alex33

Ten days in the Pacific Northwest in late August. From the Northeast to the Northwest- should be very interesting. I will be hostelling and camping I think. What are the big must sees/dos in Seattle and Vancouver area? For instance, what is more impressive Vancouver Island or the Olympic Peninsula? Hood Canal area or Mount Rainier? I am also interested in the Native American communities. Any opinions or advise is appreciated.

LoveItaly

topping so our PNW Fodorites will see this!

Orcas

Can't respond to all, but Mount Rainier and the Hood Canal area are not in the same class. Camp at Mt. Rainier. Ohanapakosh is a great camping spot in the southeast corner under huge trees. There are other campgrounds in the park that are also lovely, I'm sure. Do NOT miss Mt. Rainier.

Vancouver Island is farther to get to than the Olympic Peninusula, but people rave about the Tofino area on Vancouver Island, which is on the west coast so would be similar, in some ways, to the Olympic Peninsula. (Doesn't have as high mountains but it would be rain forests like the west side of the OP). I think I'd go for Canada if I were willing to spend the time driving, but post on the Canada board too for advise re that.

Native American communities...If you're thinking of the northwest coast Native Americans, I think much of that lifestyle was destroyed. The farther north you go, the more you can find what remains of the culture and lifestyle, particularly in Alaska. Seattle is about the southernmost point for finding stores that sell NW Coast Indian arts and crafts.

There are reservations, but they aren't too reminiscent of life before the economic base of the native Americans was destroyed and so many died of smallpox and other diseases. The Makah Indian reseravation is the northwest corner of the OP, but isn't really set up for tourists. They have been having somewhat controversial whale hunt from traditional canoes, though I haven't heard of it recently. You might see a couple of canoes at Neah Bay and there's a little museum there, but you can probably glean more about the original culture at the Museum of British Columbia in Victoria or at the UBC Museum in Vancouver. Both are excellent museums and you can look them up on the internet. The one in Victoria has interactive exhibits and a totem pole carver. The one in Vancouver has long houses with totem poles.

There is tourisy stuff, like Blake Island in Seattle has a newer long house where the Native American have a salmon bake and do native dancing and tell stories. It's a nice stop. You have to take the Argosy Cruise boat to it.

Any more info on what you are looking for?

Orcas

Here's a website on what is going on in Canada between the "First Nations" on the western part of Vancouver Island and the government. It has a little map showing the location of some of the tribal communities:
http://www.gov.bc.ca/arr/negotiation...chah_nulth.htm
You get much more of a sense of the native American life in British Columbia than in Washington.

Here's the Makah website. It's pretty interesting. While in elementary school in Portland OR, our kids had to write persuasive essays, pro or con, on the resumption of whaling. It's a tough one!
http://www.makah.com/mcrchome.htm

suze

You may be very surprised about the reservation land, regarding Native American communities. Sadly firework stands and casinos are the most visible modern day signs.

enzian

If you are going to the Olympic Peninsula, there is a hostel at Ft. Worden state park (Port Townsend):
http://www.fortworden.org/accommod.html

Scroll to the bottom of the page for information on the hostel. There is a campground there too; very popular because it's right at the beach.

On the way to Port Townsend you will pass through the Suquamish Tribe lands. They have a small museum which is quite interesting. Here is a good article about the Suquamish and the return of the site of Old Man House to the tribe:
http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1177

Mt. Rainier is worth several days of your visit. There are a number of campgrounds; Orcas mentioned Ohanapakosh which is one of the best. You might look into campsite reservations---I don't know if they take them, but August can be quite crowded, and it would be nice to be assured of a spot.

alex33

I thought I lost this post, hence- thank you for the great advice. I am re-thinking Mt. Ranier. Looking forward to seeing your side of the country.....

tigsun

This and other posts have helped me alot.

I'll be in the seattle area and i'm a procrastinating planner.

The only thing that is certain is that i arrive in seattle on august 1st and leave on august 10th. The plane ticket is the only thing that is certain at this point.

I know I have a busy couple of weeks of planning in front of me.

So far here is my itinerary.

There are only two must dos on the trip. kaying and visiting the big flea market in seattle. the rest is optional.

Arrive late august 1st
aug 2nd head towards the san juan islands. (i'm figuring it may be a little less crowded during the week although it seems all of the over night kayaking trips take place over the weekend). remain on san juan islands until august 4th and then make my way back to seattle.
aug 4th - aug 7th - seattle
augst 7th - 8th - tacoma to visit with friends
august 9th and 10th - mt rainier. our flight doesnt leave until 11:45 pm from the airport.

