1889 Washington's Magazine | December/January 2019

Truffle Burgers

Washington’s Magazine

TRIP PLANNER: BELLINGHAM PG. 78

Can’t Stand the Rain Cocktail

Daring Designs For Powder Rooms

December | January 2019

Ideas for a

Naughty December

N ice January

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December | January

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BREATH OF FRESH AIR When you make the switch to a not-for-profit credit union, you enjoy the benefits of a people-over-profit way of life.

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Sweeping Us Off Our Feet photography by Bill Purcell Each year, Seattle’s Pacific Northwest Ballet puts on the iconic Nutcracker at McCaw Hall. The entire company participates in the event, decked out in meticulous costumes and dancing George Balanchine’s choreography to Tchaikovsky’s timeless score. Come behind the scenes with 1889, as we visit the dancers and the costume shop as they prepare for the big event. (pg. 60)

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DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

Students rehearse for Pacific Northwest Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker.

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 3

FEATURES DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019 • volume 18

49

60

Cold Comfort

On Point(e)

December is a naughty month, full of parties and overindulging. January is the nice month, when we try to be better. 1889 has ideas for how to fill both months with naughty and nice events.

Go behind the scenes as the Pacific Northwest Ballet prepares to perform The Nutcracker. photography by Bill Purcell

written by John Nelson

54 Bidding For Good

Jason Redmond

Fred Northup is an auctioneer extraordinaire, taking his role at fundraisers so seriously that he has outfits for every possible occasion. written by Corinne Whiting

If is in your nature, Spokane is your destination.

From seasonal events to outdoor adventures, there’s no excuse to lay low when the weather cools down in Spokane. Here, winter comes alive with a little extra magic thanks to our historic and revitalized downtown and breathtaking mountain views. Create your own traditions this winter, whether it’s hitting the slopes of Mt. Spokane or lacing up your skates at the Numerica Skate Ribbon in Riverfront Park. A winter wonderland awaits you in Spokane. visitspokane.com/things-to-do

DEPARTMENTS

LIVE 14 SAY WA?

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019 • volume 18

If you’ve made a resolution to get outside, cook more, make art, read better books or listen to new music, we have all the makings for the perfect new year.

18 FOOD + DRINK

34

Embrace the cold with Woodinville’s Bonavita kettles, and brave the weather for Whidbey Island’s farm-fresh Oystercatcher. Plus, a list of top fish & chip shops around the state.

22 FARM TO TABLE

Finding truffles is the hard part. Turning them into delicious dishes is what Seattle chef Shota Nakajima does best—and he and other chefs have advice for how to bring them into your kitchen.

26 HOME + DESIGN

Bathrooms can be utilitarian and beautiful, as we see in three Washington homes. Then, learn how to design your own daring powder room.

32 MIND + BODY

Kelly Herron stood up to an attacker while she was out for a run in 2017.

Today, she aims to empower other women to be prepared.

34 ARTIST IN RESIDENCE

72

Ethan Shaw

46

Lynne Spencer

Collecting stones from rivers and beaches, Rebecca Bashara brings the beauty of the earth to her jewelry designs.

THINK 38 STARTUP

Who needs sunglass sidearms? Not Ombraz, which makes adventure-ready sunglasses with a cord.

40 WHAT’S GOING UP

A look at restaurants, new and old, in new locations around the state.

42 WHAT I’M WORKING ON

Dave Barcos and North Bank Innovations is building a startup ecosystem in Vancouver.

44 MY WORKSPACE

At Everett’s pop-culture toy company Funko, Greg Ham designs figurines that bring joy to all.

46 GAME CHANGER

Avalanche dogs at Washington’s ski resorts keep snow bunnies safe, and are also very, very cute.

38 10 Editor’s Letter 86 Map of Washington 88 Until Next Time

EXPLORE 70 TRAVEL SPOTLIGHT

Pearson Air Museum in Vancouver shows off the grand history of American aviation.

72 ADVENTURE

A beginner’s guide to tracking Washington’s wildlife in winter—from lynx to bear.

76 LODGING

At Northern Quest Resort & Casino outside Spokane, you’ve got plenty of entertainment opportunities beyond gambling.

78 TRIP PLANNER

Bellingham combines scenic mountains and water with history, shops and top-level restaurants.

COVER

illustration by Drew Bardana (see Cold Comfort, pg. 49)

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84 NORTHWEST DESTINATION

NE Portland is a culinary hotspot. Hit these unsung neighborhoods for food from around the globe.

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

YOU’RE GOING TO NEED A BIGGER BUCKET LIST. With so many entertainment options at Northern Quest, the nonstop action of 24/7 gaming in our casino is just the beginning. See all the ways you can start checking off your list at northernquest.com.

NORTHERNQUEST.COM | 877.871.6772 | SPOKANE, WA

CONTRIBUTORS

DREW BARDANA Illustrator Cover

NANCY ZAFFARO Writer Trip Planner

BILL PURCELL Photographer On Point(e)

ROBERT HUSSEMAN Writer What I’m Working On

Winter has always been my favorite season. I remember anticipating snow as a child. I would revel in the short week of snowfall we’d get each year in Portland, Oregon. Friends and neighbors would be out sledding during the day and nighttime was so peaceful. I still get excited for those few days every year.

For this Bellingham Trip Planner, I met with business owners, community organizers and volunteers. Whenever good things are happening in a town, these are the people making it happen. They work hard, are passionate and eager to share, and really are having fun.

And with its incredible natural beauty—including both the sea and mountains—Bellingham clearly is a great place to live and a great place to visit. (pg. 78)

I’ve been lucky enough to shoot often for 1889’s sister publication, 1859, but this was my first opportunity to shoot for 1889—and what a fun shoot!

Not only was I in awe of the talent of the Pacific Northwest Ballet dancers, but also that of the entire team responsible for putting on the production of The Nutcracker. Their dedication to their craft and attention to every detail was inspiring, and I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to capture a small portion of their efforts. (pg. 60)

As a journalist with an MBA, I am consistently intrigued by the ways businesses shape communities—and communities shape businesses.

It was a treat to speak with Dave Barcos about startup incubation. Dave believes in the development of a healthy business culture, with pooled resources, shared insights and local focus. There is an energy inherent to that development, and that energy is palpable walking the streets of Vancouver. (pg. 42)

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DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

EDITOR Kevin Max

MANAGING EDITOR Sheila G. Miller CREATIVE Allison Bye

WEB MANAGER

OFFICE MANAGER

DIRECTOR OF SALES

Aaron Opsahl Cindy Miskowiec Jenny Kamprath

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Cindy Guthrie Jenn Redd

SALES ASSISTANT Elijah Aikens BEERVANA COLUMNIST

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS

Jackie Dodd Melissa Dalton, Beau Eastes, Viki Eierdam, Robert Husseman, John Nelson, Daniel O’Neil, Richard Porter, Ben Salmon, Ethan Shaw, Cara Strickland, Corinne Whiting, Nancy Zaffaro Jackie Dodd, Bill Purcell, Jason Redmond Drew Bardana

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All rights reserved. No part of this publiCation may be reproduCed or transmitted in any form or by any means, eleCtroniCally or meChaniCally, inCluding photoCopy, reCording or any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of Statehood Media. ArtiCles and photographs appearing in 1889 Washington’s Magazine may not be reproduCed in whole or in part without the express written Consent of the publisher. 1889 Washington’s Magazine and Statehood Media are not responsible for the return of unsoliCited materials. The views and opinions expressed in these artiCles are not neCessarily those of 1889 Washington’s Magazine, Statehood Media or its employees, staff or management.

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 9

HOLIDAYS BRING OUT the urgency in us all—can’t wait to see family, can’t wait to send them away and can’t wait to get on with this new year. If you’re naughty, this doesn’t have to be the case. December, in particular, can bring unbridled fun.

Writer John Nelson on pg. 49 asks the philosophical question that is borrowed for little boys and girls this time of year: Are you naughty or nice? If we’re honest, we’re both. December, he finds, is ripe for getting out to theater such as “A John Waters Christmas: Filthier and Merrier,” even “The Burlesque Nutcracker” at Triple Door in Seattle.

January is for apologies to your 2019 self and the process of self betterment. It begins with shock therapy of a polar plunge, getting outdoors and to the gym but, mercifully, ends with a healthy cocktail, a redundant term to most of us.

If you’re looking to uncover new music for the 2020 you, turn to pg. 16, where our music writer, Ben Salmon, explores the ten best Washington albums of 2019. From the Olympia underground scene to Cuban rhythms from Kiki Valera playing the eight-stringed cuatro, this list will light up your soundtrack in the new year.

I thought maybe it was a bizarre coincidence that my managing editor, Sheila Miller, had written an interview with an author named David Guterson. Funny that this guy had to share the same name of the PEN/Faulkner Award-winning author of Snow Falling on Cedars, I thought. They were one and the same, Sheila told me. Washington native David Guterson talks with us about his new book, Turn Around Time, which delves the outdoors through poetry. Turn to pg. 17 to read our interview with Guterson.

This time of year, there is no better redolence in the Pacific Northwest than truffles. We talk to some of Washington’s top chefs, including Adana owner and chef, Shota Nakajima, about

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DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

Jenn Redd

FROM THE EDITOR

their obsession with and use of truffles. Next, we give you the impetus to make your own with recipes for a truffle risotto, a truffle pasta and, the truffle’s most glorious incarnation, the truffle burger. See Farm to Table on pg. 22.

Our Trip Planner takes us to one of my favorite Washington small towns, Bellingham. We get into a lot of things on this trip, including oysters, local brews, hikes and massage to cap it off. This time of year, Bellingham comes into its own— whether in sunshine or rain.

If you do encounter the rare spell of rain in January in Washington, take it all in from a window seat and a Can’t Stand the Rain cocktail (pg. 18), a pleasant elixir with rum and hopped grapefruit bitters that beckons spring.

Make an

executive decision.

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gonzaga.edu/law/executive

SAY WA? 14 FOOD + DRINK 18 FARM TO TABLE 22 HOME + DESIGN 26 MIND + BODY 32 ARTIST IN RESIDENCE 34

pg. 34 Rebecca Bashara’s jewelry is all about simplicity.

say wa?

Tidbits & To-dos

Abbio Kitchen cookware

Enchant Christmas Through December 29, you can zoom through “Mischievous,” the world’s largest Christmas light maze, on a hunt for Eddie the Elf’s hidden presents.

The elaborate maze, at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, features arches, sculptures and other light features. Then hit the ice trail and the Christmas Market for more holiday fun. www.enchantchristmas.com/seattle

r ou r k y da r ma en

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Chihuly: On Color and Form You know Dale Chihuly’s incredible impact on the glassblowing industry. You’ve visited the museums dedicated to his craft. Now you can celebrate his decades of art with Chihuly Workshop’s beautiful and surprisingly affordable coffeetable book, Chihuly: On Color and Form. Filled with full-color photos of his work, this $28 hardback stunner is a perfect holiday gift. www.chihuly.com

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If your pots and pans are showing signs of wear, check out Abbio Kitchen cookware. This Seattle company, founded by two brothers who wanted to get back to their home-cooking happy place, features pans with a nonstick surface resistant to scratching.

The company currently has five pieces, sold individually or as a set. Gift the aspiring cook in your life. www.abbiokitchen.com

say wa?

ur r yo k da ar m len

ca

The Posey Box If you’ve got a crafty person in your life, this is the gift to get their creative juices flowing. The Posey Box is a monthly subscription box that brings paper flower makings to your door. Each box includes a tutorial complete with the paper and floral and art supplies, such as dyes and markers. The box, from Seattle’s Pink and Posey, is $45 a month.

Lake Chelan Winterfest If you aren’t a fan of cold weather, Lake Chelan Winterfest might make a believer of you. From January 17 to January 26, you’ll find reasons to love the cold—wine and ale tastings, ice sculptures, a huge beach bonfire, even fireworks. There’s a battle of the Bloody Marys and a cocoa crawl through downtown, plus a soupfest. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. www.lakechelan.com/winterfest

www.pinkandposey.com

m

calark you end r ar

Norman Rockwell’s America Spokane’s Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture will feature a huge collection of Norman Rockwell’s work in its exhibit, Norman Rockwell’s America, through January 12. The collection includes twenty-two paintings, seven drawings, and all 323 Saturday Evening Post magazine covers featuring his work. This is an opportunity to jumpstart your nostalgia in 2020. www.northwestmuseum.org

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 15

say wa?

Musician

Best in Show

Washington’s best albums of 2019 written by Ben Salmon

FROM OLYMPIA TO BELLINGHAM, and from Spokane to Seattle’s world-famous music scene, the state of Washington spills over with incredible sounds created by world-class bands and solo acts. Here are the ten best albums released

by Washington-based artists in 2019.

The Black Tones Cobain & Cornbread Twin siblings Cedric and Eva Walker are the new face(s) of Seattle rock ‘n’ roll, thanks to their explosive combo of Northwest guitar crunch and Southern soul and blues. Hence the name of their killer 2019 album, which succinctly summarizes their influences.

Daisies What Are You Waiting For? Olympia’s fertile underground is best known for its punk and rock bands, but Daisies bring a different kind of vibe to the scene: fizzy, funky electro-pop that zigs when you expect it to zag. With beguiling vocals set to beats that wobble and scrape, Daisies’ dance music sounds like it’s reflected off a funhouse mirror.

Great Grandpa Four of Arrows Seattle is full of great bands, and the best of the bunch might just be this quintet of men and women who make unconventionally catchy music that hovers somewhere near the invisible intersection of folk, indie-pop and emo. Four of Arrows is a stunning sophomore effort packed with as many (or more) goosebump moments as any album released by any band from anywhere in 2019.

Manatee Commune PDA Deeply steeped in the natural beauty of the Pacific

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Northwest, the electro-pop music Grant Eadie makes as Manatee Commune sounds like a zipline trip through a sundappled terrarium, where the plants are lush string sections and warm, variegated synths. Eadie was raised in Spokane and went to college in Bellingham, and you can hear it in his wide-eyed jams.

Jenny Anne Mannan Carnies & Cowboys Having spent time in both a traveling family band and trying to “make it” in Nashville, Spokane resident Jenny Anne Mannan has seen some stuff. She pours her experiences into Carnies & Cowboys, a vivid musical memoir set to expertly played traditional country music.

SassyBlack Ancient Mahogany Gold Catherine Harris-White made her name as half of Seattle alt-hip-hop duo THEESatisfaction, but her solo work as SassyBlack keeps expanding into uncharted territories. Jazz-rap, cosmic funk, meditative R&B, modern Baduizm; Sassy makes self-care music for the soul.

Julia Shapiro Perfect Version Recorded at a time when the Seattle singer-songwriter was struggling with health and relationship issues and unsure of her future in music, Julia Shapiro’s first solo effort is a slowly paced swirl of self-reflection, simple imagery, complex feelings, guitar fuzz, lo-fi sound and, finally, rediscovery. Shapiro’s

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

band Chastity Belt released a fine album this year, too.

somesurprises somesurprises Anyone with the means to buy guitar pedals and access to electricity can start a mediocre shoegaze band. With somesurprises, Natasha El-Sergany slices through the haze with the relatability of a pop savant and the ambition of an avant-garde adventurer and leaving behind a trail of hooks and head trips.

