Gorge Cruise Good Anytime

Sun., Aug. 30, 1998

By Susan English susane@spokesman.com

Summer isn’t the only cruise season in the Northwest. For the folks at the American West Steamboat Co., every season is a good time to cruise up the Columbia Gorge.

The company offers regular departures for cruises on the Columbia, Willamette and Snake rivers throughout the fall and winter. For a free cruise schedule with descriptions and fees, call (800) 434-1232.

Thoughts turn to romance

Travelers can be wildly romantic as part of a package deal that runs through October at three British Columbia hotels.

The Wildly Romantic Package includes one night’s accommodation, valet parking, sparkling wine and strawberries, breakfast for two, turndown service and a cuddly “Be My Beluga” plush toy with information about Canadian Pacific Hotels’ Wildlife Recovery Program.

The package is available at The Empress in Victoria and the Hotel Vancouver and Waterfront Center Hotel in Vancouver. (It’s also available through Dec. 17 at the Chateau Whistler Resort at Whistler ski resort near Vancouver.)

As part of its Green Partnership Program, the hotel chain champions the cause of the St. Lawrence beluga whale, an endangered species. The corporation donates funds to the cause, as well as regionally to research and recovery of endangered wildlife habitat such as black bear habitat near Whistler and salmon spawning rivers near Vancouver.

For information on the Wildly Romantic Package, call (800) 441-1414.

All that jazz

A little jazz in the mountains? What could be better? The annual High Mountains Jazz at Sisters in Sisters, Ore., will be staged Sept. 18-20.

The lineup this year includes 11 national and regional jazz bands which will belt out swing and jazz beneath the backdrop of the Oregon Cascades.

Admission prices vary. For information, call (800) 549-1332.

Focus on fish

Something’s fishy in Leavenworth, Wash., and it just might be the annual Salmon Festival, Sept. 19-20 at the Leavenworth State Fish Hatchery near the Bavarian-themed town.

The eighth-annual Wenatchee River Salmon Festival runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days and is free. There will be plenty of educational activities for kids as well as music, storytelling and an American Indian encampment.

For information, call the hatchery, (509) 548-6662.

Inside Passage service extended

The BC Ferries summer service will run through Oct. 16, which means passengers can still take the boats between Port Hardy on the northern end of Vancouver Island and Prince Rupert, the gateway to Southeast Alaska.

Details about departure times, fees and other routes serviced by BC Ferries are available by calling (250) 386-3431, or writing BC Ferries at 1112 Fort St., Dept. L&L, Victoria, BC Canada V8V 4V2.

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