My View of the Methow from Moccasin Lake Ranch

The valley of the Methow (MEH-tauw), in north-central Washington State, is widely known to present-day travelers for its natural beauty and limitless choices in outdoor recreation. But until relatively recently, this valley north of the Columbia River and south of the Pasayten Wilderness was known only to a small tribe of Native Americans. Jim Pigott, a long-time resident of the Methow Valley, is the owner and operator of Moccasin Lake Ranch. His book not only provides an occupational history of the valley, but provides a colorful glimpse of what it has taken to run a ranch in the 20th and now 21st century. The book is richly endowed with both black and white historical photographs and beautiful color images of the valley today. A must read for anyone interested in the Methow Valley. This changed when the federal government opened the Moses Columbia Indian Reservation in 1886 and allowed White families to move into the valley and establish homesteads. The story since then is all about people in this quiet corner of the Northwest rising to challenges and opportunities as they came along.