AJ Suede various albums Choosing one 2019 release from this prolific Seattle MC would be difficult, and doing so would defeat the purpose anyway. Transplanted from the East Coast, Suede put out five projects (with forty-four tracks) this year, and each one showcases his thoughtful rhymes, understated flow and taste for unorthodox (but excellent) beats. Simply pick one and hit play.

Kiki Valera Vivencias en Clave Cubana After many albums recorded with the century-old Cuban group Familia Valera Miranda, Seattle-ite Kiki Valera—master of the cuatro, a midsized eight-stringed instrument—fills his debut solo effort with expertly plucked strings, dance-worthy rhythms, rich vocal harmonies and vibrant horns. Even with repeated spins, you’ll never find a stitch out of place.

say wa?

Bibliophile

A Life of Rhyme

David Guterson takes on the outdoors, and verse, in his most recent book YOU KNOW DAVID GUTERSON for his fiction (Snow Falling on Cedars, Our Lady of the Forest) and short stories. But you may not know the tremendous joy of Guterson’s poetry, or his deep and abiding love for hiking in the outdoors. Turn Around Time is an ode to that side of him, and we’re all the richer for it.

What is it about hiking and trails and the outdoors that lends itself so well to poetry?

Walking has a rhythm and cadence captured in the poetic line, and the natural world is a poetic experience.

To celebrate the beauty of mountains and rivers, and to express the intimate, felt texture of walking, nothing is better suited than poetry. And as I felt compelled to do those things, I wrote Turn Around Time.

How did you go about writing this book?

I just let it all out the door in a heated ecstasy of musical feeling. I got into a groove and stayed inside the song as it unfolded and revealed itself. That’s

Frank McCord

interview by Sheila G. Miller

David Guterson writes of his love of the hike in his new book.

great, except that when the rush is done you still have a lot of work to do.

Fortunately, I had good friends and an excellent editor who were all instrumental in guiding me through revisions. Both parts, the inspiration and the editorial rigor, are necessary and essential.

lovely physical object—slim and timeless in appearance—will slide nicely into the pocket of a backpack, or sit on a shelf amid guidebooks and reference books. And most of all, I think this book would make a wonderful gift for young people—something a person can return to often along the way in life.

How do you hope readers use this book? Is it something you’d like them to read all at once, or a few pieces at a time on a hike?

I collaborated on this book with the artist Justin Gibbens, whose work is woven in amid the text. I hope readers will find something of interest and use in the nexus of poetry and image, and that this book, which is such a

What’s next for you?

I have five children and three grandchildren. I’m bound and determined to do my part to see that this planet remains not just habitable but lovely for them. I really like the notion of “retirement” not as a time of leisure but as a time of energetic work on behalf of those to come. So what’s next for me is to pass on my love for this earth as best I can.

“Walking has a rhythm and cadence captured in the poetic line, and the natural world is a poetic experience. To celebrate the beauty of mountains and rivers, and to express the intimate, felt texture of walking, nothing is better suited than poetry.”

— David Guterson, author DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 17

food + drink

Cocktail Card recipe courtesy of Mountaineering Club at Graduate Seattle/Jabriel Donohue

Can’t Stand the Rain 1½ ounces Plantation Xaymaca rum 1 ounce Lillet Blanc ½ ounce Antico Amaro Noveis 1 dash Bittermens Hopped Grapefruit Bitters 1 pinch salt Stir in a mixing glass with ice, then serve in a Nick & Nora glass.

Garnish with a skeleton ficus leaf.

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Garden Path Fermentation uses its own cultivated yeast.

Beervana

Along the Garden’s Path written and photographed by Jackie Dodd A COZY TAPROOM sits on the edge of the wetlands in Skagit County, along a 1-mile hiking path, its presence so much a part of the surrounding landscape it feels inevitable. Technically, Garden Path Fermentation is in an industrial park—but the park is populated with businesses so devoted to thoughtful agriculture, the term doesn’t do justice to the spirit of the surroundings.

When the idea that eventually grew into Garden Path Fermentation started to germinate in the hearts of Amber Watts and Ron Extract, they were living a life devoted to beer in Texas, both working for Jester King. Texas wasn’t their home, and they both knew it was only a temporary stop on their journey—one that led them to the abundant landscape of the Pacific Northwest.

“We knew we wanted to be close to the ingredients,” Watts said. “Wherever we ended up needed to have a lot to offer.”

Although neither of them had ever lived in the Pacific Northwest prior to starting their fermentation journey in Skagit County, it only took one visit for them to realize this was the place where their dreams could take root. It may have been the abundant produce they saw, berries growing wild along the sides of the road, or possibly it was the cool, damp air perfect for fermenting the beverages they dreamed of that sealed the deal for Watts and Extract, or maybe it was the local barley from Skagit Valley Malt.

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

Agriculture-forward businesses and a space for rent converged to realize the dream Watts and Extract had, of sourcing only local ingredients. The only ingredient they need that requires a drive out of town is hops, and even those are sourced only from the Pacific Northwest.

Garden Path’s most exciting ingredient is the yeast, which you couldn’t buy if you tried. Industrial brewers yeast is big business, and a line item in almost any brewery’s budget—but not this brewery. The yeast Garden Path uses is one it has cultivated, thoughtfully and carefully, from the Skagit Valley itself. Once you’ve experienced the clean beauty of this yeast’s flavors, it’s easy to see that what Garden Path has discovered could rival the Lambic yeast of the Zenne Valley in Belgium, but without any of the sourness you’ve come to expect from wild fermentation.

Which brings us to your first task upon entering Garden Path: leave all expectations at the door. These are beers, wines, ciders and meads that defy and transcend your expectations. The mead is clean, dry and sessionable. The cider isn’t syrupy or sweet, the wild-fermented beer isn’t harsh or sour. The liquid Garden Path produces is beautiful, clean and nuanced. If you want to be smashed in the face with hops, this isn’t your place.

But if you want a well-crafted, thoughtful, elegant beer that is constantly evolving, this is your place.

food + drink

CRAVINGS MALAYSIAN FOOD Nestled in a little strip mall off the beaten path of downtown Kirkland, you’ll find Reunion, an oasis of Malaysian cuisine. Your counter server is happy to give recommendations if you’re a little lost, but whatever you do, don’t skip dessert—the kaya butter waffles are worth the trip all by themselves.

339 KIRKLAND AVENUE, SUITE C KIRKLAND www.reunionmalaysian.com

CHARCUTERIE AND CHEESE If you’re feeling peckish, wander into Prima Bistro for a snack. You can’t go wrong with house-cured meats (the charcuterie plate comes with a tarragon pickle) and a selection of cheeses (Prima Bistro has its own cheese cave and selections change frequently).

201 1/2 FIRST STREET LANGLEY, WHIDBEY ISLAND

SOFT PRETZELS

Bonavita kettles are a staple of coffee snobs.

Gastronomy

Bonavita

SEATTLE, TACOMA, LEAVENWORTH www.rheinhausseattle.com www.rheinhaustacoma.com www.rhleavenworth.com

written by Cara Strickland EVEN IF YOU don’t know the name, you’ve probably seen the original Bonavita kettle—a staple behind coffee bars whose baristas need water at precise temperatures. Maybe your coffee snob friends have one and they’ve shown you that besides being able to reach and maintain a temperature (perfect for pour-over coffee, or various types of tea, which call for specific steeping temperatures) it also happens to look elegant and pour like a dream. This celebrated company is based in Woodinville and has recently launched a few new versions of the iconic kettle—in white, grey, black and stainless, and a glass version which gives you a view of your water as it bubbles. If you’re hoping to up your tea or coffee game, this beautiful kettle will class up your countertop.

WOODINVILLE (AVAILABLE ALL OVER) www.bonavitaworld.com

20 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE

In a place like Leavenworth where Bavarian food is king, a pretzel really has to stand out to be worth a mention. Rhein House’s version manages to be both soft and firm on the outside and big enough to share.

If you’re really hungry, you can get a giant-sized version.

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

BISCUITS It’s not Southern cuisine without a good biscuit. Hattaway’s are just what you’d hope for, loaded with butter and a crispy top. If the amount of butter inside isn’t enough, its daily housemade butters with flavors like blueberry lemon are just the thing to slather all over the place.

125 W ALDER STREET WALLA WALLA www.hattawaysonalder.com

food + drink

BEST PLACES FOR

FISH & CHIPS SILVERWATER CAFE You’ve been able to grab a bite to eat at this cornerstone of the community since 1989 (with the same owners all that time). Though it serves other things now, Silverwater started as a fish and chips shack—classic cod batter in lemon and dill and served with coleslaw (and crispy thick fries, of course).

237 TAYLOR STREET PORT TOWNSEND www.silverwatercafe.com

THE PORCH You might not expect to find delicious fish and chips in landlocked Ellensburg, but when you stop into The Porch, you’ll want to give them a chance. Try the halibut, keeping in mind that the portion sizes are generous, and ask for the malt vinegar to complement all the housemade sauces.

608 NORTH MAIN STREET ELLENSBURG www.theporchellensburg.com

PROHIBITION GASTROPUB The salmon fish and chips at Prohibition manage to be everything you love about salmon (moist, flaky and flavorful) while also being everything you love about fish and chips. Stick to classic condiments or live dangerously with house dirty ketchup. Fries are on the skinnier side and with just the right amount of seasoning.

1914 N MONROE STREET SPOKANE www.prohibitiongastropub spokane.com

Meals at Oystercatcher, such as duck croquettes, focus on fresh, local flavors.

Dining

Oystercatcher written by Cara Strickland IN THE SMALL community of Coupeville on Whidbey Island, you’ll find a small restaurant dedicated to extremely fresh seafood, local ingredients and thoughtful hospitality. Your meal will begin with an amuse-bouche, a product of the chef ’s creativity. Feast on the bread baked on site and take some home for breakfast the next day. Whether you’re dipping into a sunchoke soup or enjoying whatever fish was just pulled out of the sea, you’re sure to enjoy your meal. No meal so close to Penn Cove could be complete without oysters, and there are many options to choose from. Even if you’re not a fan of most cooked oysters, don’t sleep on the Pacific oysters with bacon jam and hazelnuts—they just might make a believer out of you. Island time means it’s always a good idea to check hours before setting out, and a small dining room means reservations are a must.

COUPEVILLE, WHIDBEY ISLAND www.oystercatcherwhidbey.com

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 21

farm to table

FROM LEFT Chef Shota Nakajima, who learned to forage truffles from Sunny Diaz, holds his truffle finds. Nakajima owns Adana and Taku in Seattle.

Farm to Table

Truffle Treasures The hunt is on for one of the region’s most coveted, and tasty, delicacies written by Corinne Whiting WHEN WE MET Shota Nakajima, the chef and owner of Adana, on a crisp October morning, he was in the midst of countless projects. Not only was he rolling out a new, seasonal menu at his thriving Japanese restaurant in Capitol Hill, he was also on the cusp of opening a more casual eatery—Taku—just six blocks away.

The passionate multitasker, who grew up between Japan and the U.S., launched into the culinary world at the age of 16, while working at a well-known Seattle sushi establishment. At 18, he returned to Japan and had the privilege of cooking with Michelin star-rated Chef Yasuhiko Sakamoto. Since then, he’s worked passionately to bring Sakamoto’s slant on hospitality and Japanese 22 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

cuisine to the States. In 2017, Nakajima competed on “Iron Chef Gauntlet,” and he was a semifinalist for the James Beard Awards in 2018 and 2019.

Countless local ingredients rotate through Nakajima’s setcourse menus, but our discussion landed on highly coveted truffles after discovering his passion for foraging his own. It all began about four-and-half years ago, when “the truffle lady,” aka Sunny Diaz, came in as a customer and the two started chatting. Immediately upon learning of Diaz’s adventures—with her skillful truffle-hunting dog—Nakajima told his staff he’d be coming in late tomorrow.

Since then, he’s headed out with Diaz on numerous occasions, following the barks of their four-legged leader, Stella, who signals when they’ve stumbled upon something good. Sometimes truffles here get a bad reputation, Nakajima admitted, but he links that to earlier days when people foraged with rakes and often ended up with overripe options as opposed to the fresh finds of today. “The biggest perk of Washington truffles,” he said, “is that you can eat one that just came out of the ground that morning.”

Nakajima writes the baseline for his menus, but values the input of trusted folks on his team, like culinary director Chris

Photos: Stephanie Forrer

farm to table

Hoey and sous chef Jade Gusman. He encourages such mottos as “keep it simple” and avoids too many sauces in favor of letting the ingredients shine on their own. Nakajima is also adamant about not wasting anything—he sees potential for every part of every ingredient.

“I’m a nerd when I get into anything,” Nakajima said. “I’ll do research, research, research.” He’s always talking to sources, digging around online, even taking mushroom classes in his (limited) spare time. His favorite way to enjoy a truffle haul? In a gelato smoked with cedar sheets he gets from Japan. He praises the mood-lifting properties of this antioxidant-rich food, too, joking that he’ll waft some under any cook’s nose who seems to be having a bad day.

Adana’s staff often enjoys local adventures together, from crabbing to mushroom hunting, both for the team-bonding aspect and strengthening everyone’s connection to the food they serve.

Nakajima said the entire team went on a special excursion, camping and foraging—they scored an 8-pound haul of porcinis, plus buckets of morels. The elated crew, whom Nakajima considers family, passed the evening gathered around the campfire—talking, drinking and savoring their precious loot. “I like to create

an environment of learning and growth,” he said. “The more [the team] grows, the more I grow, too.”

Daniel Mallahan, the executive chef of Rider, also collaborates with Diaz and her dog, Stella, to secure what he deems some of the most perfectly ripe truffles he’s ever worked with. “The flavor and aroma is so complex in the native truffle,” he said. “There are hints of pineapple and passion fruit, very tropical on the nose.

Then the flavor is super earthy and savory. They are just fantastic.”

As far as cooking goes, he says truffles work really well in anything with a lot of fat, or simply using them as fresh shavings atop dishes. “The trim or pieces that are overripe, I do store in cognac for later use in purees and even cocktails,” he said. “If you have enough truffle pieces in the liquor for a long period of time (six months or more), you begin to get wonderful notes of vanilla.”

The sous chef of The Sound Hotel’s Currant Bistro, Leif Thornquist, weighed in on his affinity for truffles, too. “I love the ethereal aroma and complexity of truffles,” he said. “No two are exactly the same. As you apply different techniques and heat, they change dramatically.”

Thornquist stores his truffles in arborio rice to keep them cold and dry, then makes risotto with the perfumed rice.

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1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 23

farm to table

Conversation’s truffle burger features beer cheese and crispy shallots.

