journeypuget sound

the magazine for AAA members

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015

NW Winter Fun!

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ARIZONA ROAD TRIPDesert charm from Tempe to Tombstone

PACIFIC NORTHWEST BALLET A new Nutcracker premieres in Seattle

REGIONAL GETAWAYS, ACTIVITIES AND AMENITIES THAT BRIGHTEN UP THE SEASON

22072 AAA WashingtonJourney Magazine Nov/Dec 2015 PUG - C17.875” x 10.5” • PDFx1a • 150 lpi • Kodak SWOP

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Warming Up to Winter*

Our children never tire of building snowmen, rollicking down sledding hills or just sticking out their tongues to catch descending snowflakes, so why should we? About 20 miles south of Port Angeles in Olympic National Park, Hurricane Ridge offers a gamut of outdoor activities for emerging win-ter adventurers. Children as young as 4 can don rental snowshoes for weekend and holiday walks with a park ranger eager to point out red crossbills or the occasional mountain goat. Hurricane Ridge also offers cross-country trails; a bunny slope; an intermediate hill served by an old-school rope tow; and a fun sledding hill. (Call the Road & Weather Hotline, 360.565.3131, ahead of time to check on conditions.)

In Kellogg, Idaho, Silver Mountain Resort combines outdoor and indoor play perfectly, conveying visitors from the resort to the ski hill via Ameri-ca’s longest gondola (3.1 miles). The resort’s Silver Rapids Indoor Water-park offers exciting slides, a tubing river, standing surf wave and other aquatic contraptions.

In Central Oregon, Wanderlust Tours’ Bonfire on the Snow snowshoe excursions lead families with kids (8 and up) to a bonfire and natural amphitheater deep within a forest near Sunriver, home to an indoor pool, trails, and numerous dining and lodg-ing options.

* WITH YOUR FAMILY

1.

SIX GREAT WAYS TO

EMBRACE THE CHILLY

SEASON

BY CRAI S. BOWER

DESPITE THE SMILES ON OUR FACES EVERY SUMMER WHEN WE

HIKE UP MOUNTAINS, PADDLE ACROSS BAYS AND DINE ON SUNNY

PATIOS, WE TRULY LOVE EMBRACING THE ELEMENTS THAT WINTER

BRINGS TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. SURE, WE MIGHT COMPLAIN

FROM TIME TO TIME ABOUT HAVING TO PILE FLEECE AND GORE-

TEX OVER OUR LAYERS OF FLANNEL AND POLYPROPYLENE, BUT

EVEN THEN, WE ARE SECRETLY REJOICING OVER AN OPPORTUNITY

TO GLIDE DOWN A SKI RUN, STROLL ALONG A QUIET BEACH OR

SIMPLY GAZE INTO CLEAR NIGHT SKY. WITH OUR TIME TO SHINE

UNDER DIMINISHING DAYLIGHT FAST APPROACHING, HERE ARE SIX

GREAT WAYS TO MAKE THE MOST OF THIS GLORIOUS TIME OF YEAR.

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The joys of winter converge upon Hurricane Ridge.

A little snow and a sled are all you need to rediscover your inner child.

2. * WITH YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY

Multigenerational travel is one of the best trends around, inspiring more and more destinations to offer amenities and activities that let mom and dad relax, engage kids and entertain grandparents—all at the same time. In Alberta, Banff and Lake Louise receive plenty of kudos for their “Big 3” ski resorts (Mount Norquay, Sunshine Village and Lake Louise Ski Resort), but it’s the variety of their recreational offerings that deserves the raves. The teenagers in your group can ski through lunch at Lake Louise Ski Resort; the aunts can explore 60 miles of cross-country ski trails; and the grandparents can soak in the winter scenery from behind a team of husky sled dogs or draft horses. Or, depending on your family, perhaps it will be the grandparents and aunts who ski through lunch. Whatever the case may be, the area offers a range of activities to satisfy a multitude of interests and still give you all a chance to come together in the village for dinner and an evening skate on Lake Louise. You can even spend quality time together in a customized Ice Explorer bus viewing breathtaking glaciers along Icefields Parkway.

Multigenerational offerings at Suncadia resort, near Cle Elum, include full-moon snowshoeing, an indoor pool with two waterslides, outdoor ice skating and a spa, while lodging options include rooms, condominiums and vacation homes. The resort is also less than 30 miles from The Summit at Snoqualmie Pass.

22 journey november/december 2015

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22072 AAA WashingtonJourney Magazine Nov/Dec 2015 COM - 227.875” x 10.5” • PDFx1a • 150 lpi • Epson Commercial

22072 AAA WashingtonJourney Magazine Nov/Dec 2015 COM - 237.875” x 10.5” • PDFx1a • 150 lpi • Epson Commercial

journey november/december 201524 washington.aaa.com/journey 25

 * WITH YOUR OUTDOOR GEARWhen the snow begins to fall, the Methow Valley appears like a Cur-rier and Ives lithograph, the scen-ery shaped by the cottonwood-lined Methow River. Days begin with a chance to fuel up on sweet or savory goodness at Cinnamon Twisp or Rock-ing Horse bakeries. Outside, you can choose from 120 miles of groomed cross-country trails, the Loup Loup Ski Bowl, or a 300,000-acre swath of backcountry terrain accessible via North Cascades Heli. The elegant Sun Mountain Lodge, about 10 miles from downtown Winthrop, leads the list of lodging options.

In North Idaho, Sandpoint has as much to offer for outdoor enthusiasts in winter as it does in summer. Snow-mobilers come to explore 400 miles of navigable trails in the 186,000-acre Priest Lake State Forest. Visitors can overnight at the full-service Sch-weitzer Mountain ski village or stay downtown, where Pend d’Oreille Win-ery’s tasting room caters to epicurean desires. The Lodge at Sandpoint and 41 South restaurant beckon from the south shore of Lake Pend Oreille.

* WITH YOUR FINEST TWEED AND ELBOW PATCHESNot even the gray days of winter can stop works from Portland’s emerging artists from continuing to sprout up at gatherings such as the annual 11-day Fertile Ground Festival (Jan. 21-31), an annual showcase of new theater works. Meanwhile, ChocolateFest (Jan. 22–24) sweetens a Rose City winter weekend while raising funds for the World For-estry Center. Should the clouds still get you down, consider the Biamp PDX Jazz Festival (Feb. 18–28), featuring more than 100 concerts and events to blow those tears away.

In Seattle, the collection of works com-prising Chihuly Garden and Glass at Seattle Center shimmer in any light, but especially so in December, when the Center brightens up the holidays with an ice rink, art installations and performances for Winterfest. At the Seattle Art Museum, Intimate Impres-sionism from the National Gallery of Art showcases stunning works by French masters through Jan. 10. j

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* WITH YOUR SPECIAL SOMEONEWinter entices us to get cozy, so it’s no surprise that the Northwest is packed with romantic “igloos.” Favorites include the Salish Lodge & Spa, perched near the top of Snoqualmie Falls, and Leavenworth’s Sleeping Lady, located beside Icicle Creek. The latter’s cabins are scattered like gray jays beneath the ponderosa pines. The faux-rock hot pool is open year-round, and, on nearly every other Saturday, the on-site Snowy Owl Theater presents simulcasts of performances by the Metropolitan Opera.

Many of us also migrate during winter to witness the tempests that batter our Pacific Coast. Venture out for a beach walk beside the iconic sea stacks along Cannon Beach, Ore., then repair to Morris’ Fireside Restaurant for a well-deserved warm-up. Situated on the northern edge of Vancouver Island’s Pacific Rim National Park, Tofino plies us with old-growth hikes to isolated beaches and the coast’s best winter surfing. Nearby Ucluelet, just 25 miles southeast of Tofino, and Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula, don’t receive as much attention as they deserve, except, of course, from storms.

* WITH YOUR PASSPORTAmong the many great destinations north of the border, the Thompson Okanagan region of British Columbia, between Osoyoos and Valemount, offers as diverse an environment as you will find. While the Okanagan Valley’s bountiful vineyards lie dormant in winter, their grapes steal the show during the annual Winter Okanagan Wine Festival at Sun Peaks Resort (Jan. 15–24), near Kamloops. About 45 miles northeast of Kelowna, Silver Star Mountain Resort offers family-friendly terrain and a broad range of lodging choices in its ski-in village, as does Big White Ski Resort, about 40 miles southeast of Kelowna. Both, along with Sun Peaks, benefit from an arid atmosphere that produces consistently light, fluffy snow.

About 90 miles east of the Sumas border crossing, E.C. Manning Provincial Park offers a low-key alpine experience. Cross-country ski trails traverse the area, a medium-sized downhill ski hill invites all levels, and moderately priced cabins surround an outdoor ice skating rink. There are even two snow-camping grounds.

3. The Rendezvous Huts add to the winter charm of the Methow Valley’s trail network.

Cannon Beach delights in all seasons.

Chihuly’s art shimmers at Seattle Center.

B.C.’s beloved powder piles up at Sun Peaks.

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*22072 AAA WashingtonJourney Magazine Nov/Dec 2015 COM - 247.875” x 10.5” • PDFx1a • 150 lpi • Epson Commercial

22072 AAA WashingtonJourney Magazine Nov/Dec 2015 COM - 257.875” x 10.5” • PDFx1a • 150 lpi • Epson Commercial