Family Adventure Guide: Summer 2017

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FAMILY ADVENTURE

SEATTLE + NORTHWEST

SUMMER 2017

GUIDE

• Under-6 summer bucket list • Dock-to-table vacations • Super summer splurges • Gold-rush getaway to B.C.

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contents

FAMILY ADVENTURE SEATTLE + NORTHWEST

8

Under-6 bucket list

18

Dock-to-table

29

SUMMER 2017

GUIDE

39

Summer splurges

47

Gold rush

Travel traditions

Some like it hot “Cold, damp, dreary.” “Wettest March ever?” “Seattle gets a year’s worth of rainfall in 5.5 months … again.” By the time our biannual Family Adventure Guide hits the stands, these March headlines will (hopefully) be history, but whether or not gloom is still the forecast du jour, I think we can all agree that Puget Sound families have never been more ready for summer.

So get out your scissors, because there’s a clip-and-save article in this issue for every kind of family. Got kids 5 and under? Head More to “The under-6 summer bucket list” (p. 8), which collects sweet summer outings perfect for the littles (and their big sibs), from a travel and storybook hike to toddler-size farm fun. Ready for a rad road trip that immerses kids in a forgotten era of pioneer history? Grab summer-fun your passports and plan a trip to a historic site in B.C. that’s just hitting the radar of American families (“Go gold rush,” p. 39). We’ve ideas at also rounded up inspired ideas for that special summer occasion (“12 Northwest Summer splurges,” p. 29); a beachy-keen guide to parentmap.com /adventure clamming and crabbing (“Dock-to-table vacations,” p. 18); and an argument for starting a family travel tradition (p. 47) that will help you hang onto memories of this ephemeral season for just a bit longer.

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Important note: Prices, especially for lodging, are variable; please check ahead.

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FAMILY ADVENTURE GUIDE SUMMER 2017 PUBLISHER/EDITOR Alayne Sulkin

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parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide • 7

under-6 bucket list

The under-6 summer bucket list Sweet city adventures and deals for little ones

By JiaYing Grygiel

Seattle is famous for having more dogs than children, but this city is just as welcoming to our two-legged critters. It helps that kids, especially the under-6 crowd, are easy to please. For toddlers and pre-kindergartners, a morning at the hardware store or a bus ride around the neighborhood is just as magical as a Space Needle visit, and neither will cost you much.

And the youngest kids get the best deals, too: From ferry 8 • Family Adventure Guide • parentmap.com

rides to museums, they are a cheap date.

Here’s a look at top local adventures — many of them free — for the small set. Think of this as a summer bucket list of things to do before your child turns 6. But get moving: The days are long, but the summers are short. They’ll be big kids before you know it.

State-of-the-art storytelling Admission is always free at the Frye Museum — a small, excellent art museum on First Hill — as is Small Frye (fryemuseum.org), its popular

monthly story time and art-making program on the first Friday morning of every month, designed for kids ages 3 to 5. Teaching artists from the Seattle Children’s Theatre act out a story in the galleries with a lot of interactive help from the little ones in the audience. After story time, the museum’s art educators lead a creative project in the studio that is a takeoff from the story.

Tip: Anyone can drop in for the storytelling, but you do have to register online to snag a spot in the art session. Small Frye is every first Friday, from 10:30–11:45 a.m.

Nurturing bookworms

A ferry tale Looking for a cheap and easy escape with your small wanderers? Take the ferry from Seattle’s Colman Dock (wsdot.wa.gov/ferries) to Bainbridge Island for a family day trip. Tickets are $8.20 for adults, and kids under 6 are free. The Seattle-Bainbridge crossing time is 35 minutes. You get great views of the Seattle skyline and the islands, while the kids explore the ferry.

Cars on a boat? It never gets old. Once you arrive on Bainbridge, it’s a 10-minute walk from the ferry terminal to the Kids Discovery Museum (kidimu.org), complete with pirate tree house and play areas galore.

Tip: KiDiMu is free on First Thursdays, and the family-friendly Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, right next door, is always free.

Bus a move Maybe it’s sitting in a big-person seat, or maybe it’s the sheer size of the vehicle. For whatever reason, taking a city bus makes getting there just as fun as the destination. In Seattle, for a thrilling ride, take King County Metro Route 13 to the top of Queen Anne Hill (with its >>

Ferry to Bainbridge for the perfect pint-size day trip

Tip: Another story time for your bookish bucket list is by Linda Ernst, a librarian at the Mercer Island Library. Ernst is an early literacy expert who literally wrote the book about baby story time; find her books on Amazon.com.

Toddler-size farm fun While the big kids are still in school, preschoolers get the run of Remlinger Farms (remlingerfarms. com/park.htm), a U-pick farm/mini-amusement park in Carnation that makes a fantastic outing.

On select days through mid-June, tickets are half-price for special “Toddler Weekdays” – not all rides are open but there’s still plenty to thrill kids, from rides to critters, with fewer crowds.

The weekday special runs May 15 through June 16; and the cost is $7.61 per person (adults also need tickets). parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide • 9

JIAYING GRYGIEL

Shake up your regular library routine by booking a new story time. Some of the most popular story time librarians around Seattle include Erica Delavan, whose story times are famous for their baby mosh pits, at Seattle Public Library’s Northeast Seattle Branch; Mynique Adams, who is known for her music play list, at Seattle Public Library’s Douglass-Truth Branch; and Destinee Sutton, who wraps up story time with a bubble machine and time to build new friendships, at the Burien Library.

Tip: While there’s a restaurant and snack bar on site, save bucks by bringing your own snacks and eating outside the park at one of the picnic areas.

under-6 bucket list continued from page 9

famous 18.5 percent grade slope), known for its iconic views of downtown and Elliott Bay. Or bus it downtown to the Central Library, the Seattle Aquarium and the Seattle Art Museum, without paying a fortune for parking.

Tip: King County Metro buses are free for kids under 6 and only $1.50 for kids 6 to 18 ($2.50 for adults off-peak).

Everybody into the warm water Starting on May 13, your little guppies can paddle around in the super-warm (94 degrees) little pool at Magnolia’s outdoor Mounger Pool (seattle.gov/parks/find/pools/mounger-pool; $3.75–$5.50), which is open seasonally. There are even bath toys for the full bath-time effect. The little pool is designed for kids under 6; there’s also a bigger (but colder) pool for everyone else — with water slide!

Tip: Also try Tacoma’s 85-degree Kandle Pool, an outdoor pool with a zero-depth entry space and an exciting “wave pool,” which simulates an ocean experience.

Wade and splash For free water fun of the low-key variety, there’s nothing better than a public wading pool in Seattle on a hot day. Germ-a-phobes can chill: The pools are cleaned and filled each day (seattle.gov/parks/find/sprayparks-and-wading-pools). The super-size Volunteer Park wading pool, located between the Conservatory and a big playground, is an especially good pick for littles who want to go big.

Tip: For more adventurous kids, free spray parks are a thrilling choice; find top spray picks around the Sound at parentmap.com/ spray.

Take a joy ride The Seattle Monorail (seattlemonorail.com/ information; free for kids under 5, $1 for kids 5–12, $2.25 for adults) runs every 10 minutes between two key locations: Westlake Center downtown and Seattle Center, right next to the Space Needle. It’s a short and scenic trip, >>

D I S C O V E R

M U K I LT E O Lighthouse Park

www.mukilteochamber.org/discover Whidbey Island Ferry

Japanese Gulch Trails

Harbour Pointe Golf Course

Paine Field Aerospace Museums

For big and little kids together How do you entertain the big brothers and sisters when there’s a toddler in the party? These summer activities are good for families with mixed ages and abilities.