Washington Recipes

Truffle Shuffle Black and White Truffle Risotto

Soft Egg and Pear Tagliatelle

Currant Bistro / SEATTLE Leif Thornquist

Rider / SEATTLE Daniel Mallahan SERVES 2

5 cups chicken stock (or vegetable broth for a vegetarian version) 2 tablespoons softened butter, separated 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 shallot, minced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 cup arborio rice Kosher salt, to taste White pepper, to taste ¼ cup dry white wine 1 tablespoon minced black truffle or 1½ tablespoons truffle oil ¼ cup parmesan cheese 2 tablespoons chopped parsley Shaved white truffles for garnish

8 ounces tagliatelle (dried or fresh) 1 ounce canola-olive oil 75/25 blend 2 large shallots, sliced very thin 2 peeled garlic cloves, sliced very thin 1 Beurre d’Anjou pear, sliced to medium thickness 4 ounces Benton’s bacon lardons, cut into matchsticks about ¼-inch thick and 1 inch long 2 ounces whole butter 4 leaves sage, finely chopped 1 ounce Demerara sugar 2 ounces Calvados pear and apple brandy 1 ounce grated parmesan Salt and pepper to taste 2 farm eggs, lightly poached or sunnyside up

Bring stock to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Heat a sauté pan over medium heat, then add 1 tablespoon butter and olive oil and heat until they start to shimmer and the butter is foamy.

Add the minced shallot, garlic and dry rice.

Cook and stir over medium heat until the garlic and shallot is tender and the rice is slightly translucent and fragrant. Add a heavy pinch of salt, white pepper and white wine and cook until dry.

Add 1 cup of hot stock along with the minced truffles or truffle oil and stir frequently until the broth is absorbed and the rice is almost dry.

Continue adding 1 cup of broth at a time, cooking and stirring until most of the liquid is absorbed, before adding the next cup, for about 20 to 22 minutes. You may not have to add all of the last cup of broth.

The finished risotto should have the consistency of loose, not stodgy, oatmeal. As the risotto cools, it will tighten up a bit. The risotto should be creamy not mushy—the rice should still have some texture. Once the rice is at the proper texture, stir in butter and parmesan cheese. Taste and add more salt or white pepper, if necessary.

Divide among plates. Garnish with one or two shavings of white truffle and a sprinkle of chopped parsley, and serve immediately.

Begin to cook your pasta in heavily salted, simmering water. Simultaneously in a large heavy bottom pan, add oil and heat until shimmering and warm. Add bacon and cook for about 2 minutes, until nicely browned. Add shallots and sauté for about 1 minute until shallots are nicely caramelized and tender. Add garlic and cook for another 1 minute while stirring with a spatula to ensure the garlic doesn’t burn. Turn off heat and set aside until pasta is done cooking.

Remove pasta from water when it is slightly underdone. Reserve 2 ounces of the pasta water, then return pan to heat. Add butter, sage and pears. sauté all together for 1 minute, until everything is very hot. While the pan is on the heat, add sugar and Calvados in quick succession.

Flame the alcohol carefully and reduce liquid by half. Add cooked pasta to the pan. Add pasta water and mix thoroughly. Season with salt and lots of fresh black pepper. Add parmesan, then toss all together and heat until homogenous and slightly thickened. Most of the liquid should be reduced and noodles should be glazed.

Split into two deep bowls and top with a runny egg. Cover with as many fresh, ripe truffles you can afford—shave on a truffle slicer or with a larger, gauged microplane. Finish with a drizzle of high-quality olive oil and a light sprinkle of Maldon salt. Appropriate garnishes include fried sage, more parmesan and more black pepper.

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All Good NYC

SERVES 2-4

farm to table

Truffle Burger

Conversation / SEATTLE SERVES 1

1 challah burger bun 2 ground chuck-dry age beef patties mixed with wakame seaweed 1½ ounces soy-pickled shiitake mushrooms 1 ounce crispy shallots 1 ounce truffle aioli 2 ounces housemade beer cheese

FOR BURGER PATTIES 3 ounces ground chuck 3 ounces ground dry-aged beef 1 ounce chopped wakame seaweed FOR MUSHROOMS 2 cups dried shiitake mushrooms, stemmed ½ cup soy sauce ½ cup sherry vinegar ¼ cup sugar

1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

FOR TRUFFLE AIOLI 2 large egg yolks ½ teaspoon salt Juice of half lemon 1 cup olive oil 1 tablespoon of truffle powder FOR BEER CHEESE 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper ½ cup porter beer ¾ cup heavy cream 1½ cups shredded cheddar

FOR BURGER PATTIES Combine all ingredients and form patties. Grill each side until cooked to preference.

FOR MUSHROOMS Put mushrooms in a medium bowl, cover with 2½ cups boiling water, and press mushrooms down with a plate to keep them submerged. Let steep for 15 minutes, then strain mushrooms through a sieve set over a medium bowl, reserving 1 cup liquid.

Combine mushrooms, reserved liquid, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and ginger in a 4-quart saucepan.

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Remove pan from heat and let cool, then transfer ingredients into a 1½ quart bowl.

FOR SHALLOTS Thinly shave 2 large shallots, then

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

coat in cornstarch. Shake off excess starch, then deep fry at 320 degrees. Pull from the oil once slightly brown and the bubbling has almost stopped.

FOR TRUFFLE AIOLI Combine yolk, lemon juice and salt in a food processor. Slowly drizzle in oil.

Add truffle powder and blend just until incorporated.

FOR BEER CHEESE In a medium saucepan over lowmedium heat, melt butter and whisk in the flour. Cook, whisking constantly for 2-3 minutes, but do not brown the flour. Whisk in mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper until smooth.

Add beer and whisk to combine.

Pour in cream and whisk until well combined and smooth.

Gradually add cheese, stirring constantly, until cheese melts and sauce is smooth.

1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 25

home + design

This master bathroom, in Seattle’s Madrona neighborhood, mirrors the color scheme of the rest of the house.

Neutral, With a Twist William Wright

Three bathroom projects for lessons on tweaking a neutral palette written by Melissa Dalton

Madrona: Opposites Attract CONVENTIONAL WISDOM SAYS that marriage is compromise. Never might that seem more true than during a home remodel, especially when the homeowners have opposing aesthetic preferences. Such was the case for this new build in Seattle’s Madrona neighborhood: the wife grew up in the South and likes traditional details, while the husband is a lover of streamlined Mid-century modern interiors. Hyde Evans Design teamed with Motionspace Architecture + Design to help the couple work out a scheme that didn’t require either side to concede, instead crafting a mix everyone would love. “Our challenge as the designers was to bring their two aesthetics together in a creative but balanced way,” interior designer Benni Adams said.

For the master bathroom design, Adams started with the same palette found elsewhere in the house, which ultimately maintains consistency between the different rooms—black, white and walnut. “It was a balance of using [similar] materials 26 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE

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throughout but in different applications,” Adams said. To that end, the bathroom’s black hex floor tile and custom walnut vanity echo the black-and-walnut cabinetry in the kitchen without repeating any exact features, and provide warm contrast with white walls.

Adams wrapped the shower in elongated subway tile laid in a herringbone pattern, which nods to traditional applications, but feels fresh and contemporary when paired with the flat-front, grain-matched cabinets. Sleek chrome fittings are streamlined silhouettes in a classic metal, and the black Astrid sconce from Schoolhouse Electric mounted on the mirror injects a contemporary note.

The end result has pleased the homeowners beyond initial expectations. “They loved the way it managed to create a lived-in feel that traditional homes have while providing this adult, modern design,” Adams said. “They said it was definitely a reflection of them, which was nice to hear because that’s your ultimate goal.”

So book a family getaway here in Seaside, Oregon this year.

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Cody Ulrich

Cody Ulrich

home + design

Lake Tapps: Pattern Play For many homeowners, the most important aspect of a remodel is how it will appeal to potential buyers for resale. But when it came time to start the design plan for this rebuild of a family home in Lake Tapps, interior designer Allison Lind, owner of Allison Lind Interiors, heard a different request from her clients, a professional couple with three school-aged children. “Knowing that they were completely demolishing their former home and starting from scratch, the whole point was to create their dream home,” Lind said. “They didn’t want to play it safe. If they were going to spend the money, they wanted to spend the time to create something that they were going to love forever.”

For the bathroom designs, Lind flexed her creative muscles to make each space special to its user. Take the elementary-aged daughter’s bathroom, a narrow space with extra-tall ceilings and no windows. Lind wanted to foster brightness and visual interest while also crafting a scheme that could age well. “When 28 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE

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designing for a kid, you have to walk a delicate line, because obviously children grow up and they change,” Lind said. “So, we didn’t want to go too theme-y,” or choose a color the child might not like in a few years.

Lind opted for a neutral palette of creamy white and gray with brushed nickel hardware and fixtures. A stone mosaic tile in a flower pattern bedecks the wall behind the sink, while a column of gray penny tile waterfalls down one wall in the shower, to emphasize the ceiling heights. Mixed with Carrara marble hex tile on the floor and a simple subway pattern on the shower walls, the combinations are subtle variations on classics. A custom vanity design further plays with texture and pattern, and chandelier sconces on either side of the mirror are a feminine touch.

With such a refined foundation, the room can be tweaked as its occupant grows and her tastes change. “We can change up little things. You can always paint walls and add bold color down the line, or add in little accessories that fit her changing personality,” Lind said. “But for now, we were going for a very elegant space.”

Rafael Soldi

home + design

LEFT In the Lake Tapps bathroom, a neutral palette allows room to grow.

FAR RIGHT The master suite in the Roanoke Park home has a stunning penny tile wall with a fade effect.

Roanoke Park: A Balancing Act A private master suite was high on the wishlist for a top-tobottom remodel of a 1910 home in the Roanoke Park neighborhood of Seattle. Best Practice Architecture joined with contractor Hartman Kable to tackle the details. Before, the upper floor had one bathroom for the three bedrooms, but the clients, a pair of professionals with two children, wanted their own space to retreat. “It was really important that mom didn’t have a shared bathroom with her growing boys,” architect Ian Butcher said. The firm began by reorganizing the layout to convert the shared bath to a private en-suite for the parents, and then carved out enough room to fit a new Jack-and-Jill bathroom between the kids’ rooms as well.

Next, they ditched the room’s tacky finishes left over from a 1970s remodel—think cheap, dated chrome and too much red oak—and developed a scheme that contrasts the home’s historic bones with modern moments, a theme that guided the

entire remodel. “It’s a very traditional home, but they liked the idea of [juxtaposing] contemporary ideas with the traditional house,” Butcher said.

In the bathroom, the team installed a sizeable walnut vanity with a quartzite counter and enclosed the standalone shower in subway tile. Next, they chose a new clawfoot tub, a classic silhouette that nods to the home’s original era, and surrounded it with a bold tile treatment. “We liked the idea of a white tub within a gray setting, but we didn’t want all gray tile,” Butcher said. “Living in the Northwest, there’s always this worry that too much gray is too somber.” The solution was a striking tile “fade” effect, wherein charcoal penny rounds merge and intermingle with their white counterparts, and then continue up the wall to create a stunning focal point. “The clawfoot tub is a very traditional piece placed within a contemporary setting,” Butcher said. “So, it was like having some sensibility of a traditional bathroom, but done in a very unique and playful, modern way.”

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 29

home + design

Interior designer Allison Lind used dark paint to make this powder room shine.

DIY: How to Design a Daring Powder Bath PENCILS OUT! WE’RE STUDYING this powder bath design from interior designer Allison Lind. Her top tip? “Consider the powder bath an area to make a statement and have some fun,” Lind said. “This is the space guests use when you’re entertaining, so why not show off your personality?”

1 EMBRACE THE DARKNESS

For this project, the homeowners gave Lind “carte blanche” to outfit a small, windowless space off a bright, central hallway. “It’s this dark cavernous space,” Lind said. “So, I actually wanted to embrace that instead of trying to make it light and bright with light colors. I thought, ‘Let’s just … embrace the darkness.’” Lind wrapped the room in customdesigned, matte black millwork, and painted the ceiling black as well. Often, light colors in a room that gets no natural light can read dingy—opting for a darker palette doesn’t fight the room’s limitations.

2 BE BOLD

A powder room is typically closed off from the rest of the house, and as a result, can be a place to take creative risks. The showstopper in this room is the bold wallpaper from Eskayel that Lind chose. It’s a rich blue, painterly pattern printed on a textured grasscloth, which brings warmth to the room and a delightful surprise when the door is opened.

GO GLAM

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Cody Ulrich

If materials like brass and marble don’t fit your everyday lifestyle, they can be fun to experiment with in the powder room, since it’s not used as often.

In Lind’s project, a Restoration Hardware sink and vanity pop against the dark-hued millwork, thanks to a brass base and marble basin, the latter of which syncs with the luxe Calacatta marble mosaic tile on the floor. Above the sink, Lind placed a shieldshaped mirror and modern candelabra fixture, glam shapes that bring verve without competing with the room’s other elements.

home + design

Bathroom Boldness Products for a striking bathroom If you’re more partial to statement-making tile, check out the designs from the California-based Fireclay Tile. We like how the hand-painted Metropolitan Collection is both chic and functional: combining Art Deco motifs inspired by the architecture of various American cities in a non-slip glaze. www.fireclaytile.com

In 2010, Avery Thatcher founded Juju Papers in Portland, Oregon, and ever since, the line of wallpapers has steadily become known for its imaginative prints. Why not wrap a small powder room in the Le Freak pattern, “a calligraphic maze of monumental scale,” for big impact? www.jujupapers.com

Artist and designer Nathie Katzoff of NK Woodworking & Design draws on a background in boat building to craft these impressive wood bathtubs from a Seattle-based studio. The sculptural pieces are fashioned from sustainable domestic and exotic hardwoods and undergo a specialized finish process, which makes them waterproof, durable and ready for daily use, not to mention a stunning focal point in any bathroom. www.nkwoodworking.com DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 31

Benjamin Toombs

mind + body

Fighting Back After surviving an assault, Kelly Herron now teaches others to do the same written by Viki Eierdam IN MARCH 2017, marathon runner and former Seattle resident Kelly Herron encountered her worst nightmare—a homeless sex offender cornered her in the women’s bathroom of a park. After milliseconds of processing, she turned the tables and the perpetrator was defeated.

Were it not for a self-defense class Herron had just taken, the outcome might have been very different.

But, Herron admitted, she had more spurring her on in those agonizing eight minutes.

“I was so determined to not let my attacker take anything away from me that I felt compelled to continue because I had worked so hard to get where I was that day—not only in my running but, at the time I was a year and a half sober,” Herron said. “Not only was it important to maintain my running but to maintain my sobriety. I didn’t want him to win in any aspect.”

Recalling skills that Jordan Giarratano of Fighting Chance Seattle had imparted to her in a corporate workshop three weeks earlier, she dug in. She trusted her instincts. She was loud. She fought hard. She pretended she was not afraid as she struck her attacker’s face, neck and hands repeatedly. Herron remembered she didn’t have to throw a perfect punch. Instead, she used the side of her forearm to repeatedly strike the side of his face and head, which bought her the time she needed to maneuver away from him and escape.

