Stories by Monika Spykerman

Columbian staff writer

(360) 735-4556

Monika.Spykerman@columbian.com

Thomas Scanlan, the Fish Distribution Program manager, processes a load of fresh surplus chinook salmon. The fish are surplus salmon from Washington hatcheries on the Lewis, Cowlitz, Kalama and Washougal rivers.

‘We have it in our DNA’: Cowlitz Tribe provides free salmon to all members – no matter where they live

August 24, 2024, 6:13am Clark County Life Subscriber Exclusive

For Cowlitz Indian Tribe members, the taste of salmon is the defining flavor of their cultural identity. It’s so entwined with Cowlitz tradition that the tribe created a fish distribution program to ensure that all Cowlitz tribal members, no matter where they live, can get a taste of home in… Read story

Willis Miller of Battle Ground feels the spirit of jazz in summertime during the 2013 Vancouver Wine and Jazz Festival in Esther Short Park.

Try This: Vancouver Wine and Jazz fest; ilani’s Barbecue Fest; a trip to Star’s Hollow

August 22, 2024, 6:05am Clark County Life

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Blend cottage cheese with cocoa powder and maple syrup, and you’ve got … a kind of soup. But it’s high in protein and low-ish in fat.

The proof is in the pudding and this cottage cheese pudding proves to be pretty bad

August 21, 2024, 6:05am Clark County Life

We’re about to take a long-delayed trip to visit my husband’s parents in Wales. It’s been 14 years since our last visit, mainly because the cost of such a journey overshadowed our ability to fund it. We hoped to go in 2020, but you all know what happened then. Now… Read story

Barbara James, Fort Vancouver High School Class of 1981, left, joins metal detectorist Craig Nichols, revisit the spot where Nichols found her class ring at Wintler Park. Nichols recovered and returned the ring that had been missing for 42 years.

A Fort Vancouver grad lost her cherished class ring in 1982; 42 years later it was returned to her

August 17, 2024, 6:13am Clark County Life

Forty-two years ago, Fort Vancouver High School graduate Barbara Pederson spent a day on the beach at Wintler Park. Before sunbathing, she took off her class ring — a precious graduation present from her parents — and put it in her bag. She didn’t want an unsightly tan line on… Read story

Sip, sample, and nibble your way around downtown Vancouver during the Aug. 17 Sip & Stroll.

Try this: Sip & Stroll, movie night and more car shows

August 15, 2024, 6:05am Clark County Life

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Keen on green: Crunchy, fresh broccoli salad just right for summer

With broccoli, bacon, cheese, nuts and cranberries, this crunch-tangy-sweet broccoli salad is a winner.

Our summer vacation is quickly approaching — or perhaps we are approaching it, depending on your views on the nature of time — and I am too preoccupied with travel plans to concentrate on complicated meals. Plus, it’s hot and I don’t want cook, so there. Read story

Johnston Ridge Observatory and Spirit Lake Highway are slated to reopen in spring of 2027

On May 14, 2023, debris cascaded 2,000 feet above State Highway 504, burying the roadway with rock, mud, ice and water, leaving behind catastrophic damage to the Spirit Lake Outlet Bridge. The highway, also known as Spirit Lake Highway, leads visitors to the Johnston Ridge Observatory in the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.

August 7, 2024, 6:06am Clark County Life Subscriber Exclusive

Mount St. Helens’ Johnston Ridge Observatory is slated to reopen to the public in spring 2027, according to a recently re-released timeline detailing the phases of restoration work to state Highway 504, also known as Spirit Lake Highway. Read story

Perfectly peachy: The Bundt cake was a disaster but coffee cake hit the spot

Two cups of fresh peaches and a pecan-brown sugar streusel topping make this coffee cake irresistible.

I love peaches. When it’s peach season, I eat peaches for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I can’t get the taste out of my mind, and I don’t want to. I want to feed the craving. I mean, that’s how you handle a craving, right? Or do I misunderstand the fundamental… Read story