WAWeekend: Where were you in ‘62?

That was the year -- 1962 -- when the focus in Washington State was Seattle, host city to the Century 21 Exposition (better known to this day as the Seattle’s World’s Fair).

The Fair, showcasing a new century -- then, still 38 years in the future -- ran from April 21st to October 21st and is said to have ‘put Seattle on the world map”.

If you were willing to wait in the long lines, you probably even rode that space-age marvel, the Monorail, to the World’s Fair site. Fair creators realized that some form of transportation system would be needed to move the fair-goers (nearly 10 million people visited during the Fair’s run). The elevated Monorail was built to ease congestion on surface streets.

I remember the terror of that wait for a ride on that sleek rapid-transit contraption that my parents insisted would be fun. It seemed pretty space-age to me at the time!

Now, just over a half century later, the Monorail’s popularity continues.  On a mid-week afternoon this summer I joined the lines of folks at Westlake Center who waited far longer than the ride itself for their turn on a nostalgic journey.

The Monorail travels about a mile, from the heart of downtown Seattle to the former Fairgrounds, now the Seattle Center, home to the iconic Space Needle, also built for the Fair, and the site's newcomer, the Dale Chihuly Garden and Glass. 



The children in line couldn’t stand still; their excitement too great. For those of my age it was a chance to share stories and memories of those early day trips.

The cars were as I remembered them and because I was the only one simply taking a round-trip ride, for a brief minute or two after the others had left the train, I had it all to myself!



The view of the Space Needle from the Monorail is one of the best to be had – not to mention being up-close and personal with the EMP Museum (formerly called the Experience Music Project) created by Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen. A portion of its exterior is pictured in the photo below.

If you are visiting Seattle, don’t miss the Monorail. It’s a great (quick) trip into the city’s more recent history and it is still a slick way to get between the two places without the cost of seeking lots and then paying sky-high parking rates.

If You Go:

One way tickets are $2.25 for adults, less than that for seniors (65 and older) and children. For additional admission information and hours, visit, www.SeattleMonorail.com

WA Weekend: Autumn at Husky Harbor

Travel traditions run strong in the Pacific Northwest. One of the longest is travel prompted by -- and for -- college football games. With two major universities and several four-year college's, there's a bit of football fever to be found in every corner of Washington State.

But one of the most beautiful locales is our WA Weekend destination:

But what does a football game have to do with travel, you are probably asking yourself.  Well, quite a bit in Seattle, home of the University of Washington Huskies. It's impact on roadways before and after games, hotel availability on game day, boat traffic, and restaurant  is major.

Looking east over Lake Washington (boaters anchor for the game) and Mt. Rainier

The football stadium at the eastside of the campus, sits on the Seattle shore of Lake Washington.  It provides fans postcard perfect views of the adjacent lake, Kirkland and Bellevue to the east and Mount Rainier, to the southeast.

Boaters bring a new definition to 'tailgating' pre- and post-game celebrations

Fans, alumni, students and those supporting the visiting teams -- some 70,000 of them --  flock by bus, car, boat and RV to Husky Stadium. Hotels fill quickly on home game weekends and accommodation prices can soar. Last weekend’s season opener commanded hotel rates of more than $260 a night in some places.

Tour boats pictured center and to the right at 'Husky Harbor'

For those, like us, who are ‘Boatless in Seattle’ there are tour boats originating in Kirkland and south Lake Union (the lake connected to Lake Washington by the waterway called the Montlake Cut)  that bring hundreds of fans to the game. Two such boats are pictured above.

While many fans opt to arrive at the stadium by boat, some tying up at the dock or anchoring in “Husky Harbor” as we showed you above, others bring their recreational vehicles and set up ‘tailgating’ pre-game parties that start hours before kick-off. The RV above has been 'a regular' for decades. Most are like this one: decor - purple and gold from top to bottom!

The “Fan Van” featured in the collage above served party-goers buffet-style food and drinks were obtained nearby from a serving window on the side of the van. (Note the satellite dish and television - those are found throughout the parking/party lot).

Still others set up grills, chairs and tents throughout the parking and lawn areas near the lake, like those pictured to the left.

University of Washington's Husky Stadium Re-opening 2013

The stadium re-opened last weekend following a $280 million remodel and refurbishing . The resulting stadium is so impressive that representatives of the construction crew (pictured on the new whiz-bang scoreboard/video screen) formed the on-field tunnel through which the team emerged from the locker room.

The crowd went  nuts for the construction crew and the crescendo built for the team's appearance. One of the best traditions of the games here is the unfurling of the American flag and singing of the National Anthem.

The atmosphere before, during and after the game was electric – think Mardi Gras in New Orleans or New Year’s Eve in Times Square. 

And the best part was, our un-ranked Huskies blew out the ranked Boise (Idaho) Broncos. (As of this writing, the Huskies are now #20!)

 "Go Dawgs!" as they say at Husky Harbor!