Now the student has become the teacher. Since that fateful day, Herron has become an advocate for women, and partners with Giarratano to teach self-defense classes in corporate settings through her website, www. nottoday.run. She also talks to businesses to encourage them to invest in their employees’ personal safety.

“Is it going to be Taco Tuesday, or a class that can literally save peoples’ lives and allow them to walk through life feeling more confident and empowered?” Herron asked.

Not letting fear settle in or hold her back, she continues to run marathons, such as Chicago in 2017, Honolulu in 2018 and The Appletree Marathon in Vancouver, Washington, this past fall. In retrospect, Herron confesses she didn’t take appropriate time for self-care after the attack, running with stitches in her head and pushing herself for a month to be ready for a June marathon. She then made the decision to step back and set her sights on a September event. It would take another several months to reestablish a healthy relationship with running—but she’s back, stronger and more resolved than ever.

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Kelly Herron Marathon Runner

Age: 39 Born: Venice, Florida Former Residences: Seattle and Vancouver

MARATHON TRAINING Running: Running on an eighteen-week cycle using the Hanson Marathon Method, Herron starts at about 25 miles per week and increases distance up to 60 miles per week, before tapering down slightly and spiking back up. She runs six days a week, 4 to 6 miles on weekdays and 16 to 24 miles throughout the weekend, though never more than 16 miles in one day.

Strength training: Herron completes body weight exercises at home with a combination of push-ups, sit-ups, burpees and planks.

Stretching: Crediting restorative yoga to a breakthrough in her trauma recovery, Herron commits to a regular, weekly practice and says it helps her stay limber and eases fatigue.

NUTRITION Herron has oatmeal, peanut butter and a banana for breakfast, then a turkey sandwich for lunch and protein and vegetables for dinner. She avoids refined sugars and inflammatory foods, opting for a diet based on protein, vegetables and nuts. She gets her fuel from whole-fat foods such as avocados and peanut butter.

INSPIRATION “Definitely the hardest part of marathon training is the long runs, and my mom and I join each other for those and it just makes it so much more bearable. If we do find ourselves in a sketchy situation, I’m definitely more concerned about her safety than my own, and she probably feels the same way. No one’s gonna mess with my mom.

Last year she adopted Hanson’s Marathon Method and kicked my butt in the marathon by nearly an hour. She gives me nutritional training and I give her speed training.”

“We all should feel confident in establishing boundaries and standing our ground and fighting back in whatever regard is appropriate. Fighting back isn’t always physical. It can also be in setting boundaries.”

mind + body

Kelly Herron runs six days a week.

“I was so determined to not let my attacker take anything away from me that I felt compelled to continue because I had worked so hard to get where I was that day— not only in my running but, at the time I was a year and a half sober.”

— Kelly Herron, DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 33 marathon runner

artist in residence

Natural Beauty Rebecca Bashara’s jewelry makes the earth the centerpiece written by Sheila G. Miller “SIMPLICITY IS THE essence of beauty.” silver wire, suitcase of tools and my desire to work for myself.

It’s a slogan Rebecca Bashara learned in high school, I started picking up ocean glass in Hawaii and crafting earand which has become a calling card for her simple, gorg- rings, necklaces, rings and selling on the beach, markets and eous jewelry. small boutique shops.”

The delicate pieces of curved silver wire and stones stand That was all the education she needed to figure out how to out because of their straightforward and effortless appear- market and sell her beautiful designs. ance. Hand-selected stones and recycled silver, unburnished, She never worked for anyone else again. Thirty years later, make a strong statement. Bashara takes the natural world and she’s still a passionate artist. makes it a part of your wardrobe, in the best possible way.

When she moved to the Pacific Northwest, she fell in love Bashara was raised in Iowa, a curious kid seeing art every- with the area and with the nature she could easily access here. where from a young age.

Today, she lives and works in Klickitat, collecting stones and She found herself “meandering along the river or crafting jewelry.

MORE ONLINE the railroad tracks looking for stones, pieces of glass “Each stone I use is collected by myself and someFind Rebecca or natural objects,” according to Bashara’s website. times lucky friends,” Bashara said. “I comb the rivers Bashara’s work at “She was fascinated by the miniature, and spent www.rbashara.com and beaches to find stones that are tumbled by the and on Instagram hours looking at grasshoppers and other tiny flora, movement of water. I take them home to wash, sort @rbashara fauna and innumerable objects.” and oil them. Then I step out of the way and let their From there, jewelry-making and metalsmithing was a nat- beauty speak for itself.” ural next step. She started selling her jewelry while she was a She describes her jewelry-making process as “somewhat teenager, earning a talented and gifted scholarship to the Des old-worldly,” using simple tools and declining to polish the Moines Art Center. finished product.

“I fell in love with the medium immediately and continued “My goal is to bring the wearer closer to nature, like taking to take classes in my high school,” Bashara said. “Cutting, fill- a walk on the beach or in the woods,” Bashara said. “I hope ing, sanding and soldering silver came naturally to me, and I to start a conversation through the jewelry about how we can focused on creating hollow forms from sheet.” conserve this beautiful home we live on.”

She studied at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts Her long-term goal? To build a “biophilic design center” in in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and Asheville, North Carolina’s the Columbia River Gorge. The goal of the center would be Pendland School of Arts and Crafts. Eventually she earned to focus on art not as an addition to culture but “an intrinsic a metalsmithing degree at the University of Kansas. She also part of it.” studied at the Oregon College of Arts and Crafts.

But for now, she is happy making jewelry that makes its “College didn’t prepare me for how to make a living in the wearers feel the peace of the natural world around them, that field, so I had to find my way and let go of only creating one- has gained a cult following and which inspires her daughter of-a-kind jewelry,” Bashara said. “It didn’t take long with my to call her “my inspiration for the future.”

“Each stone I use is collected by myself and sometimes lucky friends. I comb the rivers and beaches to find stones that are tumbled by the movement of water. I take them home to wash, sort and oil them. Then I step out of the way and let their beauty speak for itself.”

— Rebecca Bashara, jewelry maker 34 1889 WASHINGTONS’S MAGAZINE DECEMBER | JANUARY

2019

Rebecca Bashara’s jewelry combines simple metals and beautiful stones.

STARTUP 38 WHAT’S GOING UP 40 WHAT I’M WORKING ON 42 MY WORKSPACE 44

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Julia Sumpter

GAME CHANGER 46

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startup

Ombraz Sunglasses feature a cord instead of arms.

The Future’s So Bright Ombraz seeks to eliminate the most troublesome part of shades—the arms written by Beau Eastes

INSPIRATION STRUCK JENSEN BREHM in 2011, two days into a camel safari in India’s Thar Desert.

“Someone sat on the brand new sunglasses I’d just bought in New Delhi,” said Brehm, co-founder of Ombraz Sunglasses along with his University of Redlands classmate Nikolai Paloni. “Snap—the sidearms completely broke off.”

Stuck in the middle of one of the world’s largest subtropical deserts without functional eye protection, Brehm improvised.

“I took a piece of twine and wrapped it around the back of my head to the hinges of those sunglasses,” Brehm said. “And I wore those sunglasses like that for the rest of the trip. We were racing camels down the dunes and the sunglasses stayed in one place and didn’t slide down my face. They were comfortable and I could put them in my back pocket and not worry about breaking them.”

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After the trip, Brehm upgraded from twine to a leather cord, but he kept rocking his homemade armless shades.

“I came back to the U.S. and wore that MacGyvered pair of sunglasses for the next five years,” he said.

Ombraz Sunglasses was born.

Working off the premise that sidearms on sunglasses are nothing but trouble, Brehm, 28, and Paloni, 29, launched Ombraz Sunglasses in 2017. For years, strangers would come up to Brehm and ask where he got his sunglasses that had no sidearms and hung from his neck when he wasn’t using them.

“They resonated with me right away,” said Paloni, who worked as a buyer for Amazon out of college and told Brehm that his unique design would hold mass appeal to folks in the outdoor industry. “I’m always losing and breaking sunglasses. The first time I saw them we were day-drinking in college somewhere and I said, ‘What are these? They’re sick!’ I tried to steal them that day.”

In the spring of 2018, they launched an Indiegogo campaign looking to raise $20,000 in capital, the minimum amount needed for their first production run. Ombraz reached its $20,000 goal in eight hours and wound up raising more than $160,000 from nearly 1,500 different backers.

“At that point, we were still figuring out how to go about and make these things,” Brehm said. “It was all such a new process.”

Working out of a barn in Clyde Hill owned by Brehm’s grandmother—they’re still there—the two assembled and shipped

startup

“We use all the same premium components other companies use. Ours just don’t break.”

— Nikolai Paloni, Ombraz Sunglasses co-founder 3,000 pairs of Ombraz to fulfill their Indiegogo orders, plowing through fifteen- to seventeen-hour days to get sunglasses out in a timely manner after the crowdsourcing campaign.

“I don’t think I’d change a thing, but that was the hardest twoand-a-half months ever,” Brehm said.

The duo was also doing all their own marketing and PR, sending glasses to a host of outdoor magazines and influencers.

“We were getting about three online orders a day at the end of 2018,” Paloni said. “Then in January 2019, Backpacker magazine calls and says they’ve been rocking our sunglasses for the past six months and out of the blue they’re giving us their most coveted award.”

In March, Backpacker announced its “Editor’s Choice: The Best Gear of 2019” awards, which included products from outdoor heavyweights MSR, Mountain Hardwear, Big Agnes, Gerber—and the plucky upstart Ombraz. Online sales tripled overnight and soon retailers such as REI, Moosejaw and Huckberry came calling. Additional positive and well-publicized reviews from Gear Patrol and Outside Magazine added to the frenzy.

“We won that Backpacker award at the start of March and REI came to us and wanted us in stores by the end of March,” Paloni said with a laugh. “We didn’t have any kind of display design or retail packaging at that point. But we got it done.”

Light, comfortable and nearly indestructible, the glasses have been popular with traditional outdoor users such as backpackers, climbers and rafters, as well as bikepackers, fishermen and even pilots.

“Pilots wear these big, clunky headphones and when you try to wear regular sunglasses, they break the seal on the headphones and squeeze the crap out of your head,” Paloni said. “(Ombraz) are a godsend for these guys who are above the clouds and always in the sun.”

The glasses, which retail for approximately $140, come in three frame colors and are available with three different colors of lenses, polarized or non-polarized. Prescription glasses are also available.

“We use all the same premium components other companies use,” Paloni said. “Ours just don’t break.”

The numbers have been good for Ombraz in its first year of business—the company finished its first year on the market with more than $1 million in sales—and Ombraz in return has been good to the planet. The company plants twenty trees for

FROM TOP Jensen Brehm and Nikolai Paloni assemble shades. Brehm and Paloni show off their sunglasses.

each pair of sunglasses it sells—more than 130,000 mangroves were planted in 2019 alone—and Brehm and Paloni have implemented a company-wide initiative in which the carbon footprint for all work-related trips are measured and additional trees are planted to offset that impact.

“From day one, we’ve striven to be a carbon-negative brand,” Paloni said.

Ombraz also is a member of the 1% for the Planet initiative, in which businesses give back 1 percent of their gross sales to environmental nonprofits, and it is Carbon Neutral certified.

According to Brehm, Ombraz actually offsets 330 times more carbon than it produces.

“We’re the most aggressively carbon-negative product on the market,” Paloni said. “Consumers really care about what you’re doing (for the environment) and we’ve placed that at the forefront of what we do.”

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what’s going up?

New Restaurants for a New Year

Hotel Indigo will house the new El Gaucho in Vancouver.

Start 2020 right with meals at new spots around the state written by Sheila G. Miller IN SEATTLE, a fan favorite Cambodian noodle house is expected to get new life in a new location. According to Seattle Magazine, Phnom Penh Noodle House, which closed its Chinatown International District location in May 2018 after thirty years, is planning to reopen in a new space on South Jackson Street.

Meanwhile, Seattle favorite El Gaucho, a longtime spot in Belltown, is moving to the Union Stables building north of Pike Place Market, and adding a new location in Vancouver. The new Vancouver location is expected to open in late 2020 inside Hotel Indigo, a boutique hotel on the waterfront. The restaurant will be in an 8,500-square-foot space on the bottom floor and will also have an eighth floor bar and patio.

And in Spokane, a Coeur d’Alene restaurant, Cosmic Cowboy Grill, is slated to open a Spokane location on West Main Avenue in Riverpark Square in January.

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2019

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what i’m working on

Start It Up Building a startup ecosystem in Vancouver interview by Robert Husseman

ENTREPRENEURIAL ENDEAVORS ARE proliferating well beyond the boundaries of Seattle. In southwest Washington, Dave Barcos is helping startups mature into successful businesses. Barcos is the founder of Vancouver-based North Bank Innovations, a startup accelerator that connects nascent companies to available resources. Vancouver has seen homegrown companies such as marketing and sales software developer DiscoverOrg, intelligent scale maker The Perfect Company, and industrial hardware maker RealWear (which closed on an $80 million funding round in July) expand into regional powers, and North Bank Innovations aims to help the next generation of homegrown companies thrive.

You worked as a creative director at marketing agencies before transitioning to startup advising. How does that past work inform your experience?

I really had to almost unlearn it.

The truth is, when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

When I started working in startups, it was, ‘If you can get marketing right, it must be a success.’ I started to evolve and add to my perspective of what it truly takes to get successful. That’s the most common mistake I ever find—a company believes that, if the product is good enough, then the company will be successful.

Ideas aren’t products, and products aren’t companies.

You founded North Bank Innovations in November 2017. What was the startup environment like at the time?

I found that a lot of people just didn’t openly talk about living in Vancouver, and that was a challenge.

The commute had gotten worse and worse, and Portland is—how do I say it?—it’s exclusionary through inclusion. What they say is, ‘Oh yeah!

We’d love to work with you! Come 42 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE

Dave Barcos is the founder of Vancouver’s North Bank Innovations.

down to us!’ Totally ignoring the reality of what we have to do to be able to do that.

We lose 90,000 people across the bridges every day. That’s a problem.

That is just a problem. For the tax base, the human capital that we lose, all of that creates a huge deficit for what we’re doing.

There are a bunch of reasons why it’s better to be up here. From a startup perspective, some of those right reasons save 15 percent of the bottom line. You’ve got less expensive real estate and all those other lifestyle reasons.

Such as?

The city did a kind of powerful thing about five years ago. There was an organization that was put together, the Innovation Partnership Zone. It was meant to be a local convener of technology companies and innovative companies. The city ran a survey and said, ‘What do you want to see?’

The technology companies said, ‘We want to see more brewpubs and coffee shops.’ The city acted on it.

You saw new restaurants come into downtown, and coffee shops. And brewpubs. That is a direct result of

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

that information they pulled out of the IPZ and technology companies, that we want more lifestyle.

