miles Biked Day 2: 25  Total tour mileage: ~52% of original plan Florence to Eugene bus cost: $5  Eugene temperature: 90°F  Flats: Zero

Let's face it: No one actually knows where the famous English privateer and explorer spent the summer, and his notes, upon his return, were deliberately opaque. But it's possible that his “Nova Albion” was on the Oregon Coast. (Whale Cove, Lincoln County; 1500s) (For text and pictures, see https://offbeatoregon.com/1703b.francis-drake-whale-cove-nehalem-bay-nova-albion-434.html)

A well-rested morning in Lincoln City spawns what seems like a reasonable plan to salvage the cursed tour, but James's borrowed bike has other ideas entirely.  But with tubleless tire disasters forcing yet another major pivot, will this newly condensed coastal adventure finally find its groove or continue spiraling into beautiful chaos?   The New Plan (Before It All Changed Again) Today: Lincoln City to South Beach State Park via Newport Tomorrow: South Beach to Yachats for hotel exploration Final day: Yachats to Honeyman State Park near Florence Split: James continues south, Tim buses north to Eugene for flight home   The Reality Check James's tubeless rear tire completely fails outside Bike Newport, requiring conversion to tube setup. Tire damage deemed too severe for continued long-distance touring, prompting complete itinerary overhaul.   Key Highlights 5 AM Red Bull run - James's thoughtful breakfast procurement while Tim sleeps in Equipment curse continues - Second bike, same problems for James's borrowed setup Bike Newport saves the day - Last major bike shop on coast provides crucial tire conversion Strategic retreat activated - Both riders pivot to Eugene ending for maximum certainty Financial silver lining - Trip changes actually save money on cancelled Medford logistics   Route Details Lincoln City to Newport: ~25 miles through official bike route (hilly and exhausting) Extended stop at Bike Newport for mechanical crisis management Final 4 miles to South Beach State Park Tomorrow: Abbreviated plan toward Florence before Eugene bus   Mechanical Drama Timeline Morning discovery: Slow leak confirmed in James's tubeless rear tire Newport arrival: Tire immediately starts "spitting sealant" Shop diagnosis: Tire damage too severe for tubeless repair Solution: Convert to tube in rear, maintain tubeless front ("mullet setup") Reality check: Tube setup is temporary fix, not permanent solution   Cultural Observations Newport bike route: Scenic but punishing for loaded touring South Beach State Park: Tim's favorite coast campground (tied with Cape Lookout) Yachats mystique: Tim's long-desired exploration of this coast town finally abandoned Eugene adventure: First-time visit for longtime Portland resident Tim   Food & Beverage Strategy Breakfast: Red Bulls and bananas (James's 5 AM procurement mission) Newport: Extended hydration break during mechanical crisis Dinner: Beer One brewery (skipped lunch strategy) Evening: Junior Rangers fire ecology program spotted but not attended   The Ship of Theseus Situation James notes he'll return a completely different bike to his friend after replacing virtually every component during the tour - a philosophical equipment conundrum.   Statistics Miles Biked: 25  Original plan survival rate: 0% Hours spent at Bike Newport: 1.5 Ounces of tubeless sealant sacrificed: 6 Tubeless fails: yes Nontubeless flats: Zero

The morning starts strong at Cape Lookout with perfect James and Tim weather, but what begins as a confident push toward Beverly Beach slowly unravels into mechanical mayhem and decision-making paralysis. But with the original plan officially in shambles and multiple escape routes beckoning, will we unleash a suffer fest or pivot to something unexpected? Key Highlights Perfect weather conditions - cloudy and cool, exactly what Tim and James prefer for cycling Hydration revelation continues - Tim credits proper hydration for yesterday's success and focuses on "cameling up" each morning Pacific City pit stop - Tim's favorite Oregon coast town, featuring Stimulus Coffee House for snacks and wifi Mechanical troubles return - James's borrowed bike proves problematic again with rear tire issues Strategic retreat - Quick pivot from camping at Devil's Lake to a tiki-themed hotel in Lincoln City Planning paralysis - Original trip itinerary officially in question with multiple options on the table   Route Details Departed Cape Lookout State Park early morning Stopped at Stimulus Coffee House in Pacific City (quarter-way point) Break at Neskowin Market before the big Lincoln City climb Final destination: Lincoln City hotel instead of planned Devil's Lake camping   Bike Performance Notes Tim's bike performing excellently with great rolling and shifting Occasional gear hopping suggests minor tune-up needed Mostly riding in middle and first chainrings James's borrowed bike continuing to present challenges   Food & Fuel Strategy Morning: Hydration focus plus caffeine Pacific City: Egg burrito repeat from successful Day 3 strategy Mid-ride: Red Bull for energy boost Lincoln City: Local Mexican restaurant meal (lunch/dinner hybrid)   Decision Point Analysis Short day option: Devil's Lake camping (~40+ miles) Original plan: Beverly Beach (would have required 20 more miles plus significant climbing) Actual choice: Lincoln City hotel night for recovery and planning   Statistics Miles Biked: ~40+ miles (shorter day due to mechanical issues) Hotel theme: Tiki (delightfully not high-end but perfectly located) Bird species that defeat earplugs: 1 (mystery frequency specialist) • • Flats: Zero

