Train trips provide view of Rockies

With their devil-may-care attitude toward toothpaste and saline solution, trains are looking more and more attractive, aren’t they?

Delightful as it may be to fly naked – with a Ziploc bag of all your belongings clutched in one hand and a sweaty $5 bill for a bag of pretzel sticks and a Coke in the other – maybe the opportunity to use the restroom at will or throw on deodorant with abandon makes up for the additional travel time by rail.

If you’re still not sure, RailsNW will offer three scenic itineraries this fall you can use to test your tolerance for life on top of the tracks.

Each will take you through the Canadian Rockies behind the Canadian Pacific’s 2816 “Empress” steam locomotive.

All aboard!

The first trip sets out from Calgary. You’ll spend the night of Sept. 6 at the Bow Valley Hotel, then head for Lethbridge through the Great Plains of Alberta and across the longest high-level bridge in the world. Once there, you’ll take a motor coach back to the Lethbridge Trestle before checking into the Lethbridge Lodge.

The next day takes you over Crowsnest Pass to Cranbrook, where you’ll get a private tour of railway equipment assembled by the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel. You’ll travel on to Golden and then return to Calgary over Kicking Horse Pass with a lunch stop in Banff.

If you prefer a scaled-back version of the five-night trip, RailsNW offers an option without the Calgary overnights and meals. Prices run from $1,633 for a coach class, three-night excursion with “shared twin” accommodations to $3,375 for a dome class, five-night version in a room of your own. That includes hotel, meals and transfers.

Trip No. 2 proceeds from Calgary to Vancouver via Kicking Horse Pass, with hotel stays in Lake Louise, Revelstoke and Kamloops. You’ll start on Oct. 10 and make your way through the Thompson and Fraser River canyons for $2,250 to $2,560.

Finally, a four-night trek from Vancouver to Calgary takes off Oct. 16 and wends its way over Crowsnest Pass with stops in Kamloops, Golden, Cranbrook and Lethbridge, and visits to the CPR Railway museum and the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel. Fares start at $2,500.

Book your reservations at www.railsnw.com/tours/canada.htm or (800) 717-0108.

Out of their trees

Bungee jumping just wasn’t enough for them.

So the Bungy Zone has become WildPlay at the Bungy Zone, an “element park,” an hour and a half north of Vancouver, B.C.

Those in the know say an element park seeks to connect people to the outdoors, and apparently that involves dropping you from 140 feet above the Nanaimo River, swinging you over it at 87 miles per hour or suspending you between trees.

Ah, nature. So tranquil.

WildPlay’s newest adventure, TreeGO, puts you through four different obstacle courses 10 to 50 feet off the ground across several acres of Douglas fir forest. You can take on zip lines, suspended bridges, swinging logs, scramble nets and more, clipped into a safety cable all the while. A fifth course is specifically designed for those 12 and under and, according to WildPlay, no trees were harmed in the making of TreeGO.

The entire adventure should take you around two and a half hours, leaving you plenty of time to strap yourself into the King Swing’s harness for 2.3 G’s of fun off a bridge over the river. And by all means, bungee jump if you must, you adrenaline junkie.

There’s more information at www.wildplayparks.com or (888) 668-7874. Passes cost anywhere from $19 to $99 Canadian, depending on the thrill you’re after.

Scroll call

I’m just guessing here, but a pleasure cruise to Israel probably isn’t in your immediate future.

Don’t despair, though. A little piece of the Middle East is coming our way Sept. 23, and it’s 100 percent missile-free.

So get your Hebrew and your Aramaic on at Pacific Science Center’s “Discovering the Dead Sea Scrolls,” an original exhibition running through Jan. 7 in Seattle.

Considered by some as one of the most significant archeological discoveries of the 20th century, the scrolls contain the earliest known written texts of the Bible.

Ten of them will be on display, including four never seen by the public, along with artifacts from Qumran, an ancient settlement near the Dead Sea, and interactive exhibits about excavation, conservation and interpretation.

If you still want to know more, the center offers two different family science workshops, beginning Oct. 7. One, geared for children from 5 to 7, looks at life in the days of Qumran. The second teaches 8- to 12-year-olds all about archaeology with hands-on activities.

The workshops cost $25 or $30 for nonmembers, respectively, and both require an adult chaperon.

There’s a schedule and more information at www.pacsci.org. Or call (206) 443-2001.

Regional events

•Boats Afloat, Sept. 13-17, Seattle. Lake Union brings you one of the largest on-water shows on the West Coast. And on land, you’ll find a car show, seminars, clinics and plenty of other stuff. (www.boatsafloatshow.com /206-748-0012)

•Third Annual Maryhill Arts Festival, Sept. 16-17, Goldendale, Wash. More than 50 artists will display paintings, sculptures, glass, photographs and other artwork for sale. Live music, hands-on art activities for kids and a food court are on the schedule, too. Festival admission is free. (www.maryhillmuseum.org/509-773-3733)

•Cranberry Harvest Festival, Oct. 14-15, Grayland, Wash. Barry Cranberry hosts bog tours, cranberry treats, the firefly parade, kids games, fiddlers, a quilt show and more. (www.2thebeach.org /800-473-6018)