There’s a real pragmatism that’s up here. We enjoy our lifestyle and aren’t in the rat race. We’re removed from it. We don’t want to be a part of that. And what that’s done is created a fertile place for early-stage startups.

North Bank Innovations is launching a program called Venture Lab, aimed at deepening relationships within the Vancouver startup scene. How will it work?

It is successful, exited founders and top-skilled people who have been through startups and understand you’re looking for 10x (investment growth) results for what you’re trying to do. And we say, ‘OK, what if we can put them on your team?’

You’re feeding back into the startup ecosystem.

Exactly what it is. We have some successful companies in this region, some founders who have exited.

What we don’t have them doing very often is saying, ‘OK, I finished that, here’s my next one.’

my workspace

My Workspace

Work Hard, Play Hard

A day in the life of a concept artist at Funko written by Richard Porter

Greg Ham is a concept artist at Funko, the Everett-based company that makes pop culture toys. Its most famous products are a series of bobblehead-like vinyl figurines known as Funko Pops. The Funko offices and flagship store fill a five-story former department building in downtown Everett.

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2019

my workspace

As a kid, Ham liked watching Hanna-Barbera cartoons. He was a born pop culture fan and collected toys into his 20s. His all-time favorite show is “Batman: The Animated Series.” This innate fandom is a key part of his profession, a zeal that seems to be shared by his coworkers— an enthusiastic bunch.

Today, Ham works on concepts for many of the same characters he grew up watching. “I like working on properties that I love and seeing how excited fans get about these characters, too.” He’s worked on concepts for “Teen Titans,” “Scrubs,” “The Office” and Tony Hawk. The Tony Hawk project was a big one for Ham, who grew up skating and idolizing “The Birdman.”

Photos: Funko

On a given day, Ham and his team work on more than a dozen concepts. He draws characters in two dimensions, picks out colors for prototypes, and carefully matches the clothing and accessories of an assigned character to its television, movie or on-screen counterpart.

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game changer

Piper, a 5-year-old avalanche dog at Crystal Mountain Resort, strikes a pose in front of Mount Rainier.

Going to the Dogs Washington’s biggest ski resorts put their trust in avalanche dogs WASHINGTON’S CASCADES ARE steep, rugged and swallowed by snow in winter. Avalanches lurk all around. While ski resorts do an excellent job managing this danger, a slide could still happen in-bounds. But how can ski patrol locate any victims when most resort skiers and snowboarders don’t carry an avalanche transceiver?

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Dylan Cembalski/Rising Mountain Photography

written by Daniel O’Neil

Julia Sumpter

Lynne Spencer

game changer

FROM LEFT Piper and Sara Cohen travel downhill.

Darwin digs a hole during a recovery drill.

Release the avalanche hounds! More efficient, effective and reliable than even a search with avalanche beacons and probes, dogs help keep Washington’s biggest ski resorts—Crystal, Stevens Pass and Alpental—safer. And happier, because that’s what wagging tails do. “Dogs provide such a unique contribution on so many levels that I don’t see us replacing them with technology,” said Sara Cohen, pro patroller and director of the avalanche rescue dog program at Crystal Mountain ski resort.

Avalanche dog programs began in Washington at Crystal Mountain in the mid-1980s, and soon inspired others to join the cause, and the fun. “It’s all a big game for them,” patrol director Angela Seidling said of the dog team she coordinates at Stevens Pass, “so we turn it into their favorite game.” First, the dog must learn the sounds and smells of a busy ski resort in winter. Desensitizing a dog also means teaching it to ride on a chairlift and snowmobile, and to rappel from a helicopter into challenging terrain. Trust, intuition and a good bond between dog, handler and the entire ski patrol team is essential. So is the pack of avalanche dogs, which ranges from four to eight dogs at each resort, from pups to vets. “It takes a village to raise a successful avalanche rescue dog,” said Alpental patroller Robert Fass, who works with his dog Lucy.

Obedience and rescue training exercises teach an avalanche dog throughout its career, which lasts from age 4 until about 10. Cohen’s 5-year-old dog, Piper, for example, already knows more than ninety cues, and they’ve developed a trustworthy sense of nonverbal communication. A variety of drills helps a dog and handler work together to locate human scents, from just beneath the snow surface to several yards down, and positive reinforcement rewards dogs with a game of tug-o-war or some treats. Thus, Cohen considers Piper a resource, not a tool. “These dogs are living, thinking beings that need lots of

training to be proficient and reliable,” she said. But Cohen also emphasizes teamwork—it’s not about a good dog or a good handler, it’s about the two working together as an experienced team.

Despite their level of training and readiness, Washington’s avalanche dogs are a resource that, depending on the season, are not often used. “We do a lot to keep skiers out of hazardous terrain, and to mitigate avalanches as much as possible,” Fass said, “but avalanches in and out of bounds can still occur. This is where the dogs come in.” Dogs form part of the response protocol, to find buried victims or rule out the existence of any. To date, only Alpental ski patrol has saved a life thanks to a dog team, when a skier was buried on a nearby mountain in 2010.

The sad truth about avalanche dogs is they’re more often used to locate known fatalities. Washington’s backcountry ski terrain is vast, steep and popular, and accidents happen. Dogs and their handlers serve best here, providing closure for the victim’s family as quickly as possible. Also, fewer people out on a recovery mission means fewer lives at risk. Washington’s three avalanche dog programs form a collective called B.A.R.K. (Backcountry Avalanche Rescue K-9) which can be deployed throughout the state, and which offers the highest level of certification for avalanche dogs here. In a typical year, a dog team will respond to only a few calls at their resort, and possibly to a B.A.R.K. call-out.

The rest of the time, avalanche dogs make their ski resorts even more relaxed. “They make ski patrollers much more approachable,” Seidling said, “because everybody can have a connection with a dog.” In the patrol aide room, injured guests sometimes ask to pet a dog. These programs also help educate the general ski public about inbounds avalanche danger. In the end, “we’re all here to have fun, and dogs are a good reminder of that,” Seidling said. “My dog, Bailey, goes to work excited every day.”

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COLD

COMFORT THIS WINTER, SPEND DECEMBER BEING NAUGHTY & JANUARY BEING NICE written by John Nelson

ARE WE NAUGHTY OR NICE? IT’S A QUESTION AS OLD AS SANTA HIMSELF. AND THE TRUTH IS, THE VERY NATURE OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON BRINGS OUT BOTH SIDES IN ALL OF US.

December is surely the naughtiest month of the year. We stuff ourselves with holiday cookies, skip the gym and party like we’re Justin Bieber.

After overindulging for weeks, we top it off by guzzling even more booze on New Year’s Eve. Then comes January, our nicest month.

We clean up our acts, go on diets, head back

to the gym, maybe even forgo alcohol for a “dry January.” After our dizzying December descent, we start climbing toward loftier goals—dedicating ourselves to philanthropy, volunteering or even political action.

So you better watch out—Naughty December and Nice January are coming to town.

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NAUGHTY

DECEMBER AS A PEOPLE, SEATTLEITES SEEM TO ENJOY THE SINFUL OVER THE SAPPY. HOW ELSE CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE VAST MENU OF BAWDY DECEMBER PERFORMANCES RELATED TO THE HOLIDAYS? Consider starting the month’s bacchanal off with “A John Waters Christmas: Filthier and Merrier” December 5 at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle. The debauched filmmaker of “Female Trouble” and “Hairspray” has a oneman show in which he reportedly spreads “Yuletide profanity and perverted piety.”

Seattle also likes nudity—a lot. Two burlesque shows have become holiday traditions in the Emerald City. “Homo for the Holidays: Jingle All the Gay,” plays December 6-29 at Oddfellows West Hall on Capitol Hill, brought to you by beloved Seattle performers Kitten N’ Lou. That would

be burlesque queen Kitten LaRue and drag king Lou Henry Hoover, who deliver the saucy goodies along with a troupe of outrageous (and attractive) helpers.

You’ll also find “Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker,” December 12-29 at the Triple Door in downtown Seattle, created

by Lily Verlaine and Jasper McCann. The show, in its fourteenth year, has elements of ballet, burlesque and old-school vaudeville.

The Mark Morris Dance Troupe also hitches a ride on the alt-Nutcracker train. “The Hard Nut,” (December 6-15, Paramount Theatre) is described as a

50 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE

gender-bent take on the Christmas classic, set in “the swinging ’70s, with raucous parties, dancing G.I. Joes, whimsical costumes, and a Waltz of the Snowflakes like no other.”

Also on the naughty list is “Scott Shoemaker’s War on Christmas” December 5-22 at the Re-Bar in Seattle, which promises “hilarious comedy, songs, dance numbers, amazing videos and partial nudity.” And at ACT Theatre, check out the ever-popular “Dina Martina Christmas Show” December 5-24.

Rounding out this edgy holiday fare is performance artist Taylor Mac, who brings “Holiday Sauce” to the stage December 19-20 at the Moore Theater to “reframe the songs you love and the holidays you hate,” according to event planners.

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Poppi Photography

ENJOY THE LIMELIGHT

DRINK UP

David Belisle

Rod Mar/Chihuly Studio

Angela Sterling

WHERE BETTER TO BRIGHTEN YOUR YULETIDE SPIRIT THAN THE WINERIES OF WASHINGTON?

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Get into the naughty month with “Land of the Sweets: The Burlesque Nutcracker.” In Spokane, enjoy Christmas Tree Elegance. Chihuly Garden and Glass hosts a New Year’s pARTy. Dina Martina’s “Christmas Show” is over the top in the best ways. At Dillingers in Olympia, holiday-themed drinks are on the menu.

PARTY DOWN ROUND OUT NAUGHTY MONTH WITH SOME OF THE BIGGEST PARTIES IN SEATTLE

RESOLUTION @ WaMu Theater

SPECTRA: NEW YEAR’S EVE UNDER THE ARCHES @ Pacific Science Center

Roll into Woodinville on December 6-8 for St. Nick’s Open House Celebration, where more than thirty wineries will be pouring. We’re mighty fond of sitting by the fire and eating the excellent pizza served at the stylish Novelty Hill-Januik Winery.

Or how about indulging in a cheese tasting at Columbia Winery?

In Walla Walla, they don’t just pour wine — they roll out the barrels. Open wide and drink hearty December 6-8 at the annual Holiday Barrel Tasting, which offers a sneak peek at the vintages to come.

You’ll have plenty of chances for holiday cheer at two cherished events in Eastern Washington.

In Leavenworth, they switch on the town every weekend for the Christmas Lighting Festival 2019.

Toast the light show at several lively restaurants, including München Haus, Rhein Haus, Pika Provisions and the newly expanded Icicle Brewing.

In Spokane, put on your holiday finest and head to Christmas Tree Elegance, a fundraiser for the Spokane Symphony, in the historic Davenport Hotel and River Park Square, running through December 9. While you’re at it, stop in at the Davenport’s gorgeous The Peacock Room for a signature martini.

Meanwhile, the state capital is hosting a miracle of sorts. The Miracle Christmas Pop-up is happening at Dillingers Cocktails & Kitchen in Olympia, where bartenders mix over-the-top holidaythemed drinks set amid every kitschy ornament they can find.

And then there is New Year’s Eve. The Emerald City stirs things up with a giant swizzle stick, prior to the annual Space Needle fireworks show.

INDULGENCE @ MoPop

TOTALLY RADICAL NEW YEAR’S @ Sky View Observatory at Columbia Center

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NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY @ Chihuly Garden and Glass

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NICE JANUARY TAKE THE (POLAR) PLUNGE

DRINK TO HEALTH THE NEW YEAR CAN’T ONLY BE ABOUT GREEN SMOOTHIES AND KOMBUCHA. Dillingers in Olympia has created a 2020 cocktail just for 1889 full of nice things guaranteed to boost your immunity.

They’re calling it the “Allspice Allstar,” featuring Appleton Estate Rum, Seattle Distilling Brandy, Salish Sea Ginger Liqueur and cinnamon syrup, paired with a touch of fresh fruit juice.

Combine these ingredients, shake and pour—for health, of course.

1½ ounces Appleton Estate Rum ½ ounce Seattle Distilling Brandy ¼ ounce cinnamon syrup ¼ ounce Salish Sea Ginger Liqueur ¼ ounce Elizabeth Allspice Dram ¾ ounce fresh squeezed lime ½ ounce pomegranate juice

AFTER ALL THAT HIGH LIVING IN DECEMBER, YOU MIGHT NEED AN EYE-OPENER ON NEW YEAR’S DAY TO KICKSTART A NICE, NEW ATTITUDE. WHY NOT STRIP OFF YOUR CLOTHES AND JUMP INTO SOME ICY WATER? In Seattle, consider the Polar Bear Plunge at Matthews Beach Park near Kenmore, or strap on those neglected running shoes for the Resolution 5K and Polar Bear Dive at Magnuson Park.

Around Western Washington, you’ll find many more New Year’s Day polar plunges in

Birch Bay, Edmonds, Port Angeles, Tacoma, Lacey and just about every little town in between.

On the east side of the Cascades, it’s a different (and decidedly chillier) ball game.

Last year, hundreds of people from the Spokane metro area hit the 40-degree water in

Lake Coeur d’Alene for an invigorating swim.

The air temperature was 29 degrees — maybe just the punishment needed for being so naughty in December.

In the Tri-Cities, they wait a few weeks for that achingly cold plunge. Their polar plunge into the frigid Columbia River is scheduled in midJanuary, a benefit for the Special Olympics.

What could be nicer than supporting this good cause?

HIT THE GYM

Resolution-weary beer drinkers can hop back on the horse at Belgian Fest, January 25 at Fisher Pavilion in Seattle Center.

IT’S NO WONDER THAT JANUARY IS THE BIGGEST MONTH FOR NEW GYM MEMBERSHIPS. BLAME IT ON NAUGHTY DECEMBER. AS PEOPLE PONDER ALL THE WAYS THEY ABUSED THEIR BODIES OVER THE HOLIDAYS, EXERCISE REDEMPTION SEEMS LIKE A GREAT IDEA. “We get a lot of new members in January,” said Kirsten Poma, program executive for healthy living at the YMCA in Seattle.

“Unfortunately we lose a lot of those new members by the time we get to March.” Still, the YMCA hopes to keep them coming back by working with new members to make sustainable lifestyle changes.

“A lot of people have an all-or-nothing belief process when it comes to the gym. If they can’t get there four times a week, some people think they might as well just not come,” Poma said. “We try to promote small changes that will eventually become habits.”

AT LEFT Dillingers’ Allspice Allstar is a cocktail with fresh fruit juice to keep you feeling healthy.

