A good guidebook is a perfect companion for the budget traveler. In the travel guidebook world, Lonely Planet tops the list as the best shoestring guide for a whole bunch of global destinations– for pretty much anywhere in southeast Asia to hot destinations like the Czech Republic. So when I saw one of their latest titles was for our neck of the woods, Pacific Northwest Trips, I was intrigued to see how it would stand up as a travel guide for a budget-minded local. So I asked them to mail me a copy for review, and they did. And they included an extra one for you, too. But more on that in a minute. First, about this book. It’s been on my coffee table for the past three weeks, and I dare say, it won’t be put away anytime soon.
Pacific Northwest Trips isn’t much organized at all like a destination guidebook. Instead, it leads you on hundreds of journeys and experiences. I think that’s what makes it such a fantastic coffee table find for a Pacific Northwesterner. Whether you’ve got just one Saturday free to journey along Chuckanut Drive in Washington, or a whole series of Saturdays to explore the eleven destinations that comprise “Oddball Oregon” (care to tour the world’s only museum of velvet paintings, anyone?), the guide will keep you traveling locally for a long, long time.
There are 52 themed “trips” in the book. I think the themed trips are quite a nifty way to organize the 1000+ suggested places to see, eat, and sleep. The theme categories for the trips are as follows: Iconic Trips, Routes, Food & Drink, Outdoors, History & Culture, and Offbeat. The eleven “Iconic Trips” are definitively Pacific Northwest, designed to plunge you into the heart and soul of the region, so expect to drink microbrews, gaze at totem poles, and explore an active volcano on these. Again, this book is all about experiencing your trip. The guide even includes a list of suggested songs to load onto your Ipod for the Northwest roadtrip, and includes such tunes as Elliott Smith’s “Rose Parade” and Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Posse on Broadway.”
The trip ideas have maps, driving times and directions and all offer detour ideas, places to eat and sleep, and fun things to do along the way. And, they’re totally clever. Here are a few of my favorites:
Trip #5: Whistle Stop Brewery Tour (Iconic Trip) Sure, I like coffee and wine. A lot. But it is Pacific Northwest microbrewed beer that stole my heart. This trip takes you on a tour of some of the Pacific Northwest’s best breweries by train - no designated driver necessary! Start in Eugene and make your way north with whistle stops in Portland, Centralia, Olympia, Seattle, La Conner and Vancouver. You’ll be sipping at fifteen brewpubs in all.
Trip #23: Cowboys & Kerouac: The North Cascades (Outdoors) Care to sample “Cascade Mountain oysters,” proudly served on the menu at the Buffalo Inn Restaurant in Marblemount? These “oysters” are actually deep-friend buffalo testicles. Which I will not be eating. This trip also takes you to an organic farm, one of the best campgrounds for families in all of Washington state (Colonial Creek), and gets you to roadside views of Desolation Peak, where Jack Kerouac spent 63 days holed up in a fire lookout practicing Buddhism. Before your trip ends in Winthrop, a detour takes you up to Hart’s Pass at 6197 feet, the highest point you can drive to in Washington.
Trip #37: Prehistoric Oregon Trip (History & Culture) The painted hills and fossil beds of central Oregon are one of the coolest, most beautiful landscapes in all of the Pacific Northwest, yet many locals have never made the trip there. But you must go, because this place is spectacular! (See my former post on this area here.) This trip begins in Clarno and ends in Mitchell, with an optional trip extension to the town of John Day. The John Day Fossil Beds National Monument comprises 22-square miles of prehistoric goodness and fabulous scenery. Great cheap sleeps are sprinkled throughout the area, with decent camping opportunities, too.
Pacific Northwest Trips goes well beyond the typical guidebook in providing road trip opportunities for exploring hidden fun and offbeat experiences. I love the way it is organized and have been dreaming up trips ever since I got the book. Not all of the trips are practical, though. One trip, called Washington Roadside Curios, outlines a road trip past eleven funky roadside attractions, from what I call a “tacky art” residence in Ellensburg to the World’s Largest Frying Pan in Long Beach. The thing is, the trip is 690 miles long! So in practice, you may want to combine elements of several “trips” on your excursions in order to save time and gas money, or just do bits and pieces of trips.
Now, about that free book. What are your summer vacation plans? Leave a comment on this post and tell me where you are headed this summer. On May 22, I’ll select a comment at random and if it’s yours, I’ll send you a brand new copy of Lonely Planet’s Pacific Northwest Trips!