Entertaining, educational and highly giftable, Northwest Know-How: Beaches showcases the majestic, quirky, and unique beaches of the Washington and Oregon coastline through facts, history, legend, and lovely illustrations. There are few things more treasured in the Pacific Northwest than its beaches. This celebratory guide features more than 30 favorite coastal and island beaches in Washington and Oregon, providing tips for visiting, fun facts, natural history, and native lore. Charming illustrations will capture the roar of the surf, the call of the wildlife, and the beauty of our beaches. Sure to delight the avid beachcomber and curious visitor alike, this makes the perfect gift and guide for PNW beach-lovers and nature enthusiasts. "This tiny tome is a pocket-sized guidebook to 34 beaches along the Washington and Oregon coasts and islands, from Semiahmoo Spit to Sunset Bay State Park near Coos Bay. Each entry includes a wee lyrical description and a bite of 'know-how'. . . Priest’s poems are what transform this book from a sweet tchotchke to a sublime gift. . . Her words effortlessly conjure an afternoon at the beach, staring out at the sea, content and heart-happy." —Cascadia Daily "The Northwest Know-How series is a set of pocket-sized guides to all things Pacific Northwest. Each is fun and educational and features local authors and illustrators. Author, poet, and Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation member Rena Priest packs grab-and-go adventures into Northwest Know-How: Beaches . This perfect summer companion piece offers more than 30 beautiful coastal and island beaches to explore in our region." —425 Magazine RENA PRIEST is a Poet and a member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation. She is the 2021 Washington State Poet Laureate. Her literary debut, Patriarchy Blues , was honored with a 2018 American Book Award. She is the recipient of an Allied Arts Foundation Professional Poets Award, is a National Geographic Explorer and a 2019 Jack Straw Writer. Priest has published work at Verse Daily, poets.org, Poetry Northwest, High Country News, YES! Magazine, and elsewhere.    JAKE STOUMBOS is an illustrator, animator, and graphic designer based out of Seattle, WA. With his roots in studio art and education in graphic design, Jake has a unique approach to creation, working seamlessly between analog and digital media. Jake Stoumbos was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, where he grew a love for nature, music, and skateboarding. Visit his Instagram @stoombz, or find him online at jakestoumbos.com. Introduction Many of my earliest and best memories take place on beaches. Every year from Mother’s Day to Labor Day, tribes of the Pacific Northwest gather on beaches to watch or participate in intertribal canoe races. Paddlers begin training in early spring, and as a child, I often accompanied my mother during canoe practice. Sometimes I got to ride along. As we sped across the waves, I would dip my hand over the side and watch as the water leapt up around my fingers, then swirled away behind us. The downside to riding in the canoe was that I had to be very still so that we didn’t tip. This is a big ask for a small child, so I usually opted to sit on the beach and watch the paddlers grow small as they went away, then grow large again as they returned. During all that time onshore, I discovered an endless number of things to do on a beach. You could tip over rocks and watch the tiny crabs scuttle away down into the darkness. You could skip stones and look for agates, or beach glass, or eagle feathers. If there were other children, you could build driftwood forts. Eventually, we moved from the western shore to the eastern shore of our reservation. There was a new beach with new diversions. For starters, the tide went way, waaaaay out--so far out that that it seemed you could walk across the bay to get to town on the other side. I once walked with my brother and sister and a bunch of cousins to catch up with the water’s edge. It must have taken us hours. We had to race the tide back in. It was a thrill and a terror to have salt water pooling at our heels, though I think we were more likely to be carried off by an eagle than to be sucked out into the bay. All summer long we spent entire days playing on the beach. We would pack a cooler full of snacks and head for the water. We would build a fire and roast marshmallows and hot dogs. Sometimes during a minus tide, the adults would join us and have a volleyball game out on the tide flats. If we were lucky, the high tide would spit out a giant log into the bay. We would try to clamber on top of it and ride it, pretending it was a whale, a surfboard, or the Titanic . Though I don’t spend as much time at the beach as I did when I was a child, I still make regular visits to beaches near my current home and short day trips to beaches around the Pacific Northwest. The happiness and peace of these places is a treasure. Rain or shine, the shoreline is a place of magi