Children Can Stay And Ski For Free

Have kids? Then Mission Ridge Ski Area has a deal for you and your young skiers. Kids age 12 and younger stay for free at eight Wenatchee motels and hotels as part of the Kids Stay Free program. In addition, during the RidgeBear Ski Free Weeks (Jan. 5-9, Feb. 9-13 and March 9-13), those same kids who bring along their teddy bear or other stuffed aninmal, get to ski for free if accompanied by an adult who buys a two- or three-day mid-week lift ticket.

Mission Ridge is 12 miles from Wenatchee; there is no on-mountain lodging. For information about these programs or Mission Ridge Ski Area, call (509) 663-6543.

Think spring cruise

The High Desert Museum in Bend, Ore., is taking reservations for a guided field excursion to the fjords and islands of southeast Alaska and the British Columbia coast, May 3-10.

The eight-day trip is aboard the Yorktown Clipper and activities include whalewatching.

The fee ranges from $1,800 to $2,930; transportation to Seattle where the trip begins and from Ketchikan where it ends is not included.

For information: (541) 382-4754; deadline for registration is Dec. 26.

Celebrate in style

Rosario Resort on Orcas Island in the San Juans has put together a New Year’s getaway package which includes New Year’s Eve dinner and a party, New Year’s Day brunch and access to all the spa facilities. Packages start at $220 per person and transportation to and from the island is extra. (Harbor Air flies to Orcas from SeaTac Airport and offers special rates to Rosario guests.)

For information: (800) 562-8820.

Learn the names

A new guide to Washington’s wildflowers includes more than 500 color photos of the flowers as well as comprehensive descriptions. (Many flower books utilize illustrations, which are more difficult to use for identifying flowers in the field.)

“Wildflowers of Washington” by C.P. Lyons (Lone Pine Publishing, $15.95) includes a handy cross-reference to similar species and excerpts from the diaries of early explorers and botanists (ISBN: 1-55105-092-7).

A long, slow paddle

Kayaking the lagoons of Baja in search of gray whales could be an adventure of a lifetime. If the thought captures your interest, the Coeur d’Alene-based Sea Kayak Adventures has the trip for you.

The Bajas Desert Whales six-day adventures will be Jan. 25-March 6. Participation is limited to 12 travelers; lodging is in tents. No previous paddling or camping experience is necessary; all equipment is provided. Cost is $975 and the kayaking trip begins and ends in Loreto, Mexico (AeroCalifornia Airlines flies the Los Angeles to Loreto route daily). For information: Sea Kayak Adventures, 1315 Indiana Ave., Coeur d’Alene, ID 83814; (800) 616-1943 or e-mail skadvent@iea.com.

Just plain unusual

If there’s a traveler in your family whose tastes run toward the unusual, check out a new book, “Offbeat Museums: The Collections and Curators of America’s Most Unusual Museums” by Saul Rubin (Santa Monica Press, $17.95).

Entries in the book range from the Nut Museum and the Cockroach Hall of Fame to the Burlesque Hall of Fame. There’s also the Tragedy in U.S. History Museum, The U.S. Border Patrol Museum and the Kansas Barbed Wire Museum.

Washington is represented only by the Dan Brown Rosary Collection, housed at the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center in Stevenson. (No Idaho museums were included.)

The downside: Don’t plan to find “Offbeat Museums” before Christmas; the publication date is mid-January (ISBN: 0-9639946-4-6).

, DataTimes