If You Go:

Husky tickets:  Schedules and ticket information can be found at www.GoHuskies.com

Seattle lodging:  www.visitseattle.org

Getting to the Game: Your hotel will be able to tell you the options available for getting to the game from their location. Ask the concierge  about tour boat. One of the easiest ways to get to the game is aboard one of the several special shuttle buses operated by Metro.  A $5 round-trip ticket will get you to the game and back to your starting point. For information:  http://www.huskystadium.com/2013-game-day/transportation

Thanks for spending time with us today. Have a great weekend! See you back here next week~

WAWeekend: Chelan ~ The Land of Lakes

We visit  Lake Chelan, that 55-mile long glacier-fed lake stretching from the North Cascade Mountains to the small town down lake of the same name, often. It’s The Scout’s hometown. Like thousands of others who visit each year we marvel at the beauty of the lake. . .postcard perfect from any angle.

Lake Chelan and the North Cascade Mountains

We’ve become complacent with the views of that lake – lazy, one might say -- and have not gotten out to enjoy the other lakes that dot the nearby Central Washington State countryside.

Vineyard and orchards border Lake Chelan, WA

But a couple weeks ago we set off to visit a couple of those other lakes. . .did you even know there are other lakes? There are – and not that far from Lake Chelan’s shore!

We headed inland from Manson, the small town at the road’s end on the lake’s northern shore. A narrow, paved road led us through vineyards and orchards, past farms and homes. Willow trees, like those in the left center of this photo, soon gave way to pine trees and the pavement gave way to a somewhat dusty dirt surface.




Then a mere five miles north of Manson we arrived at Antilon Lake, a secluded 96-acre reservoir with a campground,  bike/hiking trails and a Sno-Park for winter fun. From the lake there are views of Fourth of July Mountain.

Antilon Lake

We had the place to ourselves on this mid-weekday afternoon. The only sound was of the wind stirring the branches; the crunch of pine needles under our feet.

Returning to Manson we stopped three miles out of town at the sprawling Wapato Lake.  This lake, covers 216 surface acres with a maximum depth of 68 feet, and has two campgrounds on its western shore. Fishermen might hook small-mouth bass, crappie, bluegill and rainbow trout at this lake.

Wapato Lake

There’s a boat launch at the small Roses Lake tucked just a mile away amid orchards and vineyards in the hills north of Manson. Anglers will find crappie, trout, catfish and large-mouth bass here.  This is a popular winter ice fishing spot as well.

If You Go:

Driving from Seattle: Depending on road construction and weather, the drive will take between three and four hours.

Flying: The nearest airport is Pangborn in Wenatchee, about 40 miles away and is served by Horizon/Alaska from Sea-Tac, near Seattle.



Antilon Lake Location: 5 Miles North of Manson on Grade Creek Rd. No water, fire rings or picnic tables are provided. Fishermen will find brown trout here.
Wapato Lake Location: 3 Miles North of Manson on Wapato Lake Rd.
Roses Lake Location: 1 Mile North of Manson on Roses Ave.

For fishing license information visit Washington State’s link: http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/

That’s it for WAWeekend – make the most of yours and we’ll see you back here next week. Thanks for stopping by today! Check out Noel Morata's TravelPhotoDiscovery on Monday - this post will be appearing there.

WAWeekend: “Gold!” ~ and the Rush was on!

Seattle had a real ‘rush’ following the arrival in July 1897 of the  SS Portland. The ship was carrying  68 miners and nearly two tons of gold. The Klondike Gold Rush was about to begin and it would have a significant impact on The Emerald City:

In fact it was that discovery more than a century ago that put Seattle on the map as a Gateway to the Klondike; marking its beginning as the Pacific Northwest regional trade center it is today.

At the time, Seattle’s Chamber of Commerce promoted the city as the ‘only place’ to outfit for the gold fields.


More than 100,000 people would seek their fortunes as result of that discovery near where the Klondike and Yukon rivers meet. And large numbers of them set forth from Seattle, taking either overland or water routes as shown on the map below:

I had never paid much attention to the Gold Rush nor its impact locally until I made a discovery of my own:
The Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park* in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. 

(*It is not Museum – although housed on two floors of the historic Cadillac Building, it sure looks more like one than it does a park).

This haven of history is an easy two block walk north of Century Link field, home of the Seattle Seahawks or King St. Station, the city’s Amtrak hub (its clock tower is visible in the cityscape photo above).

I’ve visited the historic park three times in recent years and each time discovered something I’d missed on previous visits in its audio and visual displays or in the life size models of a store, cabin and a mining operation.

I can assure you that a visit to the Klondike Gold Rush Historical Park is a gold mine of an experience – and the best part, admission is free!

If You Go:

Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park
319 2nd Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104
206-220-4240
www.nps.gov/klse
Hours: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily. Closed Jan. 1, Thanksgiving Day and Dec. 25

It is a great place for kids – stop by the Ranger’s desk and get one of the activity sheet they have for the wee ones.

