Back in town: Talbot joins Free Press

Driving across the mountains and entering the West Plains felt to me like the whole world had heaved a sigh of relief.

Out from under concrete skyscrapers and away from bumper-to-bumper traffic, moving back to Eastern Washington was as much of a transformation as leaving it behind had been nearly 10 years before.

I grew up spending my childhood enjoying the best our county has to offer — riding the carousel at Riverfront Park on weekends, running through wheat fields in fading red sunlight and splashing in the river until teeth chattered and fingers pruned.

Leaving town at 17 for university fe...