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DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

HEAD OUTDOORS IT’S ALWAYS NICE TO GET SOMETHING FOR FREE. AND IN JANUARY, YOU HAVE TWO CHANCES FOR FREE DAYS AT STATE PARKS IN WASHINGTON, ON JANUARY 1 AND ON MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. DAY, JANUARY 20. MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK AND OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK ALSO OFFER FREE ADMISSION ON MLK DAY. Speaking of Martin Luther King, celebrate the civil rights leader’s legacy around the state on January 20. Seattle residents celebrate with speakers, music and a march, starting at 12:30 p.m. at Garfield High School and ending at Westlake Center. Major celebrations and marches also take place in Tacoma and Spokane.

And if you’re in the marching mood to promote political action, plan to join the Women’s March, scheduled at locations around the state in January.

Meanwhile, you can get outdoors at two festivals in Eastern Washington. The Lake Chelan Winterfest is January 17-26, and in Leavenworth, celebrate the Bavarian Ice Festival on January 18.

ABOVE, FROM TOP The Tri-Cities Polar Plunge benefits the Special Olympics. Food Lifeline is a great nonprofit to support in 2020.

DO GOOD PERHAPS IT’S DECEMBER GUILT THAT SPURS PEOPLE TO VOLUNTEER OR DONATE TO CHARITY IN JANUARY, ANOTHER WAY WE MAKE THE NEW YEAR NICE. WHATEVER THE MOTIVATION, WASHINGTON STATE’S 30,000 FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED NONPROFITS ARE HAPPY TO RECEIVE YOUR GENEROSITY.

The Lake Chelan Winterfest is a perfect opportunity to keep your resolution to get outdoors more.

Homelessness and hunger are among the difficult problems facing communities statewide. Consider donating to Food Lifeline, Mary’s Place, Facing Homelessness and Hopelink among others that are tackling these issues.

If you’re not sure which charities to support, learn more about who’s doing good work at www.charitynavigator.org. And if you’re looking to volunteer but don’t know where to offer your talents, www.volunteerwashington.org can help get you started.

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G N I D IB D OD cks of the i r t g n i n r Lea ndraising u f m o r f e trad r, emcee auctionee proviser im & comedy , Jr. hup Fred Nort

O G FOR

iting inne Wh r o C y b ond written on Redm s a J y b y ph photogra

Fred Northup, Jr., works auctions big and small.

G DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

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D E FR

W AT THE O H S C I G A M T HIS FIRS N O T U EAR-OLD P Y ., 6 R 4 J E , P H T U T H A T H R NO , THEN, T R E D N O W O N AGE OF 4. IT’S IVE IN THE SPOTLIGHT. THR CONTINUES TO fills

ertainer t n e n r o b dience’s naturalu e a h t n , a s g y n a i ep These d merely ke s s a p r u s st prolific o m ’s le t t roles that ea p s one of S s, Northu e A e . c n o m i t e n d e t n at sa nually for uctioneer n a a g n n i o i s i ll a i r m fund than $20 e ry. r o m e s i the count s s o r helps ra c a d n life path, s locally a g n i d n i w nonprofit s i er, cussing h e—his fath l c n e u fl When dis n i a st ’s Episcop s to his fir k k r o a lo M p t u n i h Sa Nort f Seattle’s o n a e d s up around n w o r who wa g s y e “I’ve alwa fe with th li g n i h c a Cathedral. ro gs ed in thin y and app p lv o o r v h t n i n e la b i ph uld at we sho aid. With s h t p n u o h i t t r a o z ,” N reali e ourselves d n o service, h y e y t b i n o u g t m a m th sure to co could use o o p h x e w n ly o r s a r e this e e ad as “a p d s i h cial chang o t o s p t u c a d e n k e to loo s a means a a n o ’s.” s r e his p aint Mark S f o s ll a ew beyond th

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DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

The Story Unfolds Northup attended New York University’s film school, and while there got an internship (and then job) at Saturday Night Live. After graduating from NYU, he headed west for a position at Warner Bros.

Television. Then, in what he thought was a temporary move to play drums with his band, he landed in Seattle. But he fell in love with the city—and into a job with Microsoft’s emerging video game and online entertainment group. It was here he discovered nonprofit Seattle Works. “Microsoft is a very philanthropic company,” Northup said. “They made it very easy for me to find charities I love.”

In Seattle, Northup also started performing with the Unexpected Productions improv comedy group in Pike Place Market. When Seattle Works asked if he’d emcee a fundraiser, he felt well-equipped, but assumed it would be a one-time affair—until an auctioneer from the Stokes Auction Group (Brady Hammrich) referred Northup to Jeff Stokes, who took him under his wing. As he was sent out on more emcee gigs, he realized successful events combine three things he values greatly—storytelling, engaging an audience and focusing on philanthropy.

Stokes encouraged Northup to attend the Western College of Auctioneering in Billings, Montana, where he joked he was one of only a few students without a rodeo belt buckle. “I learned a lot there, but I soon realized that my background in comedy improvisation coupled with my background in production and storytelling would really differentiate me from the other auctioneers in town,” he said. Northup had initially envisioned himself as a “livestock-style auctioneer in the charity world,” but he had a breakthrough once he became more relaxed onstage. He found that when he leaned on his improv training to engage with the audience, it felt more fun for them—and more authentic for him.

Forging a New Path Northup discovered he could have a greater impact if he worked with the organizations in advance. Since he wanted to consult directly with the nonprofits, he made the tough decision to leave the Stokes Auction Group. “To me,” Northup said, “The consulting is as fun and important as the work I do onstage.”

Clearly Northup was on to something, as the nationally known talent now finds himself in the

Brandon Patoc/Courtesy of Seattle Symphony

Northup encourages bidders during the Seattle Symphony Opening Night Concert & Gala.

spotlight a hundred-plus nights a year. Emcee clients range from Microsoft and Starbucks to Boeing, Amazon and Zillow. He auctioneers more than eighty fundraisers annually, with repeat clients such as Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Special Olympics, Susan G. Komen for the Cure and March of Dimes. Since the workload is so big, he has three team members who do an additional thirty or more annual fundraisers, all of which Northup consults on. He intentionally chose

colleagues with theater backgrounds and “personable and authentic” auctioneering styles.

Northup said no organization is too small—in fact, he loves the contrast between intimate rooms where he can make eye contact with every donor and those “big shows” with high-tech AV and giant production teams. He’s shared the stage with superstars such as John Oliver, Harry Connick Jr., Julianna Margulies, Jimmy Chin, Buzz Aldrin, Ciara and Russell Wilson. He’s also emceed alongside

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Northup has several closets filled with suits, tuxedos, bow ties and other finery perfect for all occasions.

his wife, paying tribute to one of the Northwest’s most legendary couples. “Everything I do,” he said, “I owe to Dick and Sharon Friel,” referring to the charity auctioneers who together raised more than $300 million for nonprofit agencies.

Among the thousands of items Northup has auctioned off, he recalls an autographed Jimmy Page guitar at a benefit for the Museum of Pop Culture ($110,000). Then there was the American flag that had taken a ride to the moon, donated by Neil Armstrong’s son at a Museum of Flight fundraiser ($140,000). And, of course, he can’t forget the pie donated by an elderly woman named Elma at an event for Hospice of the Northwest. In the end, two donors split the pie ($30,000) and doled out slices to the crowd for $500 apiece—that one delicious baked good ultimately raised $36,000.

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Creating Magic In the leadup to an event, Northup dedicates himself to understanding each organization so he can speak authentically and passionately about what it does. “They all do so much behind the scenes that we don’t know about,” Northup said of his clients, which range from The Mountaineers and The Museum of Flight to the Woodland Park Zoo. And since each event is so unique, he can easily separate them in his mind. The weekend before we chatted, one event had raised $140,000 and another $2 million—and each was drastically different in execution, politics and donors.

The typical auction books one year in advance.

Northup encourages clients to contact him as often as needed, to discuss topics from vendor

selection and paddle-raising strategies to donor development. Other groups, he explained, already have those details dialed in and want to look at high-level storytelling, focusing on how to craft a narrative that moves donors to give.

Northup’s performances are always complemented by his wardrobe, tastefully coordinated to the mood and theme. Northup has “several closets of suits and tuxedos,” and an equal number of bow ties to fit most any occasion. (Envision options from a classic black tux to a whimsical Pac-Man suit.) He might wear a bow tie featuring musical notes to the symphony, fish to the aquarium or hearts to the Celebrity Waiters Luncheon, one of Seattle’s most successful daytime auctions for more than three decades.

“Go” Time Northup considers his job no different than an actor with a script that must be dutifully rehearsed.

He’s always been enthralled with the behind-thescenes aspect of any production, and aims to make the end result appear effortless. “I know what goes into telling this story,” he said. “I can make it look easy, but I’ve put in countless hours in advance to make it look easy.”

He’s aware of what works during the bidding process, too—“When to follow certain rules and when to break them,” he said. “I have this innate ability to know when I can get an item to take off

D O O G A G N I O “I TAKE D .

Y L S U O I R E S Y R E V , Y R E V B O J Y L L A E R T I E K A I WANT TO M AN E T A E R C D N A FUN RE E H W T N E M N O ENVIR ” .

E V I G O T T N A PEOPLE W

again,” reflecting on his power to read the audience and decide how far to swing the pendulum.

“My improv background is as critical to who I am as an auctioneer as anything else, because it allows me to adapt to different rooms and different energies,” he said. “It also allows me to always have this calm confidence that I think you need from the person who’s onstage.”

When asked about having such an “on” profession, Northup said that, similar to anyone in a public-facing position, “you just have to do your job, smile and execute.” He added, “Like many performers, I’m an introvert who gets paid to hold the mic and entertain a lot of people.” On event days, he’s typically quieter as he mentally prepares. He’s been performing and playing in the band a few times a week for more than twenty years. “My body naturally quiets itself in the lead-up to the event, so when I’m onstage, I can have great energy.”

He’s also intentional about self-care—choosing to eat well, exercise and refrain from doing dangerous activities that might cause injuries. “Once onstage,” he said, “I’m so present and in the moment with the energy of the room—I don’t ever have a time where anything that happens before the event is apparent at the event.”

The End Goal “I take doing a good job very, very seriously,” Northup said. “I want to make it really fun and create an environment where people want to give.”

He aims to genuinely represent the brand and tell a story that leaves people thinking, “Wow, we really made a difference tonight.”

Northup is also quick to highlight that he’s part of a great collaboration and backed by an army of behind-the-scenes support. “It’s not the Fred Northup show.” It’s all done in the service of the organization. “It’s my job as a storyteller,” he said, “to transform transactional donors into philanthropic donors.”

“I have an amazing job because I get to be right at the center of helping people support organizations that are really important to them.” He imagines his role must feel similar to that of a symphony conductor, who’s surrounded by beautiful music.

In that same way, he explained, he’s immersed in a joyful, philanthropic environment, driven by those hoping to create a better world.

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Pacific Northwest Ballet professional division students rehearse for the ballet’s production of The Nutcracker.

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ON POINT(E) photography by Bill Purcell

A LOT GOES INTO preparing for the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s monthlong performance of The Nutcracker. The company and its many behind-the-scenes employees have been hard at work, perfecting dances, preparing costumes, and making sure everything is just so before the dancers step out from behind the curtain to sold-out crowds. Every detail is important, from the littlest mouse’s whiskers to Clara’s nightgown. The Sugarplum Fairy would be proud.

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CLOCKWISE, FROM FAR LEFT A professional division student prepares for rehearsals.

Professional division students go through steps for The Nutcracker.

Professional division students practice sauté jumps.

Company pianist Elisabeth Ellis plays during Nutcracker rehearsals.

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CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT Each dancer receives a supply of pointe shoes that are stored in personal lockers for easy, unlimited access.

Students rehearse for The Nutcracker.

Ballet master Otto Neubert leads a rehearsal.

Ballet students wait their turn for rehearsal.

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CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT Stitcher Lily Deneva prepares materials in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s costume shop.

Milliner Terry Frank unboxes costumes for The Nutcracker at the costume shop.

Ballet students are fitted for their soldier uniforms for the upcoming performance.

Costume technician Rob Newton makes adjustments to a student’s soldier costume.

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TRAVEL SPOTLIGHT 70 ADVENTURE 72 LODGING 76 TRIP PLANNER 78

pg. 78 The Willows Inn on Lummi Island is a charcuterie destination.

Nancy Zaffaro

NORTHWEST DESTINATION 84

travel spotlight

Travel Spotlight

Up in the Air

The Pearson Air Museum has examples of historic airplanes.

Pearson Air Museum offers insight into American aviation history written by Robert Husseman

National Park Service

FEW INSTITUTIONS HAVE exemplified early technological adoption quite like the United States Army. Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully launched the first airplane in 1903—six years later, the U.S. Army bought its first military plane from the Wright brothers. Two years later, in 1911, the Army convened its first “aviation camp” at the Vancouver Barracks in southwest Washington. The camp served as a testing ground for the latest in airplane design and innovation.

The industrious spirit of early American aviators infuses the Pearson Air Museum at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site in Vancouver.

Free of charge to its patrons, the museum—adjacent to one of the oldest continually operating airports in the country—contextualizes mankind’s quest to reach the skies within the site’s military history and the region’s economic history. One senses the thrall of the future and the expanse of possibilities in the exhibits, displays and century-old planes.

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adventure

On the Right Track A beginner’s guide to tracking Washington’s wildlife in winter written and photographed by Ethan Shaw Wolf tracks are often more forward facing than a dog’s, and the gray wolf’s paws are huge.

WASHINGTON’S NATIVE CARNIVORES are, generally speaking, tough to spot—even common species, such as coyotes and bobcats, tend to stay out of sight most of the time. Winter, though, offers the best chance of at least observing their presence, thanks to the prints and drags they leave in the snow and wet-season mud. These can be nearly as thrilling to come across as the critters themselves.

The following are tips for identifying the tracks of some of the most elusive carnivores in the state, aimed at snowshoers, cross-country skiers, and winter/spring hikers out exploring the drifted-over mountain backcountry.

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Cougars Cougars—also known as mountain lions or pumas—are widely distributed in Washington, absent only from the Columbia Basin semi-desert. If you’re skiing or snowshoeing along a ridgetop—whether in the Olympics, the Cascades, the Okanogan Highlands/Columbia Mountains, or the Blues—keep an eye out for big-cat tracks, as cougars often patrol such topographic spines.

Canada Lynx In the North Cascades and in northeastern Washington, it’s conceivable you could stumble across the tracks of the Canada lynx, a wildcat

There are only two seasons in Cannon Beach: summer and the magic season.

Guess which one we prefer?

cannonbeach.org

adventure

GOOD PLACES FOR WINTER AND SPRING CARNIVORE TRACKING Keep in mind, snow makes road access to some of the following spots challenging—take the usual precautions for both winter driving and wilderness travel.

• Hurricane Ridge, Olympic National Park • Methow Valley Hinterland, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest • Stehekin, Lake Chelan National Recreation Area • Paradise, Mount Rainier National Park • Sherman Pass, Colville National Forest • Frater Lake, Colville National Forest • Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness, Umatilla National Forest

not much heftier than a bobcat but huge-footed in comparison, with paw pads more on the scale of a cougar. These outsized feet help the lynx float over deep snowpacks in pursuit of quarry, especially snowshoe hares. The paws are luxuriously furry, which means in snow they often leave big, blurry, roughly lobed tracks—a telltale trace to an experienced eye.