Last year, there were 36 whales entangled with commercial fishing gear off the coasts of Oregon, Washington and California, or found entangled with West Coast fishing gear off the coasts of other countries. That’s the highest number of whale entanglements in the West Coast region since 2018, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.    More than eight years ago, scientists at Oregon State University began collaborating with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the commercial Dungeness crab fishery and environmental nonprofits to reduce entanglements of endangered humpback, fin and blue whales off the Oregon Coast. OSU scientists boarded research vessels and U.S. Coast Guard helicopters for surveys at sea and air to map the distribution of whales and their overlap with Dungeness crab fishing locations.      The scientists found that the risk of entanglement in fishing gear is greatest for whales in April when they gather near shore to feed off the Oregon Coast, and the crab fishing season is still underway. That observation and discussions with stakeholders led to best practices and regulations adopted by ODFW to limit the risk of entanglement by, for example, reducing crab pot limits at the end of the season.   Today, OSU scientists are expanding this work to include the risk of entanglement from other commercial fisheries, including rockfish and sablefish. They’ve also been analyzing scars on humpback whales’ tails and fins to better estimate how many whales are getting wrapped up in nets, lines, pots and buoys. Leigh Torres is an associate professor in the department of fisheries, wildlife and conservation sciences and Oregon Sea Grant Extension at Oregon State University. She joins us to share the latest with this award-winning effort to reduce whale entanglements off the Oregon Coast and beyond.

Mysterious James and I emerge from our three-night Cannon Beach odyssey to accidentally unlock our cycling superpowers, turning a modest Tillamook target into a shocking 52-mile triumph. It's the usual stuff: ice cream as performance enhancer, and the stunning revelation that hydration might actually matter. But with tomorrow's weather turning and our schedule still behind, will this newfound confidence carry us forward or set us up for an epic crash? Key Highlights Morning departure from Cannon Beach with sunny weather (rain expected tomorrow) Arch Cape Tunnel challenge - one of the less enjoyable parts of the Oregon coast, but navigated successfully with proper lighting and safety gear Strong riding performance despite variable winds - tailwinds providing good speed, headwinds creating challenges around rivers and inlets Confidence boost as both riders felt strong throughout the day, a marked improvement from their struggles the previous day leaving Beaverton Hydration success - Tim credits focused hydration efforts for dramatically improved performance Cape Lookout State Park arrival - described as potentially "the best camp on the coast" with individual pod-like clearings and ocean wave sounds   Route Details Departed Cannon Beach early morning Climbed through Arch Cape Tunnel to Manzanita (20-mile checkpoint) Continued south past Garibaldi and Bay City to Tillamook Extended ride from Tillamook to Cape Lookout State Park Riders met at Safeway in Tillamook for resupply (chicken strips and ice cream)   Camp Review: Cape Lookout State Park Pros: - Excellent location directly on the coast - Individual pod-like campsites with perfect flat ground - Beautiful ocean wave sounds - Great overall facilities Cons: - Long walk to bathhouse/showers - Charging stations only have USB-A ports (no USB-C or standard 110V outlets)   Tomorrow's Plan Targeting Beverly Beach as the main goal South Beach as potential stretch goal (though 70 miles seems too ambitious) Weather forecast: overcast and cool - ideal "James and Tim weather" Still working out end-of-week logistics due to being behind schedule   Technology MVP Perplexity AI proving invaluable for route planning and logistics, including confirming their direct route choice over the longer ACA (Adventure Cycling Association) scenic route.   Statistics Miles Biked: 52 Times Tim arrived before James: 2 (hmm… that's not normal. Foreshadowing…) Power of James's insane phone charger: 100 watts Consecutive nights at Cannon Beach: 3 (do I need to declare it as a part time residence this year?) • • Flats: Zero

Day two and three of the Oregon Coast tour evolve into an epic quest for an elusive bicycle part. Is this a mere repair mission or a saga worthy of Greek mythology with adaptive problem-solving, multiple contingency plans, long-distance bus adventures, heat stroke avoidance, and kind bike shop professionals who go above and beyond?   Day Two Morning - Plan Multiplication  Late wake-up due to flexible schedule Pig and Pancake breakfast at classic Oregon Coast institution 10:30 AM: First Seaside shop call - negative result 12:00 PM: Multiple plan permutations discussed off-mic Decision to purchase additional campsite night for gear security The Great Plan Cascade Plan A: Dead on arrival (Seaside shop #1) Plan B: Dead at noon (Seaside shop #2) Multiple Portland options considered and analyzed Ian consultation reveals Monday/Tuesday availability conflicts Plan F: Warrenton option with Ed the Legend emerges 50/50 assessment of success probability based on Ed's memory Day Two Leisure Activities Haystack Rock exploration and beach time Two consecutive meals at Pelican Brewery Server confusion when Tim and James reversed their lunch/dinner orders Extended campsite stay and gear planning sessions Day Three - The Portland Pivot  Early morning departure preparation and coffee Bus route research reveals 2.8-inch tire compatibility issues Warrenton bus only runs twice daily, next departure at 5:50 PM Strategic decision: Portland certainty over Warrenton uncertainty Critical discovery: Portland bus stops in Beaverton near Universal Cycles The Beaverton Solution  Successful mid-route bus exit in Beaverton 12-18 minute walk to Universal Cycles in 90-degree heat Online inventory confirmation: 8 units in stock Successful charm deployment for installation service Same-day return bus to Cannon Beach secured   Statistics Plan iterations reached:  26 maybe 100 Bus route options analyzed: 3 Bike shops contacted/visited: 5  Days with minimal cycling: 2  Temperature differential: 30 From a chilly marine layer in Cannon Beach to 90°F blazing sun in Beaverton Flats: 0   Notable Quotes "Plan F. We think from plan double Z" - Tim on the ever-evolving situation "It's a coin flip" - James assessing Warrenton success probability "Don't let us down. Don't let us down." - High expectations for Universal Cycles "We need a win" - Emotional state after multiple plan failures