Berry awesome: The hardest part of berry picking is getting the fruit into the bag instead of your mouth. Strawberry season usually starts in early June, and blueberries can last through early September. Check ahead, though, because ripeness depends on the weather. Find sweet picks for farms at parentmap.com/berries.

Fishing for fun: The Seattle Aquarium is a better option than the zoo for the littlest ones, because you can get right up close to the sea creatures, but it’s still exciting for big kids. Stroke sea stars and get a finger hug from a sea urchin in the touch pools, and stop by the mammoth underwater dome for its wow factor. Pair the aquarium with a visit to the Great Wheel, free for kids under 3.

Beach bums: Until everyone’s outgrown naps and constant snacking, the easiest recipe for a family daycation is a local beach.

Alki and Lincoln Park in West Seattle are just right for biking and digging. Tacoma’s Owen Beach at Point Defiance offers tide pooling and views galore. A trip to Everett’s Jetty Island (open starting in early July) takes legwork and a short ferry ride, but two miles of sandy beach and shallow, warm water make it a hit.

Play putt-putt: Channel your inner Tiger Woods at Interbay’s 18-hole mini golf course, designed with a scenic little river, waterfall and hills. While the bigger kids work on their swing, the little ones can explore the bridges, float a leaf downstream and learn to count to 18. Other mini golf courses to try are Willows Run Golf Course in Redmond, Riverbend Miniature Golf Course in Kent and Parkland Putters in Tacoma.

Right up our alley: Bumpers and ramps make bowling fun for kids of all ages. Just pay for shoe rental and kids can bowl two free games a day all summer at participating bowling alleys when you sign up online at kidsbowlfree.com.

This floats our boat: The quad pedal boats at spots such as Greenlake Boathouse or Issaquah Paddle Sports come with four sets of pedals, but you only need one person who can reasonably reach the pedals and power the boat.

More than a garden-variety outing: Take the whole family for a walk through Bellevue Botanical Garden, a beautiful 53-acre park that includes carefully landscaped gardens and natural wetlands. Little and big kids love the suspension bridge over a deep ravine and climbing on the big boulders in the rock garden.

The garden is free and open daily from dawn to dusk.

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under-6 bucket list continued from page 10

and you get to ride a bit of history. The Monorail was built for the 1962 World’s Fair.

Tip: Tacoma’s free light rail line downtown through is also a fun adventure; end your ride by exploring the pay-by-donation Children’s Museum of Tacoma, or making art at Tacoma Art Museum’s free studio.

Where kids can be kids While you’re at Seattle Center, visit the 22,000-square-foot play space in the Armory’s lower level. Seattle Children’s Museum (thechildrensmuseum.org; $9.50–$10.50) contains room after room for kids to explore, with a pretend grocery store, a construction zone, a play mountain and a well-stocked art studio. Deal tip: Admission is by donation during the last hour of each weekday.

Tip: Other terrific children’s museums in the region include Hands On Children’s Museum in Olympia and the newly opened KidsQuest Children’s Museum in Bellevue.

A fairytale forest adventure The Seattle area boasts many tot-friendly hikes, but one of the best is the Pretzel Tree Trail hike on Issaquah’s Squak Mountain trail. At just a third-of-a-mile long, the trail is perfect for little legs, and — even better — it’s lined with storyboards about the adventures of Field Mouse, to spark imaginative play along the way.

Tip: Find the latest trail conditions at wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/pretzeltree-trail

Calling all car lovers Tacoma is the place for little people who love wheels. Admission

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MAY 27 - AUG 27 SEPT 2 - SEPT 30

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B r an d n e w h an d s - o n e x h ib its , o u t d o o r s p ac e , an d m o r e! for kids under 6 is free at both LeMay-America’s Car Museum (americascarmuseum.org) and the LeMay Family Collection at Marymount Event Center (lemaymarymount.org). Both venues are named for Harold LeMay, a Tacoma businessman and (obviously) huge car buff.

America’s Car Museum is sleek and modern, with activities including slot car racing and a monthly STEAM day. The LeMay Family Collection shows off LeMay’s personal car collection, the largest in the world.

Tip: Through June 30, America’s Car Museum is offering free newfamily memberships for AAA members.

KidsQuest Children’s Museum

Shop and play Until kids get savvier about the possibility of buying toys, often it’s enough to hang out in the toy aisle at Fred Meyer or Target. Depending on your child’s interests, the hardware store, Uwajimaya (fish!), Petco (aka the “free zoo”) and IKEA (with a new supersize store) offer hours of fun.

Tip: Some retailers actively encourage loitering with kids.

Look for free play zones at the flagship REI, University Village, Bellevue Square and Northgate Mall.

Flying high There’s no better place to explore Seattle’s aviation roots than the Museum of Flight, free for kids under 5 (museumofflight.org; $13–$21 for 5 and up). Little test pilots can get into the cockpit of a Rotorway Scorpion helicopter, a Thorp T-18 homebuilt aircraft and a P-47D replica at the kids zone.

EXPLORE, PLAY & LEARN Children’s Museum

KidsQuest

Tip: Take the sky bridge across the street to the Aviation Pavilion, a covered exhibit space that just opened last June and houses, among other historic airplanes, the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the only Concorde on the West Coast.

JiaYing Grygiel is a mama and a photographer in Seattle. She worked in the news business until 2012, and now blogs about her adventures with her boys, 5 and 1, at photoj.net.

1116 108th Ave NE • Bellevue, WA 98004 kidsquestmuseum.org • 425.637.8100 parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide • 13

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dock-to-table

Dock-to-table

vacations

Adventurous foraging trips with crabbing and clamming on the menu

By Lauren Braden

Minutes after launching the aluminum skiff into foggy Nehalem Bay on the Oregon coast, we have a friend: A harbor seal hovers above the water’s surface a few yards away, watching with deep brown eyes as we toss the first trap into the slack-tide water. Tucked inside the crab ring are a fish carcass and a little chicken — bait.

“That seal won’t go for the chicken, but crabs sure will,” Joe Zimmerman explains.

Zimmerman, from Kelly’s Brighton Marina, is our crabbing guide for the morning. My 8-year old son, Isaac, his star pupil, politely raises his hand and peppers Zimmerman with questions about everything from the species of oysters in Nehalem Bay to gray whale migration patterns off the spit. Our guide happily answers.

The chatter doesn’t keep the seals away, but it might have had an impact on our success with late-winter crabbing. Each hard pull on the rope of a submerged crab ring (“Faster! Faster!”) yields only a handful of juvenile Dungeness crab, far too small for our waiting bucket.

18 • Family Adventure Guide • parentmap.com

Time to move on to another area of the bay.

Crabbing is sort of random. Rookies will sometimes stay in the same place, but Zimmerman tells us you have to test an area and be ready to move on if you’re not getting keepers. We settle into a sheltered cove between two sandbars and drop our three rings about 100 feet apart.

When you’re baiting crab with rings, you wait 10 to 15 minutes before checking your traps, whereas a crab pot can sit out all night.

Our bad luck continues, but he explains why. Rainy winters send a torrent of freshwater into these bays, and crab much prefer saltwater, so our season was off. “In summertime, you can walk across the buoys, there are so many of them,” he adds.

Well then, in summertime we shall certainly return.

