Seattle Vacation Ideas

Where can you see black bears, cougars, bison, mountain goats, porcupines, toads, and salamanders all in the same place? Well, probably at the zoo, but if you want to see these creatures in something closer to their natural habitat, check out Northwest Trek.

As their about page says, the 723-acre park has a little bit of everything: lakes, trails, meadows, and plenty of animals. Northwest Trek is home to more than 200 North American animals, which roam about the lands instead of being locked in small cages.

Admission costs $13.50 for adults and includes a 55-minute tram tour of the park. When you’re done, you’re free to cruise the walking trails, which meander through forest and wetlands. Stop to listen to a Keeper Talk on subjects such as wolf packs or owl habits when you want to take a break and rest for a bit. When you get hungry, there’s a cafe on site, or you can bring your own lunch to the picnics areas. Just don’t feed the bears…

Northwest Trek is 55 miles south of Seattle on the way to Mt. Rainier National Park.

http://www.nwtrek.org

 Ah, the beauties and wonders of Oregon, the beach, Portland, and of course, cheese!  Well, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but I do like cheese and Tillamook Cheddar is really tasty!  If you want to see a commercial cheese factory in operation, this is a great destination.  They have a thorough self-guided tour complete with maps and kiosks that will let you explore at your own pace.  I know that I’m often the one who wants to spend forever reading placards and the guide is three rooms beyond me.  This way, my friends can speed along and I’ll be able to meet up with them in the Farmhouse Cafe, or atthe Fudge or Ice Cream counter. Where they can sample to their heart’s content.

The cost is free, for the tour at least.  As with most locations, there is a gift shop where, if you feel too rich, you can trade your cash for cow trinkets, cheese for your loved ones back home, or samples of their other products or accompaniments for your cheese.

The Tillamook site also lists some other ideas of places to visit nearby if you want to extend your time in cheese country.  For a complete tour and more, check out http://www.tillamookcheese.com/VisitorsCenter/

If you’ve got an aviation fanatic in the family, a tour of the Boeing facility might be appreciated.

Seattle Tours runs a 4-hour trip that lets you see airplanes in various stages of flight test and manufacture. The complex itself is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest building in the world by volume. The building encloses 472 million cubic feet of space (13.3 million cubic meters), and its footprint covers 98.3 acres. It houses the assembly for Boeing’s wide-body aircrafts, such as the 747, 767, and 777.

The tour also takes in the educational Future of Flight Center.

Prices run about $60, and tours leave at 7:30 am and 12:30 pm, daily from May through October (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from November through April).

Seattle Tours

It seems that all children go through phases where they love such-and-such animal and can’t get enough posters, stickers, binders, etc. featuring their favorite. Mine was wolves (with horses right up there in the running), but I never did get to visit any in person. There’s always the zoo, but if you live in the Puget Sound area (or are visiting), you could visit Wolf Haven, which is down south of Olympia in Tenino.

The facility rescues captive-born wolves that are on the chopping block (given up by private collectors, roadside zoos, research facilities, etc.) and gives them plots of land to roam and do wolfy things on. Guided tours let you see the wolves and offer educational information on the species, the value of all wildlife, and how to protect the remaining wild wolves and their habitats.

Wolf Haven also has a program where you can “adopt a wolf.” No, you don’t take it home to live on your sofa; you’re basically sponsoring it, but you do get a photo of your wolf, which you can take home and post above the sofa.

Tours run every hour on the hour, every day except Tuesdays:

“Guided tours are approximately 45-50 minutes and cover a variety of educational information on wolves; wolf biology and ecology; and recovery programs and conservation. Information on Wolf Haven’s work for wolf conservation and background information on sanctuary residents is also provided by our trained knowledgeable volunteer tour guides.”

http://www.wolfhaven.org