Gray Wolf Once widespread in the Evergreen State, wolves have been scarce in historical times thanks to our eradication efforts.

Now, after natural recolonization from British Columbia, Idaho, and Oregon, it’s possible to cut a wolf trail in the highlands of both northeastern and southeastern Washington as well as the North Cascades.

Gray wolves have huge paws and leave a bold trail worthy of a “top dog.” They commonly travel along backroads and trails, so if you’re snowshoeing or skiing in wolf country you’ve got a decent chance of finding their prints.

If the claws are registering—and they usually are—a wolf track is most likely to be confused only with a large domestic dog’s, though that of a small wolf can overlap with a large coyote. Wolf prints are often tighter, with more forward-facing toes than the commonly splayed tracks of dogs. Dog trails—if not given away by close association with human footprints—also tend to be more wayward and looping than the straight-shooting, energyefficient traces of wolves.

Wolverine Few tracks are so rare and exhilarating to come across in Washington, or elsewhere in the lower forty-eight, than a wolverine’s. These biggest terrestrial members of the weasel family (mustelids) are tied to wilderness in a way that wolves and 74 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE

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cougars are not. Your best chance of finding their tracks would be in the North Cascades or the Selkirks.

Mustelids leave distinctive, five-toed tracks. If all of a wolverine’s digits register, identifying its track is often pretty straightforward given it is bigger than all its Washington relatives (except for the sea otter, which isn’t likely to be leaving footprints where wolverines are). However, very often the wolverine’s first (inner) toe doesn’t imprint, leaving a good-sized, four-digit track that could be mistaken for a coyote’s or wolf ’s. Hopefully by tracing the animal’s trail you’ll find more diagnostic prints or be able to recognize the wolverine’s characteristic loping gait.

Grizzly Bear In most of Washington, the bear you’ll be tracking will be the black bear. In the Selkirks and the North Cascades, though, there’s an outside chance you’ll come upon the path of a grizzly bear, nearly vanished from the state and under consideration for reintroduction into North Cascades National Park.

Bears spend the winter lying low in dens, but do periodically roam about this time of year, and males especially may become active for the season as early as late winter. Snowshoers and backcountry skiers may well chance upon bear tracks, especially as spring unfolds, and it’s worth learning the difference between black bear and “griz” tracks, just in case.

For multiple reasons—their size, their five clawed toes, the often pigeon-toed trails—bear tracks are pretty unmistakable.

The closest thing a bear’s hind track resembles is a human footprint. The front paw prints of black bears and grizzlies are often pretty easily told apart as long as the claws register: Black-bear claw marks usually scuff just in front of the toes, whereas those of the long-clawed griz show up well forward of the rest of the track.

The toes and the rear of the front pad of a black bear, meanwhile, both create a more curved line than a grizzly’s, and— though more easily discerned in mud than in snow—black bear prints tend to show more fur impressions.

Cougar tracks are seen throughout Washington, especially on ridgelines in the mountains.

adventure

Washington Carnivore Tracks Try your hand at spotting these local critters using the sketches below. In addition to the length and width of front and hind prints, two other measurements are given for the animal’s most typical gait: stride (the distance between one track and the next track left by the same foot, measured at the same point on each) and straddle (the width of the trackway at its widest, measured at the outer edges of opposite footprints). All listed measurements are approximate.

HIND

FRONT

FRONT

HIND

1) GRIZZLY BEAR Front: 8 in. x 7 in.

Hind: 11 in. x 7 in.

Stride: 25 in.

Straddle: 18 in.

HIND

2) CANADA LYNX Front: 3¾ in. x 4 in.

Hind: 3⅛ in. x 3 in.

Stride: 15 in.

Straddle: 6 in.

FRONT

3) GRAY WOLF Front: 4¾ in. x 4 in.

Hind: 4¼ in. x 3¾ in.

Stride: 30 in.

Straddle: 7 in.

4) WOLVERINE Front: 4½ in. x 4 in.

Hind: 4 in. x 4 in.

Stride: 30 in.

Straddle: 9 in.

FRONT FRONT

5) COUGAR Front: 3½ in. x 4 in.

Hind: 3 in. x 3¼ in.

Stride: 30 in.

Straddle: 8 in.

Track dimensions listed as length x width.

HIND HIND DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

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lodging

ACCOMMODATIONS

The hotel has 250 rooms, each equipped with a spa-inspired bathroom with a deep tub or a triple-jet shower. The beds are luxurious, perfect after a long day of recreation. Want a more DIY approach? Book a stay in the RV resort nearby, with options for RV hookups or cottage stays perfect for that family reunion.

DINING

With eighteen (and counting) options for eating and drinking, you’re sure to find something to tickle your fancy. Whether you’re looking for a classy date night or a decadent breakfast at Masselow’s, a cigar and Scotch evening at Legends of Fire, or a late-night snack at Fatburger, Northern Quest has you covered. Catch a game at EPIC sports bar, or take your pick from fiftytwo taps at Riverbank Taphouse.

ACTIVITIES

Try your luck in the 24/7 casino (with smoking and nonsmoking options). With slots, table games, poker and off-track betting, there are options for every kind of gambler. Book some time in the spa—you might want to make a day of it. During the summer, you can align your stay with an impressive lineup of concerts. Catch a movie and something to eat at the on-campus theater, or shop at the curated Windfall shop or the wellappointed spa boutique. If your little ones are along, be sure to check out Kid’s Quest (a supervised play area) and Cyber Quest (an all-ages arcade).

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT Northern Quest’s casino is open 24/7. La Rive Spa is first-class comfort. The hotel has 250 rooms.

Lodging

Northern Quest Resort & Casino written by Cara Strickland THERE IS SO much to do at Northern Quest that you’ll likely need more than one visit to experience it all. Throughout the resort you’ll find special touches which point to the history and ongoing legacy of the Kalispel Tribe.

100 NORTH HAYFORD ROAD AIRWAY HEIGHTS www.northernquest.com

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Lake Quinault Lodge A unique destination to help restore your senses

Indoor Pool . Dry Saunas . Game Room . Dining Room . Wi-Fi . Unique and remodeled guestrooms . Rainforest Tours . Pet Friendly . Acres of hiking trails & waterfalls

Restore your senses at our lowest rates of the year take a virtual tour visit www.olympicnationalparks.com or call 888-896-3818 Lake Quinault Lodge is managed by Aramark, an authorized concessioner of the U.S. Forest Service.

trip planner

Bellingham Calling This maritime city has all the makings of a great visit written by Nancy Zaffaro

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trip planner

SOMETIMES, A ROAD TRIP begins as soon as you see home fade in the rearview mirror. But for me, a trip to the maritime city of Bellingham in Whatcom County starts when I pull onto Chuckanut Drive for an incredibly scenic entry into town.

I lived in Bellingham a long time ago. We rented a house on an acre in town, and a neighbor taught me how to make jam and can vegetables. Historic Fairhaven was a great place to hang out and Western Washington University offered live music and lectures.

We traversed the hiking trails, picnic spots and small towns along Mt. Baker Highway, which ends well before the 10,781-foot, snow-capped peak. We explored the towns of Blaine, Birch Bay, Lynden, Everson, Lummi Island and Point Roberts.

The following year, we bought a house north of town on 5 acres with large stands of cedars and Douglas firs, an eighteen-wheeler repair shop and a great view of the sunset.

I planted a huge garden. My son was born in Bellingham, and I made good friends there.

Bellingham has grown considerably since then in population and offerings. Situated between Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., this coastal city of less than 90,000 has a flourishing waterfront and has maintained the best of its maritime culture. The city’s waterfront is lined with inviting parks and trails, yet Squalicum Harbor is also the second largest in Puget Sound.

Day

Nancy Zaffaro

SCENIC DRIVES • SHOPS • MASSAGE

Bellingham sits on Bellingham Bay.

Chuckanut Drive was first built in 1896, and, once off I-5, this scenic drive starts with expansive farmland views. Stop in for a coffee and pastry (try the lime-polenta cake) at Farm to Market Bakery in Bow before continuing on. The road soon climbs into forests of cedars and firs and offers peekaboo views of the bays and the islands beyond.

Park the car at Larrabee Park and take one of the short trails down to the sandy beach.

Cliffside homes dot the remainder of the road before it drops into Historic Fairhaven.

Established in the late 1800s, Fairhaven was originally a separate village—it became part of Bellingham in 1903. Fairhaven has gone a little more upscale in recent years, but retains its relaxed alt-culture and village vibe. Brick buildings from the late nineteenth century, flower baskets on street lamps, and even a bit of cobblestone street under foot.

Wander a bit before deciding where to have lunch. You have a wide range of options available. Colophon Café is a Village mainstay. Weather permitting, sit outside on the patio adjoining the Fairhaven Village Green. This expansive public square hosts free outdoor concerts and movies.

If you make one shop-stop, visit independent bookstore Village Books and adjoining

gift shop Paper Dreams, which have been around since 1980. Gallery West, Three French Hens and Current & Furbish are worth poking into as well.

Lodging options are abundant in Bellingham, and The Chrysalis Inn & Spa is a great choice. Overlooking Bellingham Bay and the new Taylor Boardwalk, this boutique waterfront hotel is walking distance to most of the sites you’ll visit in town. The natural wood-beamed and wood-paneled lobby and original Northwest art create an ambience that’s both elegant and cozy. The spa has massage and other spa treatments, and you can’t go wrong with a eucalyptus steam room.

Check in, take a break, and then head over to Taylor Dock. The boardwalk makes a semi-circle out into the water, offering great views and putting you right out on the water. Stroll adjoining Boulevard Park and its 2-mile waterfront trail that connects Fairhaven and downtown Bellingham. Return to the Inn for a cocktail and dinner at Keenan’s at the Pier, the hotel’s restaurant. Grab a window seat indoors or enjoy patio waterfront seating.

The menu offers the best of the region’s fresh ingredients. Catch the sunset, if you can.

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Charity Burggraaf

Visit Bellingham

Visit Bellingham

Nancy Zaffaro

trip planner

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Historic Fairhaven has food, drink and shopping options. Willows Inn on nearby Lummi Island is a culinary experience. Access the island via ferry. Whatcom Museum has a hall of birds.

Day LUMMI ISLAND • CHOCOLATES • BEER CRAWL Start your day with a coffee and something light at Woods Coffee near the hotel. Then head over to Gooseberry Point to catch the Lummi Island Ferry. The Whatcom Chief ferry makes 6-minute trips back and forth to serve visitors, parttime residents, and its year-round population of 900. Do check the ferry schedule.

Lummi Island’s charms belie its landmass of fewer than 10 square miles. There are a handful of artist studios, places to stay, a post office and fire station, a Grange Hall and elementary school, and the cozy Beach Store Café.

Lummi Island is also the site of the Willows Inn. The Inn has been around since 1910, but with renowned Chef Blaine Wetzel at the restaurant’s helm since 2011, the restaurant has drawn international recognition and awards.

Dedicated foodies in the mood and ready for a splurge should plan on spending the night and make reservations well in advance for a truly memorable, three-and-a-half hour, twenty-course tasting menu dinner experience.

The restaurant is also open for lunch. We enjoyed a cocktail with a house-cured charcuterie and cheese board, halibut rillettes, and pickles, nuts and olives. There were two wonderful salads composed of produce grown in the restaurant’s own garden. House-made hunter’s sausage and black bread were next. Dessert was ice cream with berry compote. Again, call ahead—the Inn closes for part of the winter.

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Return to the mainland and head over to downtown Bellingham. The iconic Whatcom Museum is an easily recognizable landmark. Originally the Old City Hall building, the museum’s exterior red brick and rich wood interiors are stunning. The regional photo gallery and exhibit on the area’s maritime history are excellent.

While you’re wandering, take time to notice the public sculptures, as well as some of the murals by local artist Gretchen Leggitt.

Make a stop for top-tier chocolate confections and true Italian gelato at Kevin Buck’s Chocolate Necessities. The shop is near the landmark Mount Baker Theatre. Buck has been in business for more than thirty years. He uses only the finest grade of Callebaut Belgian chocolate. In addition to bar chocolate and truffles, I picked up a big bag of cocoa powder and now can’t imagine using anything else. If you haven’t yet tried thick, European-style drinking chocolate, this is the place to start what may very well become an addiction.

Bellingham has a vibrant array of cafes, restaurants, lounges, craft breweries, wine bars and distilleries. If you’ve got a taste for pizza, La Fiamma Wood Fired Pizza is excellent. Have a bit of a pub crawl with stops at Aslan Brewing Co. and Boundary Bay. Twin Sisters Brewing Company is a popular brewpub with expansive indoor and outdoor space.

OUR GUEST WINTER LIFT Book any room at InnAtLynden.com for two consecutive nights during the 2019/20 ski season, receive a $65 gift card for a full day pass to Mt. Baker Ski Area!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR THESE EPIC BELLINGHAM EVENTS! MAY 24 SKI TO SEA

JULY 18 TOUR DE WHATCOM

15 Divisions • 7 Legs • 3-8 Racers • 93 Miles

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SEPT. 13 MT. BAKER HILL CLIMB

OCT. 18 TRAILS TO TAPS RELAY

Climb 4,098 Feet in 22 Miles

5-10 Runners / 30+ Miles / 10 Breweries

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BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON

trip planner

EAT Farm to Market Bakery www.farmtomarketbakery.net Colophon Café www.colophoncafe.com Keenan’s at the Pier at The Chrysalis Inn & Spa www.bit.ly/keenansatthepier Willows Inn Restaurant www.willows-inn.com Beach Store Café www.beachstorecafe.com Woods Coffee www.woodscoffee.com Aslan Brewing Company www.aslanbrewing.com

Twin Sisters Brewing Company www.twinsistersbrewing.com La Fiamma Wood Fire Pizza www.lafiamma.com The Birch Door Café www.birchdoorcafe.com Drayton Harbor Oyster Company www.draytonharboroysters.com/ welcome-1 Atwood Ales www.atwoodales.com Edaleen Dairy www.edaleendairy.com

STAY The Chrysalis Inn & Spa, a Curio Collection by Hilton Hotel www.bit.ly/chrysalisinn The Willows Inn www.willows-inn.com Hotel Bellwether www.hotelbellwether.com Fairhaven Village Inn www.fairhavenvillageinn.com Silver Reef Casino Hotel www.silverreefcasino.com

PLAY Lummi Island Ferry www.co.whatcom.wa.us Whatcom Museum www.whatcommuseum.org Chocolate Necessities www.chocolatenecessities.com Village Books and Paper Dreams www.villagebooks.com Current & Furbish www.currentandfurbish.com Three French Hens www.threefrenchhens.net Gallery West www.artgallerywest.com

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Visit Bellingham

Boundary Bay Brewery & Bistro www.bbaybrewery.com

Drayton Harbor Oyster Company serves “tide-to-table” oysters.

