Hike of the Week
Have you ever gone to an outdoors store to get the Green Trails topographical map of Mount Stuart only to find an empty bin? That's happened to me -- this map of trails in the Teanaway region must be the most popular one around, and for good reason. Open it up and you'll see a web of connecting trails -- so many that a hiker could get through a whole summer without running out of trails.
By Karen Sykes | July 8, 2004
SUMMERLAND, B.C. -- We are 11 reasonably attractive women, but now after a morning of mountain biking in the hot summer sun, we look like hell.
Sweat-caked dust covers our skin in a gritty film, leaving blackened streaks in the bends of our elbows and knees. Helmets and heat have rendered our hair into flattened masses on our heads. We are hot, sweaty and thirsty.
By Anne Mullens | July 8, 2004
NIMMO BAY, B.C. -- Dancing over islands, skimming above the surf, hovering toward snow-capped peaks, hidden lakes and waterfalls in a bright red whirlybird is my idea of heaven.
Especially when Louis Armstrong's deep raspy voice singing "What a Wonderful World" comes over the headphones. Making a gentle bank to the right, Peter our pilot swoops over the red rooftops of Nimmo Bay Resort, putting down lightly on the helipad. Not only is this paradise in the wild, but we have just discovered that "to fly is human ... to hover, divine."
By Dannielle Hayes | July 8, 2004
The walk: Here's the problem with Edmonds. You start off in one direction, then your head swivels, and then your feet follow and pretty soon your entire body has lurched off in a completely different direction from that which you'd intended because "it looks really neat over there!"
And then, so launched, it happens again. And again.
This waterfront city on Puget Sound about 15 miles north of Seattle is like that, a compact, mom-and-pop-store, ferryboat-landing, quintessential beachfront town. With a gorgeous view.
By Terry Tazioli | July 8, 2004
The walk: Soak up big-sky views of South Puget Sound, lumbering freighters and Maury Island while you hobnob with friendly local fisherfolk during this amble along the waterfront in Des Moines, a community named by settlers who migrated in the late 1800s from Iowa's capital city.
By Brian J. Cantwell | July 8, 2004
The walk: Unless you live in Burien, it's mostly a place you'd zip past on the highway.
But it's worth detouring to the overlooked city of about 30,000 people tucked between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Puget Sound.
Burien has a beach-rich park; old-fashioned business district; and lots of taquerias, thanks to a growing number of Mexican-American residents, that offer low-cost and tasty meals that you can take out for park picnics.
This is a two-part walk, divided between the beach park and quaint shopping district.
By Kristin Jackson | July 8, 2004
Gearing Up
I recently had the privilege of judging the first nationwide REI/Backpacker Camp Cook-Off outside Denver. Two days of chowing down on gooey s'mores, fruit-infused pancakes, crazy trail mix concoctions, even backpackable sushi and more pasta dishes than I could count. So much for my low-carb lifestyle.
The grand prize winner was Chris Gilliam, a 32-year-old Denverite, whose hearty, spicy lentil stew stole the show (and it's really a show; the competition will be featured on a one-hour special next spring on the Food Network).
By Kristin Hostetter | July 8, 2004
Gas prices keeping you close to home this vacation season? Through Labor Day, Northwest Weekend is offering weekly ideas for close-to-Seattle getaways you can get to and back on less than 10 gallons of gas. And just to make it more "real world," our tips are fine-tuned to whether you own a big SUV or a gas-sipping hybrid electric.
July 8, 2004
