Nancy Blakey

Nancy Blakey was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest where she survived a bear charge in Alaska, caught a 36 pound chinook salmon in Barkley Sound, camped with wolves, and once paddled 36 miles in a kayak in one day chased by an impending storm. She was not young at the time and relied on adrenalin. Nancy treasures all the wondrous outdoor opportunities the Pacific Northwest has to offer and believes spending time outside is the answer to almost everything.

She is a former Ablebodied seaman for Washington State Ferries and can tie a bowline, a parent educator who believes in benign neglect, and author of the five Mudpies Activity Books: Recipes for Invention, 101 Alternatives to Television, Lotions Potions and Slime, Boredom Busters, and Go Outside! Nancy has also contributed essays to numerous anthologies mostly based on her parenting scrapes and mistakes. There’s more at www.mudpiemamas.com

Most of all, her book By the Shore: Explore the Pacific Northwest Like a Local is a guide and invitation to explore the glories outside the backdoor.