I abandoned my dream of an autumn European vacation and instead went to play close to home -- in Olympic National Park. It was a low-budget and gorgeous getaway on Washington's far side that cost me about $500 for the four-day trip including accommodations, food and gas from Seattle.
By Kristin Jackson | November 9, 2008
Sure, you could join the masses at Multnomah during peak waterfall
season. Or you could head out to the Olympic National Forest and enjoy
the rush in sweet solitude.
By Rebecca Vande Hei | June 6, 2008
I've never seen a whale in Washington. I hear they're everywhere in
March and April. In fact, it seems like we're so overrun with whales
around here you can throw a stick and hit one ... if you're not me.
By Barry Gibbons | April 4, 2008
It might strike you as curious that the Olympic Peninsula, noted for its natural wild settings, also is jammed with recent history. Though Spaniards explored the peninsula by sea starting in the late 1700s, this is one of the last places in the continental United States to be settled. Just 150 years ago, the entire Olympic Peninsula was wilderness. Perhaps that's why history here seems so tangible.
By Greg Johnston | April 10, 2008
Short Trips
A couple of weeks ago, a small, collapsible chalkboard sign on the sidewalk in front of Abracadabra and Summer House -- two quaint gift shops on Water Street in downtown Port Townsend -- said it all, "Think Spring." Well, spring blossoms next Monday, March 20, so it's time for Northwest travelers to "Think Port Townsend."
By Jeff Larsen | March 16, 2006
Short Trips
To Maryann Spahr, the small brightly colored fishing float she found on the ocean beach just south of Grayland was the crown jewel of the small collection in her Raymond home. Twice a month she bundles up and ventures to the coast with her faithful Labrador, Abbey, to test her beachcombing skills in the driftwood piles and ocean grasses. She considers the trips important for her -- and her dog's -- mental and physical health.
By Jeff Larsen | February 23, 2006
Short Trips
When the rain and the short, dark days set in around here, folks automatically try to find something fun to do indoors. With that in mind, I recalled a column I wrote almost four years ago that included a gent in Sequim who, along with his wife, was fashioning an unusual bed-and-breakfast getaway from train cabooses.
I figured if the project was still on track, so to speak, it might be a fun to spend a cozy overnight indoors in Sequim. I wasn't disappointed.
By Jeff Larsen | November 3, 2005
I braced myself for the infamous "Catwalk," catching my breath as I peered over the edge of the exposed knife-sharp ridge.
It dropped steeply on both sides. Thousands of feet below, the Hoh River caressed and deepened the U-shaped valleys as it meandered around Mount Olympus.
A mountain goat that followed us eyed me with suspicion, likely wondering why I was blocking a path he so obviously had marked as his own.
I wondered that, too, as I picked my way across the steep ridge connecting Cat Peak with Mount Carrie.
By Phuong Cat Le | October 6, 2005
Mystery Bay. Sounds like a romantic getaway destination at a far-flung tropical resort, but it's right here, only 30 miles from Seattle. Tell boaters you're heading for that nearly landlocked bay near Port Townsend, and most will say, "Not me, I'm not putting MY boat on the mud. You can't get in there!"
By Larry Eifert | September 15, 2005
Short Trips
Summer is winding down, the kids are back in school and most of the summer frivolity is becoming a vague memory. Many Northwest natives generally consider the Tuesday after Labor Day weekend the beginning of the end -- the beginning of a long, wet fall and winter and time to stay indoors.
By Jeff Larsen | September 15, 2005