Day HIKES • ICE CREAM • OYSTERS Start your final day with breakfast at another town favorite, the Birch Door Café.

Get a little hike in at one of the city’s many nature parks right in town. Lake Padden Park’s trail makes a 2.5-mile trip around the lake. Whatcom Falls Park has 5.5 miles of trails.

If time allows before you have to head home, drive north to the town of Blaine.

Long-viewed only as a Canadian border crossing, Blaine is enjoying a burst of entrepreneurial energy that’s transforming the town.

Head over to Edaleen Dairy on the town’s main street, Peace Portal Drive. Ed and Aileen Bransma have six locations in the county and their ice cream is a local favorite.

Or maybe you want to end your trip with a reminder that Bellingham and Whatcom County is, above all, influenced and fed by the sea. Drayton Harbor Oyster Company serves up tide-to-table oysters harvested from their farm less than a mile off the coast. The oysters couldn’t be more fresh—they’re harvested that DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

morning right before opening for the day. (Father-and-son team, owners Steve and Mark Seymour, post the current record—13 minutes from sea to store as of this writing!)

Try the oysters raw with homemade mignonette sauce, grilled with a choice of toppings, or in a bowl of oyster stew. Bounty from next-door neighbor, Kaisacole Seafood, adds to the menu with shrimp and other occasional specials. There are wine, sodas, kombucha and beer—including an Oyster Stout, made in collaboration with Blaine brewery Atwood Ales. Check hours and you may be able to visit the nearby Atwood farm and tasting room.

The comfortable, newly renovated brick-and-mortar shop is just the place to sit back and take in the waterfront views.

Heading southbound, you’ll pass the Fairhaven exit that would put you back on Chuckanut Drive. If you don’t want to take the twisting, turning route again, it will be there to enjoy on your next trip to Bellingham.

Check out the nearby events center for your next meeting or special event!

Photo by David Scherrer

A Lummi Island Bed & Breakfast

Nettles Farm Weekend Workshops*

•

Butcher Your Own Gourmet Chicken for Thanksgiving Saturday, November 23

•

Smoke Salmon and Other Foods Saturday & Sunday, December 7-8

•

Make Jam From Nettles Farm Fruit Sunday, December 14

•

Let’s Build a Sauna!

Two Saturdays, March 7 & 14, 2020

Nettles Farm is a culinary B&B, ideal for couples, individuals or families. Come to take a workshop, or just relax and do nothing.

Sign up for our newsletter and get updates about our year-round workshops. In 2020 we will be adding cooking classes, such as: Creating and Nurturing Native Sourdough Starter, Breadmaking, Poussin Cookery, and more. * Discounted room rates for workshop attendees.

Contact Riley Starks: riley.starks@nettlesfarm.com 4300 Matia View • Lummi Island, WA • 360-758-7616

https://www.nettlesfarm.com

Photo courtesy of Bellingham Experience

Photo by David Scherrer

Art galleries History exhibits Children’s museum Docent-led tours Museum Store Kismet Café

ART | NATURE | HISTORY

See it at the Whatcom Museum!

Visit our downtown campus.

Lightcatcher Building | 250 Flora St. Old City Hall | 121 Prospect St. Bellingham, WA | 360.778.8930 www.whatcommuseum.org

northwest destination

FROM LEFT Hollywood Theatre is a nonprofit with a variety of worthwhile shows.

Visit the Moda Center to visit the beloved Blazers.

A Gastro-Global Portland Getaway NE Portland proves its place in the city’s culinary culture

NORTHEAST PORTLAND ISN’T a destination like Seattle, Vancouver, BC, or Paris. You need not plan farther ahead than your next meal—you won’t need advance tickets for museums nor an app to brush up on your highschool French.

NE Portland is a local’s foray into neighborhoods and the talented people behind its small restaurants of international cuisine. For many reasons, the NE Portlands of the world—out of the limelight and tucked into neighborhoods— make for the best culinary getaways. This is the theme of this Northwest Destination.

Hotel Eastlund is a great place from which to launch your culinary journey. A property with clean, modern lines, a world-class bakery and gourmet rooftop restaurant and bar, Eastlund, in the southwest corner of NE Portland, is at the hub of these adventures.

NE Portland is bound by Sandy Boulevard on the south, the Columbia River to the north, Williams Avenue to the west and the airport to the east. In all, this piece of the city is the largest of Portland’s quadrants. Because this mission demands active consumption, it should also require active transportation. In Portland, walking and city bikes are the way to go.

For this adventure, channel your inner retiree and plan your meals early. If you don’t already hear the voices of your parents or grandparents through your early-morning dinner planning, then find the menu online and announce in advance what you’re going to order.

Better, call the restaurant and ask if it serves your favorite chardonnay by the glass and if it has bathrooms.

I’d be remiss in not acknowledging the Moda Center—home of the Portland Trail Blazers— in the southwest corner of this district, also walking distance from Hotel Eastlund.

Begin your trip with a two-egg scramble (with smoked trout, braised fennel and marbled potatoes) at Bröder Nord, a Swedish 84 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE

Studio Jelly

written by Kevin Max

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

NORTHEAST PORTLAND, OREGON

Portland Trail Blazers

northwest destination

EAT Akasaru Ramen www.akasaruramen.com Altabira City Tavern www.altabira.com Bröder Nord www.broderpdx.com Expatriate www.expatriatepdx.com Güero www.guerotortas.com Mae www.maepdx.com MeKha Noodles www.mekharestaurants.com/ mekha-noodles Podnah’s Pit Barbecue www.podnahspit.com

STAY Hotel Eastlund www.hoteleastlund.com

PLAY TRANSPORTATION Southern Kitchen on NE 42nd. Let restaurant with a Scandinavian flair Mae’s Mason-Dixon mixologists for breakfasts.

HOME BASE: whip up a fine Downeast Daisy cockLunch at one of NE Portland’s top Hotel Eastlund tail with tequila, clarified strawberry spots. Wander into the Alberta DisDISTANCE TO: milk, charred satsuma and lime. trict and along its eclectic collection Bröder Nord 1.2 miles If you like to separate business of boutiques, thrift shops, restau26-minute walk and pleasure, save your cocktail for rants and art galleries. For lunch or 14-minute bike a snack, pop into Akasaru Ramen on a stop on the way back. A mile west Akasaru Ramen Alberta for soy sauce broth infused of Mae’s, Expatriate on NE 30th 2.4 miles 49-minute walk feels like a culture monger’s curated with applewood bacon or a Plato Te15-minute bike speakeasy. It serves luxurious cockjano of smoked brisket at Podnah’s Mae tails and a menu that includes yellow Pit Barbecue on Killingsworth.

3.8 miles Regroup at Hotel Eastlund before 1 hour, 15-minute walk curried Burmese coconut noodles, 23-minute bike among other creative Asian dishes. dinner. Pop up to the rooftop AltAn old-school turntable plays from abira City Tavern to look back across Hollywood Theatre 2.3 miles a collection of vintage records. In the river at the cityscape over a craft 43-minute walk the middle of this global meandercocktail or wine. If the weather co14-minute bike ing through cuisine, countries and operates, take your drink outside on culture, Duke Ellington on the turntable just the deck and kick up your feet.

For dinner, try a more exotic locale that gets feels right.

No one should finish this trip, however, you beyond the pale and a healthy walk from the hotel. For artistic Vietnamese cuisine, try without taking in an independent movie, crispy quail at MeKha Noodles on Sandy Bou- a 70mm projection or foreign flick at Hollevard, or go for authentic Jaliscan cuisine at lywood Theatre on NE Sandy Boulevard. A Portland icon, Hollywood Theatre is on the Güero on NE 28th Avenue.

For something not yet on the hipster regis- Historic Register and is a nonprofit that has ter, dive into Appalachian lavender grits and live performances, silent movies, pizza and a southern Appalachian cuisine at Mae Secret nice Italian Sangiovese.

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

Alberta Arts District www.portlandneighborhood. com/alberta-street Hollywood Theatre www.hollywoodtheatre.org Moda Center www.rosequarter.com

Altabira City Tavern’s food is as good as its rooftop view. (photo: John Valls)

1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 85

1889 MAPPED

The points of interest below are culled from stories and events in this edition of 1889.

Oroville

Bellingham Friday Harbor North Cascades National Park

Mount Vernon Coupeville

Port Angeles

Port Townsend

Forks Olympic National Park

Shelton Aberdeen

Newport

Marysville Everett Chelan

Bellevue

Tacoma

Colville Okanogan

Seattle

Port Orchard

Republic

Winthrop

Leavenworth

Renton Kent Federal Way

Wilbur

Waterville

Spokane Davenport

Wenatchee Ephrata Ritzville

Montesano Olympia

Mount Rainier N.P.

Ellensburg Colfax

Chehalis

South Bend

Pullman Yakima Pomeroy

Long Beach Kelso

Cathlamet

Longview

Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument

Richland Prosser

Pasco

Dayton

Walla Kennewick Walla

Goldendale Vancouver

Stevenson

Live

Think

Explore

14 Lake Chelan Winterfest

38 Ombraz

70

Pearson Air Museum

18 Garden Path Fermentation

40 Cosmic Cowboy Grill

72

The North Cascades

21 Oystercatcher

42 North Bank Innovations

76

Northern Quest

26 Lake Tapps bathroom remodel

44 Funko

78

Bellingham

34 Rebecca Bashara Jewelry

46 Crystal Mountain Resort

84

Northeast Portland, Oregon

86 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

Asotin

Hood River, Oregon Long renowned for its surrounding natural beauty, Hood River delights guests with an array of amenities and experiences to enjoy. Heralded as the windsurfing capital of the world, Hood River has more to offer than just a killer day on the waves: • Wine: More than 50 premium grape varietals are grown in the gorge. Experience our wineries on horseback, or electric bicycle! You’re sure to find new favorites to share among family and friends • Skiing: Mt Hood is a short yet scenic 40-minute drive from town to ski lift. huttles offered by Mt Hood Meadows run during peak season • Restaurants: Hood River is surrounded by rich agricultural lands, providing our local chefs with the freshest of ingredients to create a variety of flavors rarely found elsewhere. From family reunions to romantic getaways, Hood River restaurants will satisfy and astound your inner foodie

WESTCLIFF LODGE

•

Meetings/Groups: instead of another meeting; have a retreat. An engaging location creates memorable experiences, cultivates professional growth, and inspires creativity. Many local services in Hood River can help you craft an unforgettable event, from corporate off-sites to private gatherings • Arts/Culture: Listed as a Top-10 Vibrant-Arts Community in 2018 by the National Center for Arts Research, don’t miss your chance to take in our local music scene, fine art galleries, or variety of performing arts. WAAAM is home to one of the largest antique airplane and car collections in the country.

There’s far more to experience in Hood River than can be compiled in a list, but don’t take our word for it.

Call the Hood River visitor center and customize your own Columbia Gorge adventure - where we believe cherished memories are the best kinds of souvenirs.

Stay with us in one of our Riverview rooms between November and February for 2 (or more) consecutive nights and receive a $50 voucher to use at any of our local partner restaurants, shops, and wineries. Please call for details or to plan your visit.

541.386.2992 | westclifflodge.com

Photos: (top row) Corinne Whiting; (bottom row, from left) Ryan Drijber, Ryan Drijber, Corinne Whiting

Until Next Time

The Accidental Backpacker written by Corinne Whiting

FOR SIX NIGHTS in September, I slept on soft sand under a sky stitched together by constellations. I fell into surprisingly deep slumber, thanks to the exhaustion of mega-mileage days, the clarity of a technology-free mind and the hypnotic lulls of nearby waves. Each morning, I woke to the bellows of cautionary foghorns and the rustle of tent neighbors, getting an early start to the day.

I landed on Vancouver Island’s rugged, unruly West Coast Trail a bit by accident. One simple “like” clicked on a work friend’s Facebook status last December, and next thing I knew I’d been signed up for a weeklong hike along the Canadian coast with BCA Tours. I’m not typically one to turn down an exciting opportunity, no matter how much it may scare me. Plus, with 2019 being the year I slid into a brand-new decade, it seemed an apt time to nudge up against self-limiting stories that tend to sneak in every now and again. I felt ready to prove them wrong.

In the end, the journey was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever physically done—and one of the most rewarding, too. We hiked 77 miles and clocked 56 hours and 15 minutes of movement along a wild trail unlike anything I’d seen before. With an initial 46 pounds strapped to my back, I navigated my way along steep ladder systems, slick tidal rock shelves, mud bog obstacles, narrow log crossings and root scrambles that force hikers to remain present during each and every step.

If you’d told me a decade back that this was an adventure I could—or would—complete, I likely would’ve smiled with polite skepticism. Before leaping from my native East

88 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE

DECEMBER | JANUARY 2019

Coast Washington to the West Coast one in the fall of 2011, my hiking experience was, well, limited. And I had “backpacked” all over the globe, but in the sense where a dogeared guidebook led me each evening to a warm hostel bed.

But you can’t live in this mystical corner of the world for long without feeling the pull of the mountains, the waterways, those towering pines. Since moving to the Northwest, I’ve gradually learned to trust my own strength on uneven ground, to take deeper breaths under Mother Nature’s soothing canopies and to move through experiences remembering that—whatever sensation or feeling may arise—this too shall pass. (Also, keep on keeping on, because there’s often beauty waiting just around the bend.)

I’ll take away countless, magic-tinged moments from our week on that beautiful trail: misty morning coffee, campfire curry, trail family cheerleading and laughter, whale-watching awe, waterfall-swimming euphoria. Yet I’ll mostly hold on to how it felt to carry everything I needed on my own back—the freedom of existing blissfully unplugged, the sacredness of traversing ancient First Nations land and the absolute gratitude of being reminded that we are all capable of so much more than we possibly know.

Experience the Canadian Rockies, Fernie Style.

Destination BC/Dave Heath

Over 30 Ft of Snow Annually | 3,550 Vertical Ft | Top Elevation 7,000 Ft 2,500 Acres of Lift Access Terrain & Thousands of Acres for Catskiing

Located in the Rockies of southeast British Columbia, Fernie is known for its deep powder snow and cool local vibe.

Just over a 100 miles north of Whitefish & Kalispell, Montana, Fernie is easy to get to. Add the great currency exchange rate that saves you 25–30% on everything, a trip up is a simple…YES!

Fernie Alpine Resort – 4 Nights Ski-in Ski-out Condo & 4 Days Skiing from US$280/night for two.

FWA Catskiing – Single Day Snowcat Skiing from US$359/person, early or late season.

Island Lake Catskiing – 2 Nights & 2 Days All-Inclusive from US$1429/person.

Book Today! tourismfernie.com | #ferniestoke

Truffle Burgers

Washington’s Magazine

TRIP PLANNER: BELLINGHAM PG. 78

Can’t Stand the Rain Cocktail

Daring Designs For Powder Rooms

December | January 2019

Ideas for a

Naughty December

N ice January

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