State parks, recreation fun posted on Twitter
Published 12:01 am Saturday, December 26, 2009
There’s no escaping social media, which has morphed from a network of individuals to a commercial, organization and agency tool.
Now you can find Washington State Parks and Recreation winter activities information notification on Twitter. SnoPark closure? Trail grooming updates? Snow levels?
Keep up on your computer or have the Tweets sent to your mobile device. Notifications can be viewed at www.twitter.com/WaStatePks_WNTR.
Post-holiday fun. Starting Jan. 9, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie Forest Service will offer its annual snowshoe program at Stevens and Snoqualmie passes.
It’s a chance for beginners (or for snowshoers looking for a guided experience) to tackle the snow in the slow lane.
“Nearly anyone can slap snowshoes on and start walking in the forest,” said snowshoe guide Kim Larned.
Larned has led snowshoe trips for 25 years and still looks forward to each season.
“It is amazing to see someone’s face when they get to see first-hand how filled with life winter is (such as) snow worms. Kids really like those,” Larned said.
Stevens Pass offers a two-hour program for all skill levels that includes a brief slide show about the area’s history, including the 1910 Wellington avalanche disaster.
Visitors then begin an easy 1-mile round-trip snowshoe trip on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Ages 6 and older can take the Stevens Pass introductory class from noon to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Snoqualmie Pass offers a moderate 90-minute interpretive walk at 10 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. on weekends starting Jan. 2; an extended half-day hike at 9:15 a.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays; and a Kids in the Snow program at 1 p.m. Jan. 24, Feb. 20 and March 20.
The Forest Service provides snowshoes. To offset the costs of the program, a donation of $10 per person is suggested for all tours except the extended hike, for which $20 is suggested.
For information or reservations, call the Skykomish Ranger District at 360-677-2414 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
For Snoqualmie Pass information or reservations, call 509-852-1062.
Pick a date. The 2010 Washington State Parks calendar, on sale now, features color landscape photographs of some of the park system’s premier features.
It represents the natural, cultural and historical diversity of our state parks.
The calendar sells for $12.95 plus shipping, handling and tax. Proceeds go toward the maintenance of state parks. It may be purchased online at www.prt.wa.gov.
On the bookshelf. Laura Erickson’s “The Bird Watching Answer Book” ($15) is one of my top-five most enjoyable books of the year.
Erickson, science editor at Cornell Lab of Ornithology and winner of the National Outdoor Book Award, answers about 200 questions from birdwatchers in 400 user-friendly pages.
This should be a hit with birdwatchers, particularly beginners, who will find many of their questions answered in this reference book.
Questions include: What colors to wear when birding? How do peregrine falcons protect their eyes when diving at 100 mph? How can birds withstand the impact of diving into water from 100 feet above the surface? And how does one choose a spotting scope?
You know where to find the answers.
I missed covering a good book earlier this year. Whidbey Island residents Craig and Joy Johnson, working with Wild Birds Unlimited, created “Our Puget Sound: Birds and Habitat” ($25).
It’s hard to beat large photographs of birds in terms of detail. Craig captures that detail and adds some surprises, such as the pink fuzz on the head of a juvenile pileated woodpecker.
The book is divided by five habitats. Buy it at Everett Wild Birds Unlimited, 4821 Evergreen Way.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
