Out Here

I live here in Rose Valley, which is a wrinkle amidst the valleys and mountains that make up the Northeastern Washington landscape of the Okanagon Highlands...to the West of these Highlands are the northern Cascades, to the south is the Columbia River Basin, to the north the Interior Ranges region of BC including the wonderful West and East Kootenays of southern BC, and to the east the Rocky Mountains....The general area is a natural paradise and wonderland of vast forests, remote mountains, lush valleys, wild rivers, rushing creeks, and clear lakes with a small and diverse population...our family place here in Rose Valley is in Ferry County, one of the most remote and isolated counties in Washington State, and is just south of Grand Forks, BC and the West Kootenays of BC, home of the remarkable Doukhobors.

here are some Rose Valley images~~~

But not all is bliss out here in Ferry County...indeed, the County is deeply & bitterly divided over very basic issues of how it should develop, how it`s future should unfold...should the emphasis be on maintaining a job base in the traditional use-of- natural-resources-industries, i.e. cattle ranching, logging and mining, OR should the emphasis be in maintaining the health and quality of the natural environment, e.g. the forests, grasslands, wetlands and entire ecosystems...?...the problem is that there is very intense feeling on both sides, making reasonable discussion and compromise all but impossible...often civility has been replaced with intolerance, hate and unreasonableness in the letters-to-the-editor in the Republic News-Miner, the main County newspaper, AND between local folks with opposing viewpoints...I intend to explore these deep divisions in the County in some detail in the future so please check back.