July 2010
Best Camping Spots in Washington
Whether you prefer authentic camping or luxury "glamping," our camping guide has you covered.
Roughing ItThe Northwest offers plenty of ways to commune with nature, but nothing quite surpasses the getting-back-to-the-land feeling of hiking, sleeping and cooking outdoors—especially when s’mores await at the end of a day spent entirely free of walls. Not-so-Roughing ItIf sleeping on the ground—even on a pad in a warm sleeping bag and tent—is more…
Top Doctors 2010: Special Hall of Fame Edition
Saluting the 381 finest physicians in the Puget Sound region.
Over the past decade, Seattle magazine has been the go-to resource for information about the best doctors in the region. For this Top Doctors issue—our 10th since 2000—we created a Top Doctors Hall of Fame to honor the four doctors (pictured L to R: Dr. Joseph S. Gruss; Dr. Linda S. Mihalov; Dr. David R. Byrd;…
Spotlight: Screaming Flea Productions’ Third Season of Hoarders
With a third season of Hoarders in the works, the Seattle-based production team offers a behind-the-
Let’s get this out of the way: The name Screaming Flea Productions (SFP) is not a reference to the conditions commonly seen on Hoarders, the popular reality show the Seattle-based company produces for A&E. Though the SFP team is all too familiar with infestations—and other unpleasant consequences of living amid piles of newspapers and herds…
Best Camping Spots: Roughing It
The Northwest offers myriad ways to commune with nature, but nothing surpasses sleeping outdoors.
Salt Creek A Family AffairWhere: North side of the Olympic Peninsula on the Strait of Juan de FucaBest For: Base-camp adventuring, tide pooling and family-friendly camping Sea stars, swimming and s’mores, oh my! Salt Creek Recreation Area off State Route 112 on the north side of the Olympic Peninsula has a wealth of options for family…
Sage Advice for Camping with Children
Camping with kids presents special problems, so we asked a family-camping expert for some answers.
Should I buy my child a special ergonomic telescoping titanium trekking pole? Only if you hate nature. There is no way that pole is not going to be used to whack the crap out of trailside vegetation (and probably your ankles and your child’s little brother). Balance is a learned skill—let them learn it! Save the…
Best Camping Spots: Vamping
The Eurovan is the ground-averse camper's silver bullet.
When my husband, Daniel, and I go camping for the weekend, there are no tents involved. We do not drag Therm-a-Rests or tarps out of the garage; we do not strap carefully rolled sleeping bags onto backpacks. Instead, we pile into our VW Eurovan and head for nearby wilderness to experience a night or two…
Easy Salted Caramel S’mores
An extra decadent version of the classic campfire dessert.
When the late-evening air is infused with the smell of a crackling campfire, there’s no better nightcap than a mug of warm cocoa and a melty, chocolatey s’more. In this extra-decadent version, we’ve taken Cougar Mountain chocolate chip cookies and sandwiched between them toasted marshmallows and the ultra-rich, dark chocolate salted caramels from Jo’s Candies…
Grey Matters: Built to Spill
Knute Berger is looking for a warm, dry place to celebrate Seattle's can't-do spirit
Built to SpillSummer thrives as a testament to the can-do spirit of the people of Seattle. For the first time in 90 years (except for an understandable hiatus during World War II), we were about to face a summer without a July 4 public fireworks display. There was no one to pay for it in…
Hot Button: Class Struggles
In pursuit of excellence and equal opportunity, Seattle Public Schools has to convince parents that
Seattle Public Schools will reverse a longstanding tradition of allowing parents to choose their kids’ schools when it phases in a new “neighborhood school” student assignment plan in September for students in kindergarten, sixth and ninth grades. The district rewrote its 30-year-old boundaries and is now assigning students to schools closer to their homes. The…
Craving: Margaritas
Nothing like a cold margarita on a hot July day.
Nothing like a cold margarita on a hot July day. Here are five winners, all scratch margaritas using fresh citrus juice and house-made sweet-and-sour mix. We ordered them on the rocks in 16-ounce “pounders,” with and without salted rims. Alicia Arter La Carta de OaxacaThe brisk house margarita is invigorating, made with un-aged Sauza Silver…
Trend: Test Drive The Tesla Sport Roadster
Seattle drivers are among the early adopters of all things green, so we took electric cars for a spi
Plug ’n’ Play To anyone who has opened up a Christmas present only to be stymied by “batteries not included,” I present the 2010 Tesla Sport roadster. Through the generosity of Tesla Motors on Westlake Avenue, I opened up a Tesla on the Alaskan Way Viaduct the other day. About 6,800 lithium batteries—the kind that…
Out To Lunch: Sweet Iron Waffles
Waffles for lunch? Sweet Iron Waffles makes a distinctly persuasive argument
Category: seattlepi.com teaser headlines Waffles for lunch? Sweet Iron Waffles makes a distinctly persuasive argument The waffle iron at Sweet Iron Waffles is a beast. It is to your home waffle maker as a Siberian tiger is to your cat. It runs on 50,000 volts of electricity and figures in the murder of a…