Hands-on adventures in foraging deepen a child’s understanding of where their food comes from and the importance of preserving these natural resources for generations to come.

Plus, digging and trapping for your dinner is fun!

Here are three dock-to-table trips to take this summer (and beyond). Find more insider tips on catching and cooking up your fresh catch at parentmap.com/crab. >>

parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide • 19

Fun For the Whole Family!

dock-to-table continued from page 19

Razor clamming on the central Oregon coast As the gently winding Highway 101 deposits you in Newport, Oregon, check your tide time; you’ll want to be on the beach, scanning the wet sand for “clam shows,” no later than an hour before low tide (the lower the better).

Razor clams — hefty, meaty clams with delicate shells — are typically available just in the coolseason months on Washington’s coastal beaches, but you can find them on Oregon beaches most of the year. Newport, about a five-hour drive from Seattle, is a spectacular destination for your summer razor clamming adventure.

Anacortes Waterfront Festival Saturday June 3rd 10am - 6pm Sunday June 4th 10am - 5pm

Learn more at anacortes.org/waterfront Presented by Bellevue Parks & Community Services Bellevue Youth Theatre

The dunes of Agate Beach sit right between Nye Beach in Newport and the salty cliffs of Yaquina Head, where you’ll find the Oregon Coast’s tallest lighthouse. Grab your buckets, gloves and clam guns (or shovels) and head down to the edge of the surf. The keen eyes of small children are particularly skilled at spotting a razor clam’s characteristic “dimple” (plus, they’re down closer to the ground). Once you’ve spotted one, stab the sand about 5 inches away with the shovel, work it into the sand, pull it

CATCH UP!

Three more shellfish adventures

August 4–20, 2017 Bellevue Youth Theatre 16051 NE 10th Street, Bellevue All tickets $10

20 • Family Adventure Guide • parentmap.com

Hood Canal: Get a shrimp pot, load up your bait and lure in the plump and sweet spot shrimp this region is famous for. The season is short, limited to a handful of days in May. Extensive oyster beds at Potlatch State Park are just steps from wooded campsites.

Astoria: Charter a kid-friendly Columbia River fishing guide (Lance Fisher is one of the best, lancefisherfishing.com) during the summer Chinook run, then fill your freezer with your catch!

Kids will love watching fishing and cargo ships from a waterfront room at the Cannery Pier Hotel (cannerypierhotel.com).

Moclips: Moclips, on Washington’s North Beach, is where to plan your fall razor clamming adventure. Find great clamming near your beach condo at the pet-friendly Hi-Tide Ocean Beach Resort (hi-tide-resort.com), where they thoughtfully provide a spacious razor-clam cleaning shelter.

away from the dimple, then dig, dig, dig!

Remember to never turn your back on the ocean, and watch out for sneaker waves that can sweep you off your feet. Once you’ve met your catch limit (or are exhausted from digging, whichever comes first) explore the tide pools below the lighthouse at the Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area ($7 per vehicle, volunteer naturalists are usually onsite).

Keep your razors cold until you get a chance to clean them; they’ll keep in the fridge for a few days.

More to forage: Head to Newport’s historic bay, where one side of the street is a working fish dock (home to Oregon’s largest commercial fishing fleet) and the other is lined with ice cream joints, candy shops and chowder houses. Peruse the catch that fishermen sell right off the boat (we call it “dock foraging”) and sample oysters on the half-shell at Ocean Bleu Seafoods at Gino’s. Want to catch your own? Harry’s Bait & Tackle

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will rent you a crab pot to hang off the Bay Street Pier.

Don’t miss: Newport’s shining star is the world-class Oregon Coast Aquarium (aquarium.org), a living classroom with natural, hands-on exhibits like touch tide pools, sea lions, furry sea otters, playful seabirds and more. At Passages of the Deep, a stunning 200-foot-long acrylic >>

parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide 21 3/27/17 12:10•PM

COURTESY LAUREN BRADEN

The author and her son at Oregon Coast Aquarium

dock-to-table continued from page 21 tunnel, five species of sharks and bat rays swim over and under you.

Open 10 a.m.–6 p.m. daily; children $15–$20, adults $23, babies and toddlers free.

Stay: Your room with a view at the bluff-top Hallmark Resort (hallmarkinns.com, from $159) overlooks the expansive Pacific and all its beautiful sunsets, with the lighthouse to the north and jetty to the south.

Watch the fishing fleet come and go and keep an eye on the horizon for passing whales. Amenities include an indoor pool, a sauna and hot tub, and steps that lead straight down to the beach. The adjacent restaurant, Georgie’s Beachside Grill, specializes in fresh, local seafood and has a great kids’ menu.

Crabbing on the northern Oregon coast

Relax and

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Few experiences are more quintessentially Northwest than tossing a crab pot off a dock (or boat) and eating whatever crawls inside.

Kelly’s Brighton Marina on Nehalem Bay is an excellent place for a crabbing-by-boat primer (kellysbrightonmarina.com, $95). Arrive a few hours before high tide and book the two-hour “crabbing special,” which includes a boat with a motor, three baited crab rings and safety gear. Kelly’s staff start with an engaging dock demo, or they’ll accompany you in the boat (and if you’re lucky, show you their secret crabbing hole). Return to the dock with buckets of Dungeness crab and they’ll boil ’em up for you.

COURTESY KELLYSBRIGHTONMARINA.COM

Come play in the breathtaking beauty of Washington’s Cascade Mountains.

Savor gourmet meals crafted with superb local ingredients, a luxurious spa and accommodations in harmony with nature.

The protected saltwater estuaries of Netarts, Tillamook and Nehalem bays are fed with freshwater by snowmelt from mountain streams and washed clean twice daily with Pacific tides. The result? Some of the best seafood foraging in the world, especially crabbing.

More to forage: Undeveloped Netarts Bay is renowned as a shallow, pristine estuary that transforms into a giant, muddy clam bed at low tide, concealing a feast of littlenecks, gapers, cockles and butter clams. On Tillamook Bay, the fishing village of Garibaldi boasts a reliable cockle bed known as Garibaldi Flat under its main pier, and Garibaldi Marina will rent you crab pots you can drop off the dock (garibaldimarina.com).

Stay: Sheltered Nook on Tillamook Bay hosts six custom-built tiny

22 • Family Adventure Guide • parentmap.com

houses in the woods that creatively fit the amenities of a family home into 385 square feet (shelterednook.com, $110–$175 per night). Cook up your catch in the stocked kitchen or barbecue outdoors while the kids check out the Frisbee golf course. Cottages sleep six; a delicious breakfast basket is included.

Pitch a tent: Cape Lookout State Park sits on both a steep-cliffed promontory and a sand spit that juts out nearly two miles into the Pacific Ocean, sheltering the waters of Netarts Bay (oregonstateparks.org). More than 200 campsites and 19 yurts and cabins are available. >>

i9sports.com

SHELLFISH SAFETY Before you hang the “Gone Clamming” sign on your front door, read these warnings: Keep it legal. Get a recreational shellfish/seaweed harvesting license for each person; they are required for ages 12 and up in Oregon and 15 and up in Washington, and good for one to three days or annually. You can buy licenses at most marinas and general stores in coastal towns. And know the state regulations for dates and catch limits (Washington, wdfw.wa.gov; Oregon, odfw.com).

Mind the tides. Consult a tide chart for where you’re headed to track the optimum times for harvesting shellfish or seaweed.

In Oregon, public access to tidelands is guaranteed by law, but access is not guaranteed in Washington.

