1889 April | May 2018

TRIP PLANNER: 

PORT TOWNSEND 

PG. 78 

Burrata & Leek 

Big Toast 

Storm-Tossed 

Whiskey Sour 

A Spokane 

Awakening 

Dream Homes 

IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS 

SLEEP IN THE TREES 

AT A TREE HOUSE B&B 

SUSTAINABILITY 

IS DEAD 

1889mag.com 

$5.95 display until May 31, 2018 

LIVE THINK EXPLORE WASHINGTON 

April | May volume 8

A (Modern) Cabin 

in the Woods 

Jim Olson’s long love of architecture can be traced 

back to his grandparents’ cabin on the South Puget 

Sound. The original cottage, built in 1912, burned 

in the 1950s, and Olson has taken a remaining 

bunkhouse he designed and added on, renovating 

and remodeling throughout the years. Today, Olson 

is one of the most respected modern architects in 

Washington, and the cabin has become a modern 

dream home in the woods. (pg. 50). 

2 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE APRIL | MAY 2018

APRIL | MAY 2018 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 3 

Kevin Scott/Olson Kundig

FEATURES 

APRIL | MAY 2018 • volume 8 

58 

The Death 

of Sustainability 

Sustainability just isn’t enough 

anymore. Now, designers seek 

to make buildings that actually 

improve the environment. 

written by Kevin Max 

Daniel Banko 

50 

Outward Bound 

Middle of nowhere can be 

fashionable, too. Check out our three 

dream homes that make isolation 

even more beautiful. 

written by Melissa Dalton 

64 

Higher Ground 

Get your head in the clouds and grow closer 

to nature with our inside look at TreeHouse 

Point, a bed and breakfast with six 

treehouses just a half hour from Seattle. 

photography by Cameron Zegers

DEPARTMENTS 

APRIL | MAY 2018 • volume 8 

LIVE 

12 NOTEBOOK 

Get your Seattle story straight with the re-release of Skid Road, the city’s definitive 

and delightful history. Plus, spring has arrived and we’ve got your best options for 

outdoor festivities. 

18 FOOD + DRINK 

Ring in spring with our picks for best gelato around the state. Don’t drive by the Super 

Deli Mart in Seattle without checking out the beers on tap. And up your cocktail game 

with vintage barware and a private cocktail lesson from Stories in a Glass. 

22 FARM TO TABLE 

Leeks are the unsung hero of many a dish, and Nash’s Organic Produce in the 

Sequim-Dungeness Valley grows some of the best. 

28 HOME + DESIGN 

Making dysfunctional kitchens work with their surroundings—and a DIY to 

incorporate your kitchen with the rest of the house. 

48 

34 MIND+ BODY 

Breezy Johnson just got back from skiing in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in 

PyeongChang, and she’s not done yet. Not even close. 

36 ARTIST IN RESIDENCE 

Derek Armstrong McNeill shattered stereotypes about homelessness in his first 

documentary, The Road to Nickelsville, and next up he’ll take on aging and happiness. 

THINK 

40 STARTUP 

One man’s trash is another’s treasure, and the Appliance Depot in Bellingham 

has taken the message to heart, refurbishing appliances for resale and serving 

as a training ground to boot. 

42 WHAT’S GOING UP 

Stephen Day Architecture is turning historic buildings into high-end hotels. 

44 WHAT I’M WORKING ON 

Washington State University’s Mona Ghandi wants buildings to respond to 

users’ needs and emotions. It’s not as crazy as it sounds. 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard 

34 82 

8 Editor’s Letter 

9 1889 Online 

86 Map of Washington 

88 Until Next Time 

46 MY WORKSPACE 

The University of Washington’s CoMotion Labs are helping the startup 

community make its ideas a reality. 

48 GAME CHANGER 

At Monte Cook Games, designers believe that tabletop games can do more 

than entertain—they can change the world for the better. 

EXPLORE 

72 TRAVEL SPOTLIGHT 

Ohme Gardens in Wenatchee was one family’s labor of love, and today is this 

city’s oasis. 

74 ADVENTURE 

Ski to Sea in Bellingham is the original adventure race and an outdoor 

enthusiast’s dream. 

76 LODGING 

The Sleeping Lady in Leavenworth is the perfect jumping-off point for exploring 

the town, but the resort is so pleasant you may not want to leave at all. 

COVER 

photo by Cameron Zegers 

(see Higher Ground, pg. 64) 

78 TRIP PLANNER 

Port Townsend is the perfect mix of food, views and plenty to do. Bonus: its 

Victorian seaport. 

82 NORTHWEST DESTINATION 

Spring is the forgotten season in Bend, Oregon, and with golfing, fly fishing and 

other options, it just might be the perfect time for a visit.

CONTRIBUTORS 

MELISSA DALTON 

Writer 

Outward Bound 

GINA WILLIAMS 

Writer 

Game Changer 

TRACY ELLEN BEARD 

Writer 

Trip Planner 

TEGRA STONE NUESS 

Photographer 

Farm to Table 

I have focused on Pacific 

Northwest design and lifestyle 

since 2008. As an East Coast 

native, I find everything about 

my adopted region fascinating, 

especially the architects who 

draw on Washington’s natural 

beauty and history to design 

drool-worthy homes in the 

state’s far-flung corners. 

(pg. 50) 

Interviewing brilliantly creative 

professionals like Monte Cook 

and Shanna Germain of Monte 

Cook Games always leaves me 

inspired. I’m in awe of their 

talent and drive—and their 

commitment to the company’s 

core values of acceptance, 

inclusion and truth. 

(pg. 48) 

Port Townsend, only 3 ½ hours 

from my home in Vancouver, 

Washington, made for a perfect 

weekend getaway. My husband 

and I agreed that certain 

experiences were standouts. 

We woke to one of the most 

beautiful sunrises at our 

cottage at Fort Worden. Our 

dinner experience at Finistère 

was lighthearted and delicious, 

and the sheets and pillows at 

Ravenscroft Inn were the most 

glorious I have ever slept in. 

(pg. 78) 

Visiting Nash’s Organic Produce 

was a wonderful personal 

reminder to connect with 

where my food comes from. 

The 2-month-old piglets were 

the highlight as they romped 

through the fields of chard, 

curious to see who I was. 

Meeting the people who care 

for them was reassuring and 

educational. I also really enjoyed 

meeting all the strong, savvy 

women who help run the farm. 

(pg. 22) 


EDITOR 

MANAGING EDITOR 

CREATIVE 

MARKETING + DIGITAL MANAGER 

WEBMASTER 

OFFICE MANAGER 

DIRECTOR OF SALES 

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES 

BEERVANA COLUMNIST 

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS 

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS 

Kevin Max 

Sheila G. Miller 

Allison Bye 

Kelly Rogers 

Isaac Peterson 

Cindy Miskowiec 

Jenny Kamprath 

Cindy Guthrie 

Jenn Redd 

Jill Weisensee 

Jackie Dodd 

Tracy Ellen Beard, Melissa Dalton, Viki Eierdam, Lauren Kramer, 

Ben Salmon, Cara Strickland, Corinne Whiting, Gina Williams 

Tegra Stone Nuess, Cameron Zegers 

Statehood Media 

Mailing Address 

70 SW Century Dr. 

Suite 100-218 

Bend, Oregon 97702 

Portland Address 

1801 NW Upshur St. 

Suite 100 

Portland, Oregon 97209 

1889mag.com/subscribe 

@1889washington 

Printed in Canada 

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. 

APRIL | MAY 2018 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 7

FROM THE 

EDITOR 

1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE’S mission 

of Live Think Explore is based on an underpinning 

of recreation for all and conservation of our 

natural resources. Without these, Washington 

loses its greatest economic resource, competitive 

advantage, and we erode our kids’ future with 

short-sighted decisions made today. The more 

people we can inspire to engage in Washington’s 

greatest events, to see the connections between 

land and commerce, climate and economics, the 

more our readers will want to do to preserve this 

common gift for future generations. 

Welcome to our Home Design issue. 

Throughout, you’ll find innovative DIY ideas, 

inspiring home designs and trends that are just 

beginning to take shape. We did this our way— 

with beauty, innovation and conservation. 

In this issue, we introduce you to a group of 

people doing something cool at the intersection 

of development and conservation. In The 

Death of Sustainability (pg. 58), we showcase 

an ambitious movement that envisions a future 

where all development is aimed at improving our 

surroundings, not merely sustaining them. Given 

the state of things, sustainability is not quite 

enough. Welcome to the Regenerative movement 

that is just catching on in architectural firms, in 

cities and in the social consciousness. We talk to Phaedra Svec, 

director of regenerative design at Seattle’s McLennan Design, 

as well as Chrisna du Plessis, a regenerative leader at University 

of Pretoria and Dr. John Robinson, who led the University of 

British Columbia’s charge on its regenerative campus building. 

Across the state, at Washington State University, Mona 

Ghandi is working on a cutting-edge project of bringing a 

home’s environment in line with the emotion of its occupant. 

Through computational design, Professor Ghandi is designing 

spaces that dynamically transform to their users’ needs. Wow! 

Go to What I’m Working On, page 44 to read this interview. 

TreeHouse Point may fit in this movement somewhere 

among the trees. Here is a visual tour of bed-and-breakfast 

cabins that are hand-hewn and hanging in the deep forest of 

Fall City, 30 minutes east of Seattle. One night here along the 

Raging River will be refreshing and get you thinking about 

Washington’s amazing natural resources. 

In our Farm to Table feature, on page 22, we send 

photographer Tegra Stone Nuess out to the Olympic Peninsula 

and into the heart of leek country in Sequim-Dungeness Valley 

to meet the hardworking people of Nash’s Organic Produce. 

Bring the fruits of their labor into your own kitchen with our 

three leek recipes, sourced from Seattle restaurants. 

Also on the Olympic Peninsula is the subject of this issue’s 

Trip Planner—Port Townsend. Once the second busiest 

seaport on the West Coast, Port Townsend today is a breath of 

fresh air coming off the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It is boutiques, 

bookstores, boats, history and sophistication in a small 

Victorian package. Read our experience there and then make 

your own this summer as part of an Olympic Peninsula retreat. 

Tread lightly and regenerate! 


1889 ONLINE 

More ways to connect with your favorite Washington content 

1889mag.com | #1889washington | @1889washington 

washington: in focus 

Have a photo that captures your 

Washington experience? Share it with 

us by filling out the Washington: In 

Focus form on our website. If chosen, 

you’ll be published here. 

1889mag.com/in-focus 

TAKE HOME YOUR 

FAVORITE COVERS 

photo by Robert Hardin/ShutterMeShort Photography 

Lower Lewis River Falls. 

GEAR UP 

Show off your state 

pride with 1889 

T-shirts, hoodies, 

tote bags and more 

from our online shop. 

1889mag.com/shop 

Wake up to 1889 with limited 

edition mugs featuring our cover 

photography. Keep a piece of your 

favorite magazine in your kitchen, 

or collect them all by purchasing 

a mug from each issue as they 

become available. 

1889mag.com/shop 


SAY WA? 12 

FOOD + DRINK 18 

FARM TO TABLE 22 

HOME + DESIGN 28 

Tegra Stone Nuess 

MIND + BODY 34 

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE 36 

pg. 22 

Nash’s Organic Produce grows leeks and other vegetables.

What does 

your summer 

look like? 

The Washington 

coast’s newest 

resort community 

now selling beach homes vacation rentals 

info@oyhutbay.com 360.209.1886

say wa? 

Tidbits & To-dos 

Skagit Valley Tulip Festival 

The Tulip Festival runs the entire month of April 

with events and activities happening daily. Choose 

from an art show or quilt walk, crafts for the kids 

in the children’s art center and bike tours through 

the tulip fields, plus a tulip parade to enjoy. We 

think it’s the best place to celebrate spring. 

mark your 

calendar 

tulipfestival.org 

Anna’s Honey 

It doesn’t get any better than pure, all-natural 

honey. Anna’s Honey is made by Pacific Northwest 

bees that visit blossoms in remote regions and 

bring back nectar to create a rich, smooth honey. 

Flavors include blackberry, clover, wildflower and 

raspberry, available in traditional mason jars or in 

a gift jar featuring a sketch of the floral variety 

from which its honey was derived. 

annashoney.com 

Book Grain 

Made from redwood, 

these handmade journals are 

great because they lay flat, making it 

easier to put your thoughts down or draw 

a sketch. The cover can be engraved and can 

also have a typeset custom quote of your 

choice added to the inside front cover. Book 

Grain journals are handmade in Everett. 

bookgrain.com 


say wa? 

Gig Harbor Paddlers Cup 

The Paddlers Cup in Gig 

Harbor is one of those 

spring events that makes 

gearing up and getting 

outside completely worth it. 

Dragon boat, paddleboard 

and kayak races all take 

place at Skansie Brothers 

Park, April 20-22, with a 

reception at the Gig Harbor 

Marina and Boatyard. 

gigharborpaddlerscup.com 

mark your 

calendar 

Apple Blossom Festival 

mark your 

calendar 

Since 1919, the Apple Blossom Festival 

in Wenatchee has drawn crowds. 

This eleven-day event from 

the last week in April to the 

first week in May includes a 

carnival, golf tournament, an 

arts and craft fair and other 

entertainment, as well as a 

Grand Parade, all to celebrate 

the wonderful apple industry 

in Washington. 

appleblossom.org 

Orna’s Pottery 

Orna’s Pottery opened at Pike Place Market in 2005, 

specializing in Seattle-themed works and Pacific 

Northwest-inspired pieces. From mugs to bowls 

to vases, each piece is as unique as the artist and 

handmade in a backyard pottery studio. Our favorite 

is the Seattle-themed mug, highlighting the urban 

culture and scenery. This is a fan favorite for visitors 

and locals alike. 

orna-pottery.com 


say wa? 

Musician 

Looking Out 

Courtney Marie Andrews’ 

new record is next level 

written by Ben Salmon 

Listen on Spotify 

COURTNEY MARIE ANDREWