San Juans Cruise Experience Dinner, Sunset Aboard A Boat
Outdoors & Travel G3: August 11, 1996 Correction: In an Aug. 4 story on Mystic Sea Charters, an incorrect phone number was given. The correct number is 1-800-308-9387.
Not all cruise ships ply the warm waters of the Caribbean or the Mediterranean. Some wind through the islands of Puget Sound. Mystic Sea Charters is now offering 2-1/2-hour lunch and sunset dinner cruises through the San Juans.
The boats depart LaConner in the Skagit Valley and go through Deception Pass to cruise along the shores of Hope, Whidbey and Fidalgo islands. Lunch is a buffet, dinner features king salmon. The cruises run through October and prices are $33 for lunch cruises, $45 for dinner. For sailing information and reservations: (800) 308-9287; or on the Web at: http:/ /www.cyberspace.com/mbrunk/ mystic.html.
New at the zoo: The new Trail of Vines exhibit has opened at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle.
The exhibit took five years to create and contains orangutans and other primate species in a natural environment.
The zoo’s summer concert series runs Wednesdays through Aug. 28. For information about Woodland Park: (206) 684-4800 The zoo is located at 601 N. 59th in Seattle.
Ice, snow and stone: The Icefield Parkway between Lake Louise and Jasper in Alberta boasts some of the most stunning scenery in the world. The Columbia Icefields tumble out of the Rockies nearly to the roadway and glacier-fed rivers scour the valleys bare of vegetation.
Womantours of Idaho will offer an escorted bicycle tour (women only) on the Icefield Parkway Sept. 1-6. The ride is suitable for those with all experience levels. A support van will carry luggage. Lodging is in creekside cabins and lodges.
Cost is $783. For details: Womantours PO Box 931, Driggs, ID 83422; (800) 247-1444.
Relaxing by the lake: The resort town of Bigfork, Mont., located on Flathead Lake south of Glacier National Park, draws hundreds of tourists mid-summer for the summer theater in the town. But life becomes more calm in this pretty little town in late summer and early fall. That’s the time to go, and the Marina Cay Resort is offering special rates on Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays through Sept. 17.
The Marina Cay is within walking distance of downtown Bigfork, the Bigfork Playhouse Theatre and is near the Eagle Bend Golf Course. For information: (800) 433-6516.
Hitch a ride: Hikers needing rides from trailheads in Glacier National Park can now catch one of the Rocky Mountains Transportation hikers’ shuttle buses.
The three vans run between Many Glacier Hotel on the northeast side of the park to West Glacier just outside the southwestern boundary throughout the day. Stops are made at all the popular trailheads along the Going-to-the-Sun Highway. This is an especially valuable service this summer since the parking area on Logan Pass (and the visitor center there) are closed while the road is being reconstructed. In fact, there’s no stopping at Logan Pass; visitors must park at Siyeh Bend and catch a free shuttle bus to the top (that’s the only place that shuttle goes, however).
For rates and a schedule for the hikers’ shuttle, call (406) 881-4311.
It’s not free, but it’s close: Those who travel inexpensively via lodging in hostels can send for a new free map of the American Youth Hostels in the U.S.
The map includes the hostel in Spokane (930 S. Lincoln, 838-5968) as well as seven other Washington state hostels and two in Idaho. For a copy of the map, contact: HI-AYH Map, 733 15th Street, N.W. Suite 840, Washington DC 20005; (202-783-6161 or fax (202) 783-6171.
, DataTimes