Eat safe shellfish. State wildlife agencies regularly monitor shellfish for biotoxins, pollution and radiation. Check for specific beach closures due to marine biotoxins before you catch and eat; the easiest way to do this is to call the state-funded Shellfish Safety Hotlines (Washington, 800-562-5632; Oregon, 800-448-2474).

Get in gear. When it comes to clothes, think warm and dry. Tall rain boots are a must. Rain gear, including waterproof pants and jacket, is nice when crabbing in a skiff and for clam digging in wet sand on your hands and knees. Kids should wear life jackets in boats, in the surf and on docks.

parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide • 23

dock-to-table continued from page 23

Mussels and clams on Whidbey Island Board a ferry in Mukilteo for the short sail across Possession Sound to the southern tip of laid-back Whidbey Island. With 150 miles of coastline, this long, sinewy island shelters dozens of sandy coves between its rocky bluffs and wind-swept spits. Acres of clams, indeed.

If the tide is high, wander the artsy village of Langley for gallery-hopping and bookstore-browsing. Stop in for a kid-friendly glass-blowing demo at Callahan’s Firehouse (they make the coolest glass fishing floats) then pit stop at Useless Bay Coffee Company next door for chai lattes and sour cream coffee cake.

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Contact Taryn 206-774-2217 or camps@jewishinseattle.org

When approaching low tide, head north to Coupeville, one of Washington’s oldest towns, dating back to 1852 and set along your digging destination: Penn Cove. Clamming is year-round on Whidbey though some beaches experience seasonal closures; West Penn Cove and Twin Lagoon beaches open June 1, 2017, through the end of the year.

Those tidelands are hiding your dinner, just waiting to be unearthed: native littleneck clams (higher on the beach), Manila clams, butter clams, cockles (just inches deep and easy to locate with a heavy-tined garden fork) and horse clams (low in the tidal zone).

Not surprisingly, this is an excellent beach for harvesting Penn Cove mussels. Fill in the holes you dig, and mind the per-person limits. Stow your harvest in some seawater to keep them alive until you get to a stove or campfire for your own family clambake.

More to forage: Ala Spit County Park, near Deception Pass, and Long Point, east of Penn Cove, are great for cockles and butter clams. On

24 • Family Adventure Guide • parentmap.com

FOREST SERVICE, FLICKR CC

PENGRIN, FLICKR CC

a day trip? Double Bluff State Park (aka Useless Bay Tidelands) is just eight miles from the ferry dock and popular for butter clams and native littlenecks.

Stay: The nautical-themed Cozy Harbor Cottage in Coupeville sleeps a family of five and provides a fully equipped kitchen for you Fort Ebey State Park to whip up a pot of steamy clam chowder while gazing off your deck at the sunset ($160 per night, cozyharborretreats.com). For more options on Whidbey, look for vacation home rentals: Many of the island’s lodgings are not kid-friendly.

Pitch a tent: “Clam and camp” at Fort Ebey State Park, where 50 wooded campsites on a bluff are just a short hike from a beach full of clams at minus tide. To the east are beds of oysters, mussels and clams at West Penn Cove beach (parks.state.wa.us).

Lauren Braden is a Pacific Northwest writer who focuses on recreation and local travel. She blogs at nwtripfinder.com.

SAFECO FIELD TOURS

Take a tour of Safeco Field, the spectacular home of the Seattle Mariners. The 19.59 acre outdoor ballpark features real grass, a retractable roof and the largest videoboard in Major League Baseball.

View areas of the ballpark that are normally restricted to the public, including the Press Box, Owners Suite, Field, Dugouts, Visitors Clubhouse, All-Star Club, and more.

MARINERS.COM/TOURS • (206) 346-4241 parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide • 25

Summer Camps

Camps start June 27!

GET PUMPED FOR SUMMER!

This summer Seattle Parks and Recreation in partnership with Associated Recreation Council has amazing camp experiences available for youth ages 3-21! Your local community center and parks have a wide variety of options including:

• Activity Camps including Sports and Fitness, Arts and Crafts, Performing Arts, STEM for ages 3-17 • Nature Camps for ages 6-12 • Rowing and Boating Camps for ages 8-18 • Teen Camps for ages 11-14 • Summer Day Camps for ages 5-12 • Preschool Camps for ages 3-5 • Camps for Youth with Special Needs ages 4-21

Check out seattle.gov/parks/camps for all our offerings!

Scholarships available! Visit bit.ly/sprscholarships for more information.

FREE programs and meals are also available, for more info call 206-615-0303 or visit seattle.gov/summerfood

Big Day of Play THE DAY TO PLAY YOUR WAY! Big Day of Play is a celebration of our City’s diversity and encourages neighbors, communities and families to have fun, build relationships, and be active together.

FREE for all ages!

You can enjoy: • Mainstage celebration of cultural diversity – music, dance presentation and entertainment • Creative play opportunities like obstacle course inflatables, rock climbing wall, basketball, carnival games, clay-making, and much more!

• Water activities like sailing, rowing, and stand-up paddle boarding • Food trucks

When: August 19, 2017, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.

Where: Rainier Community Center, 4600 38th Ave. S, Seattle 98118 For water activities: Mount Baker Rowing and Sailing Center, 3800 Lake Washington Blvd. S, Seattle 98118 Discover the athlete in you while enjoying the sounds, smells, and foods from a range of communities.

Visit bigdayofplay.com for more information!

26

SPONSORED CONTENT

Everyone Into the Water!

Whether you’re a paddler or a swimmer, a wader or a sailor, we have ways for you to get close to – or into – the water all over town: two outdoor pools, eight indoor pools, nine lifeguarded beaches, 15 wading pools, two small-craft boating centers and 10 spray parks.

OUTDOOR POOLS Parks operates two unique outdoor pools for summer fun. Each offers swimming lessons, family swimming, water exercise programs, and special events. And you can rent the whole pool for your own special event!

Lowery C. “Pop” Mounger Pool

2535 32nd Ave. W • 206-684-4708 Mounger Pool has two pools in one place! The “big pool” has a 50foot corkscrew slide and the warmer, shallower “little pool” is great for relaxing and for teaching little ones. Call the pool to reserve it for your own birthday party or other special event!

Colman Pool

8603 Fauntleroy Way SW • 206-684-7494 • Opens at Noon The unique Colman Pool enjoys a spectacular view of Puget Sound from its prime location on the beach in West Seattle’s Lincoln Park.

It features heated salt water and the Giant Tube Slide! seattle.gov/Parks/pools.asp

LOW-COST LIFE JACKETS BEACHES Parks offer safe, lifeguarded beaches at nine sites around the city, and we strongly recommend swimming only where lifeguards are present. Summer beaches are open daily, weather permitting, from noon to 7 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m.-7 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. We offer free beginning swim lessons at every beach every week for kids ages six and older—just register at your favorite beach.

Attractions range from swim rafts and low and high diving boards to nearby wading pools, play areas, ballfields, and more. seattle.gov/Parks/beaches.asp

INDOOR POOLS Parks operates eight community indoor pools for year-round fun. Each pool offers swimming lessons, family swimming, water-exercise programs, lap swimming, and seasonal events. And you can rent the whole pool for your own special event! seattle.gov/Parks/pools.asp

Why buy a lifejacket? Drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury or death among children ages one to 14. Wearing a life jacket saves lives.

