Hike of the Week
Sooner or later hikers either must come to terms with rain or become fair-weather hikers, held in slight disdain by those who grumble but lace up their boots anyway.
It can be a challenge to get motivated when it rains an inch in a day -- but hike anyway. Believe me, it's the only solution.
By Karen Sykes | January 26, 2006
Hike of the Week
When you have time for only a short hike, the Washington State Parks system offers many destinations, such as Tolmie State Park, a few miles northeast of Olympia. The park is open year-round with trails that wind through a saltwater marsh, beach and forest.
The 105-acre park includes 1,800 feet of shoreline, an underwater park for scuba diving, a beach, a saltwater marsh and a forest populated with wildlife. Displays at the upper picnic area and on the beach describe the ecology of the shoreline and the history of the park.
By Karen Sykes | December 15, 2005
Hike of the Week
Capitol Lake and Tumwater Falls get our vote as the most scenic parks within the city limits of Olympia. Both offer impressive scenery and historical points of interest, including the old Olympia Brewing Co., established in the early 1900s. You can visit both parks in a day and enjoy a variety of scenes, ranging from segmented Tumwater Falls to the quiet waters of Capitol Lake with the state capitol rising above.
By Karen Sykes | December 23, 2004
Hike of the Week
Hikers are seeking lower-elevation trails now that snow is falling in the mountains. One on which you won't need to lower your enjoyment expectations is the path at Lake Sylvia State Park.
Originally a logging camp dating back to the 1800s, the 223-acre park is near Montesano between Olympia and Aberdeen.
By Karen Sykes | November 4, 2004
It's rained much of the weekend, and as we barrel down a wooded tube of muck in Capitol State Forest, splashing through puddles and mud holes 30 feet long, I, oddly enough, find myself contemplating a bisque. A lovely seafood bisque. Perhaps with some basil, garlic, shredded crabmeat and those little shrimp. Yum.
By Mike McQuaide | October 7, 2004
Short Trips
UNION -- The first salvo of fireworks over Hood Canal Sunday night will mark the official opening of the new Alderbrook Resort and Spa after a nearly two-year, multimillion-dollar renovation. The Fourth of July pyrotechnics will be launched by the new owners just after dark from the resort's recently rebuilt dock.
By Jeff Larsen | July 1, 2004
Hike of the Week
There is something special about islands. Time feels different. Even a few hours on an island feels like an escape from civilization and its stresses. Most hikers have explored trails on larger islands like Whidbey and Bainbridge, but there are smaller islands that may be as new to you as they were to us, like Anderson Island.
True, you'll have to take a ferry from Steilacoom, but that's part of the charm.
By Karen Sykes | February 12, 2004
Hike of the Week
Hikers and naturalists will enjoy exploring Woodard Bay, one of the state's first natural resource conservation areas, situated in Thurston County, only 15 minutes from Olympia.
The 600-acre area was opened and dedicated in 2002. Taxpayers restored several trails and structures on the site, a major Puget Sound logging facility in the first half of the 20th century.
In addition to trails and interpretive signs, work included converting an old logging camp skid shack to a historical structure with fixtures from bygone logging days.
By Karen Sykes | December 4, 2003
CENTRALIA "Hi, honey! We're staying in a brothel," my friend Deb Smith said when she telephoned her husband, Randy, from the Olympic Club, a hotel and pub that is the most recent "rescue" project of Portland's McMenamin brothers. It's a place full of Prohibition-era history and local lore.
By Nancy Bartley | December 5, 2002
