Featured image: The Butterfly Garden glows at Woodland Park Zoo's Wild Lights. All photos by Cheryl Landes From the day after Thanksgiving through New Year's night, wild things appear when darkness falls on the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Big cats lounge in branches high above your head. Elephants roam the savanna while a rhinoceros watches … Continue reading Woodland Park Zoo’s WildLights an illuminating walk on the wild side

Featured image: Tahquamenon Falls State Park near Paradise, Michigan (photo by Cheryl Landes) With more than 3,000 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, 11,000 inland lakes, and tens of thousands of miles of rivers, Michigan is a prime fishing destination. Each year for one weekend in the winter and summer, the state allows residents and non-residents … Continue reading Michigan’s Winter 2017 Free Fishing Weekend February 18-19

Featured image: Ice fishing at Sheboygan Marsh (photo courtesy Wisconsin Department of Tourism) Several towns throughout Wisconsin are hosting free ice fishing classes during the state’s Free Fishing Weekend January 21-22. Saturday, January 21 Chippewa Falls, noon-4 p.m. at Glen Loch, 8140 136th Access from the Ojibwa Golf & Bowl. Rhinelander, 1-3 p.m. at Perch … Continue reading Learn ice fishing at Free Fishing Weekend events in Wisconsin January 21-22

All photos by Cheryl Landes Updated November 29, 2018 More than 700,000 energy-efficient lights bring the holiday spirit alive at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma. Walk under a giant octopus when you enter the zoo. Stroll pathways lined with twinkling trees and shrubs. Cheer for the Seahawks at the 12th Man tree. … Continue reading Point Defiance’s ZooLights a magical way to celebrate the holiday season

Featured image: A few of the many snowman nutcrackers on display at the Nutcracker Museum in Leavenworth, Washington. The collection also includes snowwomen and snowchildren. Photos by Cheryl Landes Updated January 1, 2020 Two hours east of Seattle in Leavenworth, a quaint Bavarian village with the rugged snow-capped Cascade Mountains rising in the background, a … Continue reading See the world’s largest collection of nutcrackers in a central Washington Bavarian village

Featured image: Canoeing on Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada (photo by Sean Thonson; courtesy Travel Alberta) In celebration of the country’s 150th birthday in 2017, Parks Canada is offering free admission to all national parks, historic sites, and marine conservation areas owned and operated by the agency for the entire year. To take … Continue reading Visit Canada’s national parks for free in 2017

Featured image: A scene from Urban Nutcracker with Boston's famous Citgo gas station sign in the background on the left. (photo by Peter Paradise; courtesy Urban Nutcracker) For traditional Nutcracker ballet fans, Urban Nutcracker is unlike anything you’ll ever see. There’s no fancy 19th Century mansion in a snowy wonderland. The main character’s name is … Continue reading Urban Nutcracker delivers a classic story with a twist, 16 years running

Featured image: The library, decorated in the “Antique Playing Cards” theme by Sally Woolley, at the Pittock Mansion in Portland. (photo by Cheryl Landes) In the west hills of Portland, a grand century-old French Renaissance chateau stands in memory of a family who helped transform Portland from a small, isolated lumber town to a bustling, … Continue reading Stroll through a grand Portland mansion dressed in holiday finery

Featured image: Entrance to Fort Borst Park in Centralia, Washington. The arch shines in bright multi-colored lights at night during the holidays. (photo by Cheryl Landes) Updated December 5, 2018 Many motorists driving from Portland to Seattle stop in Centralia, Washington, to take a break halfway through their drive and refuel their cars. During the … Continue reading Fort Borst Park’s holiday lights continue through Christmas night in Centralia