Out in Cougar Country with a lioness

Meet Francisca Saavedra, 50, originally of Santiago, Chile, who comes at life with this wonderful never-surrender-attitude, an enchanting accent, and enough spunk and talent for two continents.

She's a mountain climber, a champion kayak racer, a strong-willed woman, and a college professor who is married to my nephew, Jay Evans, who is also a scientist.

I met her for the first time near Quilcene, Washington, on the Puget Sound at a spot called Fisherman's Point in late July.

On any street in America, she might appear to be an illegal alien or any such assumption we Americans make about those w...