The person for whom the jacket is being purchased must be present for proper fitting. No refunds or returns - all sales are final. We extend special thanks to our partners, Seattle Children’s Hospital and the Coast Guard Auxiliary, for their support of this event. For more information, please contact Evans Pool at 206-684-4961.

WADING POOLS Your little ones will love the cool, shallow water and you can cool your own grown-up toes too! We will operate 15 wading pool sites this summer, and there are 10 parks with spray features to enjoy.

We open on days with sunny skies and warm temperatures, and we update the hotline, 206-684-7796, by 9 a.m. each day to indicate whether we will fill the pools. Please note that the pools take about an hour to fill and drain each day, as required by law. seattle.gov/parks/find/spray-parks-and-wading-pools

SPONSORED CONTENT

27

healthy people healthy environment strong communities

splurges COURTESY OVER THE RAINBOW RIDES

12

Northwest summer splurges Hot-air balloons, floatplanes, zip lines, ecotours: Sometimes it pays to create an unforgettable family memory

By Fiona Cohen

While many of the best summer experiences don’t cost much — from beach play to berry picking — once in a while it can pay to spring for a special occasion such as a birthday or visiting family. These premium summer experiences may cost a little more than an afternoon at the spray park, but the rewards are obvious: a

new perspective on this glorious corner of the world from the back of the horse, a wildlife keeper’s truck or even a hot-air balloon.

1. Glide through the trees

Strap onto zip lines and whir from tree to tree on a Canopy Tours Northwest tour deep in the woods on peaceful Camano Island. During the two-and-a-half-hour experience, you’ll ride six different zip lines >> parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide • 29

splurges

Canopy Tours Northwest

continued from page 29

(the longest one measures 660 feet), traverse a long bridge, explore trails and take a ride in a 1963 Unimog truck, originally built as a troop carrier for the Swiss Army.

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Get yours today! amazon.com or parentmap.com 30 • Family Adventure Guide • parentmap.com

Fine print: Tour cost is $103 for teens and adults, $65 for ages 12 and younger. Minimum weight 65 lbs., maximum 300 lbs. canopytoursnw. com

2. Surf’s up

How does it feel to catch a wave?

One minute you are thrashing around, a land animal in rough water, but in the next, you feel a giddy lift as the power of the ocean grabs you and sends you skidding forward.

It’s such a wonderful way to play that humans aren’t the only animals to do it: Dolphins and sea lions also ride the waves. Skookum Surf, located at Ilwaco on Washington’s sandy Long Beach Peninsula, will outfit you with a board and a wetsuit, and give you

a two-hour lesson on the beach.

Fine print: Group rate is $99 per person.

Participants must weigh at least 75 lbs. and be able to swim the length of a pool. skookumsurf.com

Retreat to Diablo Lake with North Cascades Institute

3. Salmonenchanted cruise Argosy’s Tillicum Excursion to Blake Island is a classic Seattle splurge, and for good reason.

Forty-five minutes after you set off from downtown, you disembark on Blake Island, a quiet, wooded state park in the middle of Puget Sound. There, you enter a Native American longhouse, where native storytellers wearing beautifully made masks tell tales, followed by a meal of salmon cooked in the traditional Salish way, on stakes over an alderwood fire. Don’t worry, no theme-park goofiness here. This is a serious and respectful way to learn about the culture and art of the nonimmigrant people of this region.

Fine print: Advance tickets cost $74, $30 for ages 4–12, free for 3 and younger. argosycruises.com/argosy-cruises/tillicum-excursion

4. Paddle where the orcas play

Set where the surging waters of the Strait of Juan de Fuca mix with the quieter inland stretches of the Salish Sea, San Juan Island is surrounded by fertile waters that are home to a glorious assortment of wildlife, including southern resident orca whales. Paddlers on an Outdoor Odysseys tour see orcas often enough that guides instruct people on what to do when they end up too close: Stop paddling and band together until the whales pass by. Even if the whales don’t make an appearance, you’ll find island wildlife and natural beauty to spare.

Fine print: Cost is $99/person for the full-day tour. Minimum age is 12, although one child under 12 can participate in a tour if two adults accompany her. outdoorodysseys.com

5. Ride wild rivers

In spring and early summer, snowmelt comes surging into mountain rivers, creating a bumpy and thrilling playground for those with the expertise to raft it safely. Guides from Alpine Adventures run rafting trips on a variety of rivers. Kids 6 and older can join whitewater trips on the Upper Skagit; kids 8 and older can raft the Wenatchee and the Methow, provided the water level is safe. On more difficult rivers, such as the Skykomish, the Suiattle and the Green, the age limit is higher. >> parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide • 31

splurges Kids will love horsing around Leavenworth

continued from page 31

Fine print: Cost is $64–$99 per adult, $64–$69 for 12 and younger, depending on the location and size of the group. alpineadventures.com

6. Mountain retreat

Retreat to the North Cascades Institute for a Family Getaway weekend, a family camp experience that combines outdoor learning with glorious scenery and creature comforts (you’re housed in the institute’s state-of-the-art ecolodge at Diablo Lake). Trek the trails, learn about nature or paddle a big dugout canoe over the brilliant turquoise waters of Diablo Lake.

Refuel with delicious, organic meals at the institute. (It also has coffee on hand at all times.)

Fine print: Cost for a weekend is $280 per adult, $180 for ages 3–13, free for ages 2 and younger. ncascades.org

On Olympia’s East Bay

ning Visit t he Award-Win Summer Splash! Festival of Fun, June-August Live Performers • Animal Guests • Special Activities Explore 150 Exhibits: Tinker in the MakeSpace • Create in the Art Studio Nature Play and Animals in the Outdoor Discovery Center 32 • Family Adventure Guide • parentmap.com

$5 OFF MUSEUM ADMISSION

MAY 1, 2017 - AUG. 31, 2017 Limit one coupon per customer.

For general admission only. PLU 450

*426* *450* Expires: 9/13/2016

OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK! 414 Jefferson St. NE, Olympia, WA 98501 (360) 956-0818 • hocm.org

7. Saddle up

When you take an Icicle Outfitters horseback tour of the Leavenworth area, you’ll get a chance to explore this lovely corner of the east slope of the Cascades from a unique perspective, going from one calendarworthy view to another in the company of intelligent, sure-footed animals. Kids must be at least 6 to ride their own horse. Children younger than 6 can share a horse with an adult on the 2-mile ride (at half price).

Fine print: Two-mile rides are $30 per person, 4-mile rides are $60. icicleoutfitters.com

8. Trek truck tour

It’s always exciting to see elk, bison and bighorn sheep from the tram at Northwest Trek wildlife park in Eatonville, near Mount Rainier. But what if you could get even closer? Trek offers special keeper tours in which participants get to ride in the back of the keeper’s truck in the morning as she or he drives around the park feeding the animals, an amazing opportunity to see the park’s wild creatures up close.

Fine print: Cost is $60–$65, and includes admission, a tram ride and food (for you, not the animals). Kids need to be at least 5; some tours reserved for 13 and older. nwtrek.org/keeper-tours

9. Hot-air hurrah

Float over the fields and wineries around Woodinville in a boldly colored hot-air balloon piloted by the crew at Over the Rainbow Hot Air Balloon Rides. As many as eight people can go at a time on a flight, which ranges from 45 to 75 minutes, depending on the conditions.

Fine print: A hot-air balloon tour ranges from $175 per person (for a sunrise tour) to $225 (for sunset). For a private group ride, the price is $1,480–$1,880. overtherainbowhotairballoonrides.com >> parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide • 33

splurges continued from page 33

10. Plane awesome

“The most inspiring place you and your family can ever visit!”

