Summer Guide

Though outsiders might scoff when they hear Perry Como croon, "The bluest skies you've ever seen are in Seattle," we know exactly what he's talking about—summer! There is simply no better place to spend the season than in our Sound-side town, with its ample opportunities for splish-splashing, arts indulging, outdoor eating, boat floating and festival tomfoolery. We're here to share the whats, whens and hows.

 

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How to Barbecue a Salmon on the Beach
Paul Henriksen, co-director of Camp Nor’wester in the San Juan Islands, bakes salmon on the beach for 250 campers, staff, island residents and First Nations people several times each summer. “The salmon bake has been a Pacific Northwest native tradition for millennia,” he says. The technique involves securing salmon fillets between the prongs of a split cedar stake and positioning the stake in front of a hot fire. Henriksen promises the directions below will be worth the effort involved.

 

 

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Kayak Rental
Don’t let your fear of tipping over stop you from enjoying one of the best ways to see Seattle: by kayak. All you need is a little motivation, which we find is best in the form of a margarita from Agua Verde Café & Paddle Club (1303 NE Boat St.; 206.545.8570), the only kayak rental joint where you can reward yourself for all that arm work with a salt-rimmed beverage (and delicious fish tacos) on the deck afterward. If you prefer to paddle in pods, try Alki Kayak Tours (1660 Harbor Ave. SW; 206.953.0237; kayakalki.com), whose experienced staff leads kayaking tours to the Alki Lighthouse daily.

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From: Raft the River Wild

Get your adrenaline pumping by “floating the Sky”—guide-speak for rafting the Skykomish River.
The Sky, which falls in giant natural stairsteps from the northern Central Cascades, is one of the state’s most scenic rivers. What better way to drink in all the beauty—figuratively and literally—than from an invincible inflatable? But rafting the Sky is no Huck Finn affair, as rapids with names like Boulder Drop, Aquagasm and Lunch Hole—not to mention a half-dozen others rated Class 3 or higher—punctuate what might look like a casual float from the usually peaceful put-in at the town of Index off Highway 2. Navigating such rapids requires skill and experience in order to avoid slamming up against house-size rocks. So while you could try this on your own, we don’t recommend it. Several guiding services (see below) offer half-, full- and even two-day rafting packages centered on floating the most action-packed 10-mile stretch of the river. Peak season goes through July, when the air temps are high and the whitewater is raging.

 

OUTFITTERS: Blue Sky Outfitters (206.938.4030; blueskyoutfitters.com); Wave Trek (425.883.9039, wavetrek.com); Chinook Expeditions (360.793.3451; chinookexpeditions.com). What’s included: Most trips  include boats, guides, equipment (paddles, wetsuits, life jackets) and often a meal as well. Prices start at around $75/person.

 

EXTEND THE ADVENTURE: Stay overnight near Index at the rustic but charming Wild Lily Cabins (360.793.2103; wildlilyranch.com; from $105/night), or A River’s Edge Country Cottage Bed & Breakfast (360.793.0392; ariversedge.com; from $100/night).

 

LOCATION: Index is located just off Highway 2, about 30 miles west of Stevens Pass and about 1.5 hours from Seattle.

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Months of dreary weather and social hibernation have us anxious to shed the layers and do our dining al fresco. Luckily, as soon as summer hits the Emerald City, restaurants fling open the doors, tables spill onto the sidewalks and sun-starved diners get a front-row seat for unparalleled people watching
 

Café Campagne
Pike Place Market, 1600 Post Alley; 206.728.2233; campagnerestaurant.com
This slim stretch of two-top bistro tables in Post Alley—between Stewart and Pine streets—is by far the best bet for both people watching and delicious French bistro cooking. Long a boho haunt for poets and wine sippers, Café Campagne is all shadows and polished wood on the inside, but the shady tables outside are just right for an impromptu afternoon sip of Pouilly Fuissé alongside a plate of carefully sourced fromage, or un petit déjeuner, when the air is still crisp and the market is just waking up.

 

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Georgetown Music Festival
6/13–14
South by Southwest’s resonating guitar riffs may have long dissipated, but Northwest bands are tuning up for an encore of sorts. The third annual Georgetown Music Festival lures the region’s rockers to a two-day fest celebrating local musicians and those from Oregon on up through Vancouver, B.C. This year, experience the power pop and indie rock of Seattle bands The Lashes and The Slender Means—plus 50 other groups—as they crank out the riffs in the industrial south end of the city. Follow your ears to the 1200 block of Airport Way. Friday 4–10 p.m. and Saturday noon–10 p.m. georgetownmusicfest.com.

From: Summer Reading Savvy
Book gurus from our own backyard share their top picks for rereads and exciting new arrivals this season.

 

Linda Bowers, Executive Director, Seattle Arts & Lectures
Bowers’ candidate for a reread this summer is Averno by Louise Glück (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, February 2007, $12). Based on the Greek myth of Persephone, Glück’s 10th poetry collection is “dark, mysterious, troubling, gorgeous,” she says. “Glück and I are just about the same age, so I can really relate to this place where she’s going,” Bowers explains. “There’s some bittersweetness there of looking back over your life and both being weary of it in some ways, but also enamored of it.” As a self-professed mourner of HBO’s The Wire, Bowers is currently drawn to books by Richard Price (his book Clockers provided some inspiration for the show) and is excited about his newest novel, Lush Life (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, March 2008, $26). In it, Price uses his childhood in the Bronx’s Parkside projects to explore the latest wave of urban neighborhood transformations.

 

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The Log Lady
Finally, we get to find out what happened to that tree that was always falling in the forest—what your Zen master never told you is that it became the “nurse log” in the Neukom Vivarium, an exhibit at the corner of Broad and Elliott that’s part of SAM’s Olympic Sculpture Park. The 60-foot-long log encased in a glass terrarium is a 150-year-old western hemlock that fell in the Duwamish River watershed during a 1996 storm and was made into a living sculpture by artist Mark Dion. Here’s another Zen question for you: We know the nurse log nurtures all the little plants that grow on it while it’s decaying, but who nurses the nurse log? You may just meet her during your summer explorations.

 

Name: Sandy Caldwell

Job title: Ambassador, Olympic Sculpture Park. Ambassadors rove around, guiding visitors and answering questions about the many sculptures in the park.

Best part of the job: “I get to be part of a unique work of art, one that is constantly changing.”

Why Sandy likes working with the nurse log: “The nurse log is a sculpture that exists in time and welcomes participation. The idea is that children will come here, and then in many years they will bring their own children.” The nurse log will take 150 years to decay, a natural process that will be witnessed by many generations.

Strangest thing that ever happened on the job: “Well, there was the time a whole lot of slugs hatched out of the tree at once. I guess they just loved having all this to eat.” Now that’s a problem other sculptures at the park never have to contend with.

 

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Okay, we shared a sampling of our whats, whens and hows with you, but we won't reveal all the rest of the best of summer online until June 19. Can't wait? Pick up your copy of Seattle magazine, on newsstands now.