Does this sound reasonable? we wanted to try to fit ONP and vancouver in but that will have to wait for another trip.

I'm looking for hotel information. I'm not sure what is available at this point. I'm looking for clean places for around $100 a night.

I will have a rental car and don't mind staying outside of the city limits.

Thanks for any suggestions. I know i need to get in gear with booking my hotel.

I need to research more about getting the rental car on to san juan island.

thanks for any help in advance.

suze

tigsun,
that sounds like an OK itinerary. i'm not certain what you mean about rental car and the San Juans. you just drive the car onto a ferry. i'm also not sure what you mean by "big flea market", do you mean Pike Place Market?

besides those comments, and yes booking a hotel, well i'm not a big pre-planner myself, so seems like you're good to go in my book.

lovesadventure

August 4th weekend is Seafair in Seattle. I'd suggest seeing what the hotel availability/rates are before committing to your itinerary. It's not really visiting Seattle if you have to stay in Lynnwood.

There are local festivities (parades, road closures etc.) the 2 weeks leading up to Seafair, so just one additional thing to consider. That said, it's a really lively time for the city.

If it were me, I might push the Tacoma time to the 4th weekend, and hang out in Seattle the days following the weekend. The market will still be busy but less chaotic. Parking will not have the price hikes etc.

tigsun

for suze - yes pike market. i had to check out the name. that's my friend's choice. about the car and ferry i'm so used to taking the ferry to nantucket where it's hard to get a spot for the car also. after i respond here i'm going to a san juan islands website to get more information.

for lovesadventure. thank you for that information. i passed it on to my friend and now we have totally changed our itinerary. we are going to try to avoid seafair.

at the moment it's look like this

Arrive late august 1st
aug 2nd - 4th san juan
Aug 4th-7th - vancouver
august 7th - 8th seattle
august8th late tacoma - aug 10th
august 10th visit mt rainier.

we are city girls trying to get in touch with some nature. but shopping in the city sounds good to us.

my friend is still up in the air about kayaking. i told her is beginner's kayaking. we'll see.

suze

tigsun- i asked only because Pike Place Market is not really a "flea market". more a farmer's market with produce, flowers, fish, local products, cheese maker, bakeries, etc. though there are some various shops on the levels below the main Market.

suze

don't get me wrong it's an excellent place to visit. i work nearby and often do my normal shopping there.

maybe as a visitor it would be different, but SeaFair doesn't affect me as long as you stay away from the particular areas where an event is going on (parade or hydroplanes, for example)... except for the darn Blue Angels zooming around in the sky, that is.

brando

Have you thought about whale watching, we did a few years ago and saw 2 pods or killer whales (orcas). Great scenery and amazing to see. It was probaby a two drive north from seattle.

Orcas

They can whale watch in the San Juan Islands. I like your itinerary, but wish you could slot in more time for Mt. Rainier. Can your Tacoma friends join you in Seattle or go to Mt. Rainier with you?

tigsun

I wish I could spend more time at Mt. Rainier also.

My Tacoma friends are trying to get me to ditch Mt. Rainier and go to Mt. St Helens.

I still have time to switch up everything towards the end of the trip.

My friend really wants to go shopping in Vancouver. I just found out she doesn't have passport and is in search of her birth certificate. I'm shocked she doesn't have a passport. I told her we'll i'll be able to get back in the US. hahaha She's going on monday to have an expedited birth certificate processed. We have three weeks before we leave. We shall see what happens there.

I booked a place on the San Juan islands. I booked a B&B - the states inn.

now all i have to do is book the seattle and vancouver hotels and we will be all set.

Whale watching sounds like fun. We are going to try to fit in as must nature as we can.

We are city girls trying to get in touch with nature.

Thanks for all of your help.

happytrailstoyou

If you are interested in Native American culture, don't miss the Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver. I wasn't particularly interested in the topic until I saw the amazing collections at this museum.

This noteworthy institution has recently undertaken a $47 million dollar expansion, scheduled to open in 2009.

ellen_griswold

You might also consider a whale watching trip. Many outfitters / companies are available in and around the OP. We took Captain Jack's out of Port Townsend and really enjoyed it. Actually, it was a highlight of that trip which also included Glacier, Banff, Jasper and Vancouver.

Orcas

Mt. St. Helens is fascinating. It's a full day trip with must stops at the visitor's centers. Mt. Rainier is awesome, with majestic beauty to take your breath away. If I had to choose, I'd choose Mt. Rainier, but if I could, I'd do both.