-
A PEEK INSIDE THE LAKE SHOW
Vicki and I are personally witnessed the “ups and downs” of Jimmy lake’s brief tenure as the football coach at the University of Washington. We shared an elevator ride with him. You could say we saw this all coming down on several levels. You groan. It’s true, though. We did really ride the elevator with the embattled coach before the UCLA game on October 16. Only, he didn’t look like a coach in trouble. Far from it. We had just been to the “off leash” deck at Husky Stadium to share a beer. We were about to take the stairs…
-
ON THIS CHURCH FOUNDATION I BUILT MY LIFE
Bethany Covenant Church of Mount Vernon recently turned 100. As a nearly-lifelong attender of BCC I was on the committee that planned the centennial celebration October 23-24. I guess that makes me an old guy. We began meeting in April, and one of the things I wanted to do was profile in a video two or three people in the church for each of the 10 decades on consecutive Sundays leading up to the 100th anniversary. Decade No. 1 (1921-1931) highlighted two charter members: John Lund, my grandfather, and Nels Elde, my great grandfather. Also among the 16 charter members…
-
Mount Pilchuck is a peak set apart
September is a great month for a day hike. I shared my hike to Mount Pilchuck’s historical, restored fire lookout in a story in Sunday’s Seattle Times. The mountain also has some historical significance for me. I’m old enough to remember seeing the lights from the old ski area at the top of the mountain while driving down I-5 in the early 70s. https://www.seattletimes.com/life/outdoors/reach-mount-pilchucks-historic-lookout-for-a-view-of-the-cascades-from-a-peak-set-apart/https://www.seattletimes.com/life/outdoors/reach-mount-pilchucks-historic-lookout-for-a-view-of-the-cascades-from-a-peak-set-apart/
-
THE HILLS ARE ALIVE …. WITH HISTORY
This was a story that was decades in the making. As a young boy, I remember riding in the car over Stevens Pass and my dad pointing out, “you see those collapsed snowsheds over there? An avalanche of snow wiped out a passenger train, and many people lost their lives.” So when Seattle Times Features Editor Stefanie Loh pitched a story idea to me about “hiking for history buffs” I knew exactly where I wanted to go – the “Iron Goat Trail” that follows the ill-fated Great Northern Railway route built in the late 1800s. I never made it to…
-
A visit to Indiana’s Cathedral of Basketball
I have a deep affinity for college basketball and football venues. It’s no secret to Vicki, our daughters (trust me, they have childhood memories of trips to college campuses to prove it), or anyone who knows me very well. For me, it’s as if the place the game is played is as interesting as the game itself. So imagine my excitement when I had the opportunity to visit the holy grail of all college basketball venues: Historic Hinkle Fieldhouse on the campus of Butler University on the north outskirts of Indianapolis. We had flown to Indy the night before, and…
-
Backpacking equipment 101: What you need for your overnight hike
I certainly don’t consider myself an expert on backpacking equipment. But I’ve hiked enough, and accummulated enough gear over the years to know what’s needed. I used an anecdote from a group hike with Jeff Whidden and other friends in the lead of the story. He/she will remain nameless. Would never want to embarrass him/her. Here is the full version of my story that was published May 21 in The Seattle Times. The optional items were trimmed in the story that ran in print. By Rick LundSpecial to The Seattle Times A few years ago, as we gathered at…
-
Hiking Oyster Dome …. and looking down on those sleeping oysters
When I was a young boy, our family would occasionally make our way up Chuckanaut Drive after church to have Sunday dinner at the Oyster Bar. The Oyster Bar back then wasn’t anything like today version, which is gourmet and pricey, a restaurant you’d go to celebrate a special occasion, like your wedding anniversary. The “original” Oyster Bar was more like Ivar’s Salmon House light. It had more of a casual dining feel. Your modestly-priced dinner — oysters, breaded prawns or fish and chips were the usual main fare – arrived on a plain, dinner plate, not the fancy china…
-
Sonja’s big day
The loop has closed. All three of our daughters are now married, and their dad couldn’t be happier, more grateful. Our beloved middle daughter, Sonja, was the last to tie the knot. She and JB Foreman exchanged vows April 3 on the dock at College Club, a boathouse and headquarters for a rowing club on the shores of Seattle’s Lake Union. The bride and groom arrived at the wedding venue in a boat – Sonja’s longtime dream on her wedding day — and left in a boat. Now Sonja and her sisters are all in the same boat.…
-
When it was ‘Miller Time’
Oregon State basketball’s glory years, under the late, great – and chain-smoking – Ralph Miller These are heady times for Oregon State fans. The Beavers, picked in preseason to finish last in the Pac-12, won their first-ever conference tournament on Saturday night, thereby earning a rare appearance in the NCAA Tournament this week against Tennessee. Forgive them if they’re acting like they haven’t been there before. They actually have. It’s just been awhile since OSU has been relevant. I’m dating myself here, but I remember a time when an Oregon State team in the NCAA Tournament was a familiar rite…
-
This one was a real mind Bender
The meteoric rise and fall of Bob Bender, Washington’s once promising, young college basketball coach. With apologies to soccer star David Beckham, no one could bend it like Bob Bender. He had it all. Good looks. Infectious personality. Energetic recruiter. A son of a successful high-school basketball coach. A standout player at Indiana and Duke, two of college basketball’s blueblood programs. A coaching disciple of legendary Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. Arriving at the University of Washington in 1993 as its 17th basketball coach, Bender had his work cut out for him. The program he inherited from Lynn Nance was in…