—TripAdvisor review

Fine print: Flights start at $97.50 per passenger. seattleseaplanes.com

11. Splashing around Lake Union

You could spend a week splurging on ways to explore Seattle’s urban aquatic transportation hub and playground. Sign up for a family sail with Lake Union Charters and spend an hour and a half exploring the lake on a 63-foot gaff-rigged schooner built in 1926. You can take sailing lessons from the crew or just relax. Or — a perfect setting for a special family party — take a spin in a 10-seat electric boat that is furnished for comfort and is easy to operate.

Fine print: A charter sailboat rental costs $85 per person or $325 for a group of as many as six; lakeunioncharters.com/charter/family-sail.

For electric-boat rental, drivers must be 25 or older; a two-hour boat rental costs $217. theelectricboatco.com

12. Insider’s Olympic National Park Always Free | Next to Seattle Center Summer Hours

Tuesday–Saturday, 10am–6pm gatesvc.org | 34 • Family Adventure Guide • parentmap.com

Elwha River, Hoh Rain Forest, Hurricane Ridge: Make the most of your visit to the regional treasure that is Olympic National Park by taking an Experience Olympic ecotour. The tour’s expert guide will take you through the park’s most amazing places, pointing out bear footprints, helping you identify all the colorful critters in a tide pool and more. Experience Olympic offers a variety of tours, ranging from ocean beaches to alpine meadows. It takes care of transportation, snacks and lunch, and lends suitable clothing and equipment, such as binoculars.

SEA TURTLE, FLICKR CC

From its base on Lake Union, Seattle Seaplanes offers floatplane rides that present a thrilling perspective of the city and its setting. The cheapest option is the standard 20-minute loop around Seattle, or you could fly to one of the company’s other destinations, such as over the peaks of the Olympic Range, the glaciers of Mount Rainier or Mount St. Helens.

ANDREA LAI, FLICKR CC

Fine print: A six- to eight-hour tour costs $260 for one person 16 or older, $40 for each additional member of the group. Kids younger than 16 take the tour for free. experienceolympic. com/ecotour

Hiking Hurricane Ridge

Fiona McCaw Cohen lives in Seattle. Her book, Curious Kids Nature Guide: Explore the Amazing Outdoors of the Pacific Northwest, will be released in May 2017.

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parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide • 35

Trust the locals to fill your Seattle bucket list.

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OPENS LABOR DAY WEEKEND! BECU FREE KIDS WEEKEND September 1–4

To see the special activities and deals available on Labor Day weekend, visit THEFAIR.COM

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SUMMER 2017

Aerospace Maker Project (AMP) Get AMP’d UP! High schoolers: Earn UW credits. Explore 3D printing, engineering design, aerospace concepts, and more! https://www.futureofflight.org/amp

STEAM Camp 2017 Spacesuits, robots, and drones are just the beginning!

Kids entering grades 3-8 learn about aerospace in fun, educational programs at the Institute of Flight’s summer STEAM Camp in July and August. https://www.futureofflight.org/education Summer Nights on the Strato Deck Enjoy the gorgeous view and live music on a rooftop overlooking Paine Field. This family-friendly happy hour event occurs on Fridays: June 16, July 21, and August 18. https://www.futureofflight.org/summer

425-438-8100 x245 futureofflight.org

8415 Paine Field Blvd., Mukilteo, WA 98275

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gold rush

Time travel: Visitors play old-fashioned games in Barkerville

Road trip to Barkerville, B.C., for full immersion into a little-known era of Northwest pioneer history

By Julia Duin

Think that all the famous 19th-century gold rushes were only in California and Alaska? Don’t forget British Columbia. The Cariboo gold rush began in 1858, drawing thousands of people into western Canada and to gold deposits along the Fraser River Valley. Would-be millionaires began prospecting near the town of Yale, some 83 miles east of the present-day city of Vancouver, and made their way 350 miles north to an area that eventually became known as Barkerville. >> parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide • 39

PHOTOS BY THOMAS DRASDAUSKIS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED

Go gold rush!

gold rush

Learning to pan for gold CARLEIGH DREW

continued from page 39

Situated 4,300 feet above sea level on the western edge of the Cariboo Mountains, Barkerville was named after British prospector Bill Barker, whose gold strike near Williams Creek in 1862 revealed the world’s largest creekside gold nugget deposit. Once word of Barker’s find got out, the world rushed in. The resulting fame made Barkerville the largest city west of St. Louis and north of San Francisco, at least for a few years. Guides in Barkerville will tell you about the 10,000 men prospecting in the area in the 1860s who kept two dozen blacksmiths very busy.

More than 150 years later, families can experience the gold rush era for themselves in today’s Barkerville, which has become the largest living-history museum in western North America. It comprises 169 historic buildings or their replicas on 1,130 acres (almost four times the size of Colonial Williamsburg), several dozen costumed employees at 18 period businesses, four historic cemeteries, three bed-and-breakfasts and three campgrounds. But few Americans have heard of the place, even though it was declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1924.

Get an Altitude Adjustment at

Crystal Mountain Resort

Crystal Mountain Resort is best known as a skiers paradise, but it’s more than just that. It’s memories waiting to be created. It’s family hikes, horseback rides, and never-ending photo opportunities. It’s scenic gondola rides and a gourmet lunch or dinner at what feels like the top of the world. It’s Mt. Rainier bigger and more beautiful than you’ve ever seen it.

Visit Website for Schedule.

Let’s connect: CrystalMountainResort.com Facebook.com/CrystalMountainWashington

40 • Family Adventure Guide • parentmap.com

I first heard of the historic town when we drove by there on our way to Alaska two years ago. I circled back last summer when my daughter was 11. Our two-night stay was a rich lesson in how the Canadian West was won. For Seattle families that are interested in gold mining, adventure and a full immersion into 19th-century frontier life, a Barkerville trip is well worth the drive.

Set Sail for High Adventure

From gold panning to ‘bride boats’: A day in Barkerville A typical day in Barkerville starts at the visitor center, where a daily schedule of dozens of events is posted, beginning with morning prayer at the local Anglican church.

Visitors will immediately notice a dirt road heading uphill through Barkerville, which quickly turns to mud if it’s raining. From there, you can explore the local print shop, the smithy or the local cemeteries; observe several musical revues; or ride a stagecoach up the hill to the local courthouse 1 mile away. There, actors dressed as 19th-century magistrates reminisce about the cases of the day. Altogether, there are more than 125 sites to visit.

There are many opportunities to learn about and participate in gold rush history. Find a mining museum and a demonstration of how gold was mined at the Barker & Co. Shaft House. At the Eldorado Gold Panning and Gift Shop, owned by three brothers, the whole family can pan for gold flakes and chips in a simulated creek. Don’t miss the waterwheel demonstration, a 40-minute, interactive show featuring two unscrupulous miner owners who try to get the audience to buy bogus shares in their mine.

Throughout the town, costumed employees, including 18–24 professional actors, work, dress and talk much like settlers from the >>

PLAY & CREATE AT SAM Kids and their grownups learn and discover at SAM! Kids 12 and under are always free.

SUMMER AT SAM JUL 13–AUG 31

OLYMPIC SCULPTURE PARK FREE!

Enjoy the outdoors this summer with live music, a kids’ corner, and food trucks every Thursday evening. Saturdays, take an outdoor yoga class or interact with local artists to learn more about their practices.

