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Road Trip: Portland, Oregon
Portland says come on down and have a beer
Where: Portland, Oregon, for the 2010 Holiday Ale Festival (12/1–12/5; $20-$25; holidayale.com) in Pioneer Courthouse Square. Why: To clink beer mugs in a microbrew mecca, where 45 breweries from the Northwest and beyond—including Widmer Bros. Brewing Co., Cascade Brewing and Alaskan Brewing Co.—offer tastes of holiday hops accented with wintry whiffs of cranberries, raspberries and…
Sage Advice for Camping with Children
Camping with kids presents special problems, so we asked a family-camping expert for some answers.
Should I buy my child a special ergonomic telescoping titanium trekking pole? Only if you hate nature. There is no way that pole is not going to be used to whack the crap out of trailside vegetation (and probably your ankles and your child’s little brother). Balance is a learned skill—let them learn it! Save the…
Best Camping Spots: Occupational Hazards
Avid hiker Kristen Russell wants to be sure you know a few things before camping in the Northwest.
WeatherNo matter the forecast, in the Northwest you must be prepared for rain. That crazy nylon sheet that came with your tent—the one covered with toggles and cords and pulleys—is called a rain fly. Use it! And don’t skip the tarp under your tent; if you do, you could wake up to see your flashlight…
Best Camping Spots: Vamping
The Eurovan is the ground-averse camper's silver bullet.
When my husband, Daniel, and I go camping for the weekend, there are no tents involved. We do not drag Therm-a-Rests or tarps out of the garage; we do not strap carefully rolled sleeping bags onto backpacks. Instead, we pile into our VW Eurovan and head for nearby wilderness to experience a night or two…
Best Camping Spots: Roughing It
The Northwest offers myriad ways to commune with nature, but nothing surpasses sleeping outdoors.
Salt Creek A Family AffairWhere: North side of the Olympic Peninsula on the Strait of Juan de FucaBest For: Base-camp adventuring, tide pooling and family-friendly camping Sea stars, swimming and s’mores, oh my! Salt Creek Recreation Area off State Route 112 on the north side of the Olympic Peninsula has a wealth of options for family…
Some Like It Hotter
The Tri Cities Deliver Fun in the Desert Sun
While we Seattleites have been blessed with a mild winter and sunny spring weather, some like it even hotter. Just a 3 1/2 hour drive east, the Tri-Cities region is not only the warmest part of the state–it was 85 and sunny this past Saturday, some 15 degrees warmer than Seattle–but also one of the…
Screamin’ Deals: Fly Virgin from $49 Each Way
Sir Richard Branson's deals are most definitely more attractive than that '70s shag hairstyle he spo
Sir Richard Branson’s deals are most definitely more attractive than that ’70s shag hairstyle he sports–Seattle to San Francisco from $49 each wayVirgin America started its Fares to Fly By special, to a handful of U.S. cities–check out these one-way prices from Seattle: to LAX from $69 (or $214 first class!); to JFK from $119;…
Debra Baxter Defies Physics at Howard House
Don't miss Seattle sculptural artist Debra Baxter's gorgeous, funny, intriguing show at Howard House
I first met Seattle artist Debra Baxter four or five years ago at one of the most excellent dance parties I’ve ever attended in the city. It was held in a warehouse/office/showroom/artist space in SoDo, and was thrown by genius local lighting designer (and incredibly nice guy) Bradley Sweek of Flux. It was one of those…
Day Trip: Roslyn
About 90 miles east of Seattle, Roslyn is famous as the shooting location of the 1990s television se
About 90 miles east of Seattle, Roslyn is famous as the shooting location of the 1990s television series Northern Exposure—which launched 20 years ago this month—but its real-life history is much longer. Founded in 1886, the former coal-mining town is a National Historic District, evidenced by the original, Old West storefronts along the town’s main…
Best Camping Spots: Going Rogue
Car camping on out-of-the-way Forest Service Roads
For many of us, spending the night in a crowded car campground, even in a beautiful locale, feels like camping in a mall parking lot. Likewise, unless you’re an Ironman, backpacking miles and miles in for a little woodland solitude is out of the question. The solution? Get out your gazetteer and find your own…
Best Camping Spots: Not-so-Roughing It
In case sleeping on the ground is more than you can stomach.
GLAMPINGStructurally, it might not be so different from the accommodations at that overnight camp you went to as a kid, but, nowadays, staying in a canvas-walled platform tent is referred to as “glamping” (short for glamorous camping)—at least as far as us pampered grownups are concerned. And pampered you will be if you get your…
Great Escapes 2010: Bend
In the middle of Oregon, Bend is a town of seeming contradictions. It’s a mountain town…on the edge
Category: seattlepi.com teaser headlines In the middle of Oregon, Bend is a town of seeming contradictions. It’s a mountain town…on the edge of a desert. It logs an average of 300 days a year of sun…in Oregon. Bend’s quirky polarity is one of the many reasons why the town is so lovable; it’s the…
Road Trip: Sequim
Birdwatchers, flock to the Olympic Peninsula. The coastline, estuaries and rivers of the Olympic Pen
WHERE: Sequim. WHY: For the Olympic Peninsula BirdFest, April 9–11 (olympicbirdfest.org). The coastline, estuaries and rivers of the Olympic Peninsula make excellent birding grounds, especially this month as flocks of Townsend’s warblers, short-billed dowitchers and Cassin’s vireos migrate north. FLIGHT PLAN: BirdFest offers bird-inspired art, lectures, guided walks and bird-watching boat trips—including a three-day cruise…
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