Doe Bay on Orcas Island Fits Every Budget
What can I possibly say about Orcas Island that hasn’t already been said? This pastoral island is patchworked with swatches of farmland and small island villages. The largest of the San Juan Islands, Orcas is about 60 square miles, but you can cover the main roads by car in just a few hours. That is, […]
Sunset’s Top Campgrounds
When my subscription issue of Sunset magazine arrives in our mailbox each month, my husband knows just what to do. He leaves me alone! It takes a good couple of hours sprawled out on the couch for me to make my way through a new issue. I pore over the home decor ideas, daydream about […]
Barrel Tasting
There’s nothing quite like a glass of good rosé on a warm spring day. Especially if it’s been kept nice and cool by the thick walls of an oak barrel. Blackwood Canyon is a unique winery on Red Mountain, near Washington’s Tri-Cities. (This winery has now closed.) By the way, a visit there is like […]
Flock to See Shorebirds in Grays Harbor
Witness the magnificent migration of a million shorebirds on the Washington coast during the Grays Harbor Shorebird Festival.
Wine, Hops, and a Baby in Yakima
When I had a baby last year, there were a few revelations that went through my head about how our life as a carefree traveling couple had suddenly changed. For example, those lazy days of tasting our way through wine country were probably over. Not so! Meet Jodie and James, an Australian couple living in […]
Gig Harbor’s Snug Harbor Hideaway
I dig “The Gig.” As in, Gig Harbor, Washington. It’s a quaint seaside village on the Kitsap Peninsula that hugs a tiny harbor on three sides, and faces Mount Rainier which looms as a beautiful backdrop to this picturesque town. First off, I was married there, in my parents’ backyard. And because my parents live […]
The Cheapest Sleep of All
Waterfront property for $17 a night! Behold, an MSR Hubba Hubba backpacking tent along the Bumping River at Cougar Flat Campground, just east of Mount Rainier National Park. (update 2013: this campground is sadly closed because of storm damage). Reserve your summer campsites soon. According to the Outdoor Industry Association, camping reservations for campsites on federal […]
It’s Tulip Time!
April is next week! Behold, Tulipa gesneriana. Tulips are fortunate to have many fine associations, such as early Spring and Easter. You’ve likely started to see them for sale at your local farmer’s market. They earned a black mark in history, however, when they were popularized during Tulip mania in Holland in the 1630s, resulting […]
Sleep for Cheap at National Parks Lodges
Olympic National Park is looking like a pretty great destination right now. I’m wild about National Park Lodges, and my two favorites have some steeply cheap specials going on right now. Lake Quinault Lodge and Kalaloch Lodge on the Washington coast are offering rooms starting at $79 a night. I’ve never seen them so cheap […]
Washington State Parks on the Chopping Block
NOTE: This article was published in March 2009. UPDATE June 26, 2013: Washington State Parks is now funded in part by a user fee, the Discover Pass. However, state funding is a critical piece of the pie and is currently unstable again as the Washington State Legislature must pass a state budget by July 1 to […]
