I spent the morning skiing at Apex Resort near Penticton, B.C. I highly recommend this place if you are looking for a low key vacation spot with great skiing.

I was hooked on Apex from my second run, a high-speed run down The Chute, one of the resort's signature runs.

But even better was a run down the double-diamond Make My Day. Despite all the recent snow, this run is still so steep it gets skied out quickly. I clipped two tiny stumps.

I hooked up with Dave Wood, my guide, at about 11 a.m. and he took me on some cool runs.

Wood moved to the area from Edmonton to play Hockey, but he says Apex is what has kept him here.

“It’s the best skiing in the (Okanagan) Valley,” Wood said. “It’s a skiers' mountain.”

I’m skiing family-oriented Big White tomorrow.

Here are a few pictures from my overcast day at Apex.

Here's a look down from the top of Make My Day, one of Apex's famous Gun Runs. The ski patrol guy to the left is about to bite it.

Not sure if you can tell from this picture, but this run is steep. This looking up at the ski patrol guy giving up. I think he was planning on hiking back up. He says he said he was it was one of his first days on telemark skis. This run is so steep that even with all the snow stumps like this (right) sneak up and scuff your skis.

This is my guide, Dave Wood, skiing Little Colorado. Some skiers jump off that rock outcropping in the background. Not me.

This is the second of at least 12 installments from Craig's attempt to ski at least once each month this year. He's done this before but this is his first time writing about it. He'll write more in the summer months when the skiing is a little more difficult to find.

We're getting good response from you guys about our story on what some outdoor companies and park services are doing to limit their environmental impact. Thanks.

One letter comes from a company we didn't include. Here's what they want you to know.

Your article in today’s paper is great – thank you for covering what the outdoor industry is doing to help the environment. We’re a little disappointed that we didn’t get to talk to you, as we’re proud to be a local company, still manufacturing the majority of our products at our headquarters in Seattle.

In fact, over 90% of MSR, Therm-a-Rest, Platypus and SealLine products are made at the Cascade Designs Headquarters at a brown field location in the SoDo neighborhood of Seattle. This urban location allows us to provide living wage U.S. Manufacturing jobs and more alternative commuting options for our employees. We’re also in a city with strong environmental standards and carbon neutral electricity – and close to the shipping port. “Lean manufacturing” techniques are used in the manufacturing process to limit waste in the form of materials, space and ultimately energy. Examples of this include re-use of shipping boxes, energy efficient lighting and keeping heat low when space in not occupied. The high quality, durable products made here are built to last a lifetime and are warranted for repair in an effort to keep them out of landfills. Our marketing materials are also designed to be recycled by using recycled content paper and soy based ink. Additionally, we give to organizations locally, nationally and globally that help conserve wild areas and maintain access to them for responsible recreation such as Washington Trails Association, Washington Water Trails Association, Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club, Leave No Trace, American Hiking Society, The Conservation Alliance, The Access Fund and Winter Wildlands Alliance.

- Tami Fairweather

Twin Harbors will open for late-evening digs Wednesday through Saturday, while Long Beach will open on Friday and Saturday. The digs were approved this afternoon after marine toxin tests showed the clams were safe to eat.

As with previous digs this season, digging will be allowed only during the hours between noon and midnight.

The February schedule includes two extra days for Twin Harbors but no days for Mocrocks or Copalis due to the low number of clams available for harvest, said Dan Ayres, state coastal shellfish manager.

Kalaloch is closed for the season.

Depending on the harvest for this dig, the state may announce additional digging opportunities in March, but likely only at Twin Harbors, Ayres said.

Low tide times are: Wednesday, 6:15 p.m., +0.1 feet; Thursday, 6:52 p.m., 0; Friday, 7:27 p.m., +0.1 feet; Saturday, 8:02 p.m., +0.4 feet.

The overall budget request for the National Park Service in FY2009 is $2.4 billion, based on information released Monday. That is $13.9 million above the enacted FY2008 budget. That's an increase of just .58 percent. The request for the park service is part of a $10.7 billion request for the Department of the Interior.

There is some brighter news contained within the budget, including an 8 percent increase in the service's park operations budget.

What does this mean for the national park units in Washington? Good question.

I've talked with people from all three of our major national parks and no one has any details yet on specific budget requests for each park. One person said they should learn those details in the next few weeks. Seems to be an odd way of doing business, but we are talking about the federal government here.

Click here for a report highlighting the budget request for the National Park Service.