Parking is limited on the street, but there are several nearby lots. Bus stops, the train station and local ferries are within walking distance.

Thanks much for spending time with us this weekend. See you back here next week, until then,  ‘Happy Travels!’

WAWeekend: The Old West ~ Fort Simcoe

Fort Simcoe in Central Washington State isn’t a place that you happen upon along the way to somewhere else.

It is an out-of-the-way place -- definitely a destination – surrounded by miles of undeveloped range land; so much so, that first-time visitors might wonder if they’d taken a wrong turn along the way.

Fort Simcoe – now a 200-acre day use heritage park on the Yakama Indian Nation Reservation – was established in 1856 at the foot of the Simcoe Mountains on a route that linked the Yakima Valley and the Yakama Tribe’s traditional fishing area on the Columbia River. 

As a child growing up in Yakima, it was always a ‘far away’ adventure to visit this outpost that seemed from another world and as an adult far too many years had slipped past without a return to this sprawling testament to history. So one fine summer’s day we went back in time . . .

 

Fort Simcoe was built on the site of the Indian’s campground, an area they called “Mool Mool” (‘bubbling water’) for the natural spring that existed in the area’s oak grove.

The purpose of this United States Army post was to keep peace between the settlers and the Yakamas, although the Fort’s history includes the hanging of two Yakamas from a beam set in an oak tree because they had been implicated in the killing of an Indian agent. (Source: historylink.org)

The original Commander’s house, as well as the houses of three captains (which were built at the upper end of the parade ground )and one blockhouse still stand; other buildings have been reconstructed. Several of the homes serve as interpretive areas and have been furnished as they might have been when lived in.

The supplies for the Fort were brought in by pack trains from the Columbia and Yakima Rivers because the transportation route, Satus Pass, (now a major cross-state route) hadn’t been completed.

The Blockhouse

Fort Simcoe, as such, lasted only three years. In 1859 the soldiers were dispatched elsewhere in the Territory (statehood didn’t arrive for another 30 years) – some to Colville and others to Walla Walla. The Fort became an Indian agency at that time.

It became a state park in 1956 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. 

The place, we found, hadn’t lost its magic. It is well worth a visit, so pack a picnic lunch, get a Discover Pass and take a trip back into Washington history!

IF YOU GO:

Fort Simcoe
5150 Fort Simcoe Road
White Swan, WA 98952
(509) 874-2372 Call for interpretive center hours of operation

Fort Simcoe is about 40 miles southwest of Yakima, seven miles from the small town of White Swan as noted in the map above.   The drive is through cultivated truck gardens, hop yards, orchards and open range land. (Yakima is about a two-hour drive from Seattle and a less-than 45 minute flight from SeaTac airport).

Driving Directions:

From Yakima: Take the Hwy. 97 exit off of I-82 (south bound), and drive to the first traffic light (Lateral A). Turn right onto Lateral A. Drive to the second stop sign, about 12 miles (Fort Rd.) Turn right on Fort Road. Drive about 15 miles to the city of White Swan. In White Swan, watch for road signs to Fort Simcoe. The park is seven miles west of White Swan.

Note: A Washington State Park’s  Discover Pass  is required – for information on how to obtain a Pass, visit that website by clicking the blue link.

More Information for History Buffs:

Visit HistoryLink.org for more information on Fort Simcoe history.

WAWeekend: A Northwest Island Getaway

Ever dream about getting away to an island – just you, the sand and sea – perhaps a book, a glass of wine or both? It is one of our favorite travel daydreams. . .

The island would be the kind of place that was accessible only by boat, perhaps a small ferry, on a crossing that takes but a few minutes. . .

We found such a place earlier this year just a stone’s throw from Anacortes.  In fact we could see the island from our small balcony in this once-bustling fishing town to the north of Seattle.



Guemes, (guh-weems) is accessed by private boat or the Guemes Island Ferry (pictured above).

It is a small place with a very rural atmosphere, where ferry schedule changes and community events are posted on a chalk board near the ferry dock.

A place served by two small grocery stores. One in particular, Anderson’s General Store serves such good food in its tiny café that it is worth a trip to the island just to eat there:

There’s a single resort on the island, the Guemes Island Resort, –operating since 1947  -- that offers a selection of water-front cabins (still heated by fireplace) and other more modern accommodations.

Guemes Island Island Resort

Private homes line the island’s perimeter, but there are a couple of good sized parks and plenty of public beaches for strolling as well. 

If you are wondering about the island’s somewhat tongue-twister name. . .it was named after the Viceroy of New Spain, Juan Vicente de Guemes, who commissioned the expedition that discovered the island to Spain in 1791. . . or at least that is how Wikipedia says it got its name.



If You Go:

Anacortes and nearby Guemes Island are less than two hours drive north of Seattle.  Anacortes has many hotel/motels and retail stores.

Guemes Island Resort: www.guemesislandresort.com
Thanks so much for stopping by today. Happy Travels!  Stop in again next week - we'll leave the welcome mat out!