New Nw Books Are Great Guides
You’ll probably spend hundreds, or thousands, of dollars on your next Northwest vacation, so you might as well spend some more on guidebooks. A couple of ideas:
“Northwest Walks” by Gary Ferguson (Fulcrum Publishing, $15.95) is a new book describing 75 walks through the coasts, mountains, forests and deserts of Oregon, Idaho and Washington (although Eastern Washington is conspicuously absent).
Most of the walks are quite short and not too difficult, making the book especially useful for seniors and families with children. The book has attractive illustrations of plants and wildlife, but no photos and - a much more serious drawback - no trail maps, though the directions are quite detailed.
“Northwest Mileposts” (Vernon Publications, $16.95) is the updated fifth edition of an exhaustive guide to the region’s major highways. It covers all or part of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, British Columbia and Alberta.
This 304-page book lists - by milepost number - intersections, gas stations, rest areas, parks, cities, rivers, docks, chapels, ghost towns, mountains, forest boundaries … virtually every natural or man-made feature along the highways.
There are also guides to major cities, parks and recreation areas, and useful general information. Overall, a very handy book for travelers.
Orient express: If you’d like to get your kids out of your hair for a while this summer, consider sending them to Japan.
The Northwest International Cultural Exchange Association, based in Spokane, provides vacation exchange trips to Yamato, near Tokyo, for students ages 14 to 22 and their chaperones.
Visits usually are about three weeks long, and travelers pay only for their transportation - about $1,200 per person. In return, you agree to host Japanese visitors the following year.
The next tour to Japan leaves July 25 and returns Aug. 10. For information, call Donald Trail at 838-2100 (daytime) or 534-0298 (evenings).
Short takes: Bits and pieces from around the Northwest:
The ninth annual Bubble Festival at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle is Aug. 9-13. Participants get to make their own giant bubbles and perform bubble experiments; for information, call (206) 443-2001.
The Idaho Shakespeare Festival in Boise runs through September, featuring live theater under the stars. For information, call (208) 336-9221.
Music and more:
The Summer Nights at the Pier outdoor concert series at Seattle’s waterfront runs July 14 through Aug. 23, featuring performers in jazz, folk, pop funk, rock, blues, reggae and opera. For information, call (206) 682-4-FUN.
The 24th annual Victoria International Festival, a classical music extravaganza, runs from July 11 through Aug. 20, featuring dozens of performances at six different sites in the Vancouver Island Community. For information, call (604) 736-2119, or (604) 595-4522.
Sky high: The eighth annual Flightfest, a three-day air show and entertainment festival, runs June 30 through July 2 at Boeing Field south of Seattle.
More than 70 aircraft, including World War II planes, antiques, commercial airlines and modern military jets, will fly in for the event. For information, call (206) 764-5720.
Setting sail: The Lady Washington, a replica of the tall sailing ship commanded by Capt. Robert Gray (who discovered the mouth of the Columbia River in 1792) is offering tours and sailing excursions from the Seattle waterfront through Sept. 30.
There are dockside tours, three two-hour sailing tours and an evening sunset tour every day. Call (206) 682-4876.
, DataTimes MEMO: Send information about travel opportunities around the Pacific Northwest to: Travel Editor, Features Department, The Spokesman-Review, P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210.