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Learn techniques and ideas explored in the exhibition Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors.

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Photo by Robert Wade

parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide • 41

Barkerville basics Cost: Two-day admission to Barkerville, in Canadian dollars, is $14.50 for adults, $9.50 for children ages 13–18, $4.75 for children ages 6–12, and free for those who are younger. Canada is celebrating its 150th birthday in 2017 and is granting free admission to its national parks if you order a Discovery Pass online. Barkerville is a national historic site (not a park) so the Discovery Pass doesn’t apply, but passholders do get a 20 percent discount on admission fees.

TUESDAYS

6:3m0 p

WEDNESDAYS

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Concert Series

6:30 pm

June 21–Aug 2

June 20– Aug 1

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( No Show July 4 )

SATURDAYS Music AND Movies

7:0m0 p

Concerts at 7:00 pm Movies at Dusk July 15 – Aug 5

HUNTAMER PARK Corner of 7th & Woodland Sq Lp

For more information visit www.ci.lacey.wa.us/events or call 360.491.0857

18ft x 18ft Screen • Concessions for Sale • Bring Your Own Seating

Where to stay: Reserve a space at one of the three bed-and-breakfasts in town, as Barkerville is 55 miles away from Quesnel, the closest city of any size. We stayed at the Kelly House (rooms start at $98/ night), where the huge farm breakfasts were works of art and there was an interesting mix of guests each night. St. George Hotel, a former saloon and brothel, is more expensive and does not allow children younger than 12. There are also three nearby campgrounds — the smallest, Government Hill, is within walking distance of the town — and a handful of lodgings in nearby Wells.

What to eat: Barkerville has a confectionary, a bakery, a coffeehouse and two restaurants: Wake Up Jake and Lung Duck Tong. Three miles away, in Wells, you’ll find a bakery and a handful of other restaurants.

Trips to Africa, China, Cuba, Ecuador, India, Nicaragua & Peru

Good to know: Barkerville’s main season in 2017 runs from May 18 to Sept. 24, although it does open at other times of the year for some holiday and winter activities. There is internet at the visitor center and the bed-and-breakfasts, but no cellphone service anywhere in town. Also, a warning: Do not arrive past 6 p.m., after which the town really shuts down and it can be tough to access your lodging and other amenities (we learned this the hard way).

Getting there: From Seattle, it is a scenic 532-mile drive to Barkerville, with mountains, tourist facilities and lots of historic gold rush sites along the way.

Each Global Family Travels itinerary features educational sightseeing, cultural immersion, home stays or visits with local families, meaningful service projects, and most importantly, fun activities designed to keep all ages happy and engaged.

844-438-7854

42 • Family Adventure Guide • parentmap.com

Nearby fun: The road to Barkerville also leads to Bowron Lake Provincial Park, known for its chain of 10 lakes, where canoeists can paddle a 72-mile circuit with some portaging. On Highway 26 west of Barkerville, the Cottonwood House Heritage Site is an old roadhouse built for gold prospectors in 1864. About 5 miles west of Quesnel, Pinnacles Provincial Park has a wonderful hike — lasting about an hour — overlooking limestone hoodoo formations on Baker Creek.

Info: Check out the town blog (barkervilleblog.com) for activities and news.

gold rush continued from page 41

1860s. On our visit, one such actor played the part of “Miss Florence Wilson,” who had come to Canada on a “bride boat” from Britain in 1864 for the benefit of lonely male miners. This entertaining performer wore a blue and white dress (complete with a hoop skirt), a straw hat, a black belt with a large silver buckle and a silver locket.

She also carried a parasol, which she would wave about as she gave us a tour of the town.

We also enjoyed “Mrs. Thompson,” a grouchy schoolteacher — dressed in a long skirt with a bustle and a bonnet — who ushered us into the 1874 schoolhouse to learn the three Rs the Victorian way. We crammed ourselves behind small wooden desks facing a wood-burning stove.

She reprimanded anyone who didn’t address her as “ma’am” or

FAS17_nw_railway_museum_1-2h.indd 1

stand when they answered a question. People were instructed to sit separately by sex, all females had to wear bonnets and we had to examine each other’s hair for lice. Another actor played Barker himself, reminiscing on the steps of a mid-town cabin about the sudden fame he brought to the Cariboo wilderness. >>

parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide 43 3/16/17 12:35•PM

gold rush continued from page 43

Exploring Barkerville’s Chinatown A highlight of a Barkerville visit is Chinatown, located on the upper end of town and decorated with red banners, red Chinese lanterns and flags. Consider taking a history tour led by Ying-ying Chen or one of her Mandarin- or Cantonese-speaking assistants. As Chen, who teaches at Simon Fraser University, takes visitors through the streets of Chinatown, she brings to life the fascinating story of how 5,000–8,000 immigrants from China’s Pearl River Delta made the voyage across the Pacific, then traveled on foot from New Westminster to Barkerville (a three-week walk) to labor in the gold fields.

The town’s 18,500 historic Chinese items are part of the largest Chinese history and documents collection in North America, all of which is on site in Barkerville. The site also has the largest collection of pre-1880s Chinese buildings on the continent. (Note: Kids may get restless during Chen’s tour, but my daughter was mollified by a

Fun facts about the Cariboo gold rush 1. The precursor to the 1862 Cariboo gold rush was the Fraser River gold rush of 1858, closer to the present-day city of Vancouver. About 500 British colonists lived in what would become the province of British Columbia at the beginning of 1858. Within a year, the population had surged to 30,000.

2. Women were in such short supply in western Canada that mission societies were formed in England for the purpose of sending marriage-minded single women to the frontier. They sailed on “bride ships” bound for Victoria, B.C., and from Victoria, traveled on to the goldfields.

3. The route to Barkerville from Yale

YMCA SUMMER CAMPS Day Camp and Overnight Camp Options YMCAPKC.ORG/SUMMER 44 • Family Adventure Guide • parentmap.com

was marked by roadhouses named for the distance traveled from Yale on the Cariboo Wagon Road. Today, there are still towns called “150 Mile House,” “100 Mile House” and “70 Mile House.” At 150 Mile House, be sure to stop at a restored 1896 schoolhouse, which features double desks, a cloak room, a barrel stove and separate outhouses for boys and girls.

It’s about more than prizes...

Happy memories last a lifetime.

subsequent visit to a Chinese merchant who sold us a pink parasol.)

Kids will also enjoy exploring Chinese shops and trying calligraphy.

Hungry? Grab a bite at the Lung Duck Tong Restaurant.

The gold rush at Barkerville and elsewhere on the Cariboo Wagon Road was part of a 20-year, multibillion-dollar industry that established British Columbia as a resource-rich province. Before the gold rush, the territory was controlled by the Hudson’s Bay Company.

As Americans from the California gold rush poured into the area, the English settlers realized they had better make the region a British crown colony if they wished to retain control of this region north of the 49th parallel.

UTT OU O R R 7 TT 7 1 1 2200

During our trip to Barkerville, the human-interest stories I picked up about the people who were drawn to this wilderness were so compelling that I bought a history of the Canadian gold rush at a bookstore in the town of Quesnel, 55 miles away. A visit to Barkerville allows you to step back two centuries to a relatively undiscovered era of North American history and understand the passions of those who lived and died for gold.

Julia Duin is a journalist living in Issaquah and the mother of a fifthgrade girl. Before they moved to the Puget Sound area in 2015, they lived in Fairbanks, Alaska, where they learned to love the far north. parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide • 45

travel tradition

Why your family needs a travel tradition

Vacation rituals, from silly to sublime, can deepen the experience of travel with kids

By Elisa Murray

Travel is usually equated with exploring the unknown, but an underrated pleasure is incorporating a ritual into a vacation. Routines are the staple of family life, after all, and traditions such as finding a used bookstore, trying a local specialty or making a pressed-penny souvenir can add a sweet bit of familiarity that gives kids something to look forward to and builds a bank of vacation memories.

Interested in establishing a vacation ritual of your own? We asked our

resident experts — our readers — to share their favorites; here are some to consider adopting on your next getaway.

Road trip games Everyone knows “I Spy” or “Slug Bug,” but what about creating a distinctive car-trip game that reflects your family’s interests? Seattleite Laura Todd’s musical family created a game called “Analog Jukebox” for road trips: One person names a song, and then everyone sings together — a fun way to memorize new tunes and practice skills such as taking turns and conflict resolution. In my family, “The Superhero Game” — a version of “20 Questions” that my sister made up in a desperate attempt to quell a tantrum — has reigned supreme for two years. >> parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide • 47

travel traditions continued from page 47

Double-duty souvenirs Bringing home souvenirs is an age-old tradition, but focusing on a certain type of memento can help your family build a collection that keeps vacation memories alive. Many families collect Christmas ornaments and reminisce about their travels as they hang them on the tree every year. “My mom did this, too,” says Seattle mom Tracy Cutchlow, “so I have ornaments of all kinds going back nearly 40 years.”

Some families collect pressed pennies, which can be turned into charm bracelets or other trinkets. Seashells and rocks can be added to jars or turned into crafts such as vases; one family collects a bit of sand from each beach they visit.

Kristen Dorwin, a mother of two who lives in Kirkland, gives her kids a small budget to pick out their own souvenirs. “It helps them learn about

financial choices and budgeting, and prevents us from being pestered about things they want throughout the trip.”

Ice cream and other sweet traditions What is it about ice cream? “We have ice cream every day,” Dorwin says about one of her family’s favorite vacation habits. Another reader says they “always say yes to ice cream requests” on vacation; another notes they “always find the local ice cream parlor, whether we’re on a quick camping getaway or in Europe.”

Some families always try a local bakery or coffee house. A friend of mine always buys “vacation cereal” for her son (cold cereal of the sugary variety).

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Food, glorious food A vacation ritual that can help develop your child’s palate and knowledge of local food traditions? Yes, please. Renton resident Jessica Perry says that her family makes it a rule not to eat at chain restaurants while on vacation (unless it’s a local chain). “It forces you to live the local experience through the cuisine and to support the local economy and small businesses.”

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One food-loving family eats at a fancy restaurant at least once on vacation but chooses lunch as a cost-saving strategy: “We each order different things to sample as a family.”

Fast food does have its place. My family has started eating at In-N-Out Burger every time we go to California (my favorite thing about it is the lack of choice on the menu); similarly, some families eat at sustainable burger chain Burgerville whenever they’re in Oregon.

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Book-loving Puget Sound families love exporting their cozy tradition SEATTLE • ISSAQUAH • BELLEVUE • TUTTABELLA.COM to other locales. Long before my son was born, my husband and I made a beeline for Powell’s Books every time we went to Portland, bringing along books to sell so we could get enough credit to at least break even.

“You Gotta Go to Graham” for the 69th annual Now my son is fully on board with the wonders of the “City of Books.”

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Another reader always finds an independent bookstore and buys each kid one book, “both supporting the independent store and encouraging a love of reading.”

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Reader Z. Johnson says that her family loves looking for a great used bookstore when they travel and “finding what looks like a terrible fantasy or science fiction book to read!”

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travel traditions continued from page 49 Free Kids Camp for Attendees

always tell ‘ghost stories’ (nothing too scary with the little ones) and the kids and Mom and Dad all take turns,” shares Seattle mother Sarah Kenworthy, who has five children.

When camping or exploring state or national parks, kids can earn Junior Ranger badges by decoding signs, learning about critters, picking up trash or other projects. Buy the kids ranger vests for their next birthday and watch the badges — and their pride — accumulate over time.

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The trip is the ritual While discovering new destinations can be exciting, an annual trip to the same place — a certain state park, city or town — also has its rewards. You can enjoy visiting old favorites while trying new adventures.

“We go on the same local trips every year,” notes Angela Finney, a Seattle mother of two boys. “Lake Wenatchee to camp, Cannon Beach, Decatur Island, Pasco for the Columbia Cup [hydroplane races].

Now my kids look forward to each trip and enjoying the activities in each place. They are never bored because they are experiencing them differently as they grow and mature.”

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Once you return home, taking time to record memories can help the joy of time away last a little longer. One family displays a special map where they mark all of the states they’ve visited. Another chooses a vacation theme song, which sparks memories whenever they hear it.

As for us, we keep a series of simple family journals in which we record quotes, stories and adventures with pictures and drawing. They’re not pretty — full of my scrawl and my first-grade son’s doodles — but a random entry instantly calls up a time, place — and spelling level.

“It was osum,” my 7-year-old recently wrote of a recent trip to an amusement park. “Lets go bak now!”

Elisa Murray is ParentMap’s managing editor.

parentmap.com

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KOA cool Before you had kids, you and your ultra-light backpack might have turned up your nose at KOA “Kamping.” No longer. Once you check out the campground chain’s glamping-like accommodations, stellar locations and loads of activities for kids, you may soon be a Kamping convert. parentmap.com/KOA

Your goal is to finish a hike; their goal is to pick up every stick along the way.

That’s why you need our latest hiking round-up, which spotlights five trails with a magnetic destination for kids, from unique ice caves to a splash-worthy stream to a ghost town. parentmap.com/ hikes-prize

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Sometimes you just need one-day camp solution for the kids, not a whole week. We’ve found a baker’s dozen of flexible day camps around the Sound that offer all kinds of options and plenty of cool programs, from sports to art. parentmap.com/one-daycamps

The art of the summer steal Free adventures abound in the summer, including star-watching, Shakespeare in the park and even skateboard and swimming lessons.

Find them all in our master list of 50 free or almost-free summer adventures. parentmap. com/freesummer

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City of Mercer Island Parks & Rec . . 14,15

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Astoria or bust

Ride The Ducks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Plan a last-minute spring getaway to this historic Oregon town, and then return for the next three seasons. The traditional fishing town has that rare combination of great yearround activities, fun cultural and historic sites, iconic movie cred and a killer brewery scene. parentmap.com/astoria

Seattle Art Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Seattle Parks & Rec . . . . . . . . . . . . .26,27,28 Sleeping Lady . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Space Needle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Stillaguamish Tribe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Sunbanks Lake Resort . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Tennis Center Sand Point . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 The Seattle Mariners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Tillamook Coast/Rockaway Beach . .16,17 Traxx Indoor Raceway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria . . . . . . . 49 WA Department of Fish and Wildlife . . 45 Washington State Fair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties . . 44

parentmap.com • Family Adventure Guide • 51

WHE RE Y U R HEAR SKIP T SA BEAT

Ride your bike at the park, go on a scavenger hunt, pet goats and horses, and delight in the candy and ice cream shops! Fall in love with nature on a river walk, celebrate at the festivals, and always ďŹ nd fun for the whole family in charming Leavenworth!

Find what you love at LEAVENWORTH.ORG #LOVINLEAVENWORTH | 509-548-5807