Forty cyclists participated in the first Battle of the Bikes to see who could ride from Wenatchee to Ellensburg fastest...taking any route they wanted. Find out what happened... and see a slideshow of pictures taken by the teams. This article originally appeared at WenatcheeOutdoors.org, an affiliate of the JustGetOut network.

The postman pulled his delivery truck into our driveway. I trotted from the garage toward the truck. “Take your time,” the Postman yelled. I obeyed and slowed to a walk. As I approached, he nodded toward the green foothills basking in the sunshine and commented, “A day like this you just gotta enjoy.”

Cathy and Drew Gaylord started backcountry skiing this year. About a tour to Lake Valhalla and Mt. McCausland, Drew writes, "Before getting into this, we had wondered if all the climbing for just one run would be worth it. We got an answer... the run we had Saturday was far better than a whole day of lift skiing."

Chester Marler's writings about the places and natural history along the East Slope of the Cascades are refreshing because they are not about rushing through this domain but immersing yourself in it. Here Marler takes time to really smell the flowers--or rather the trees of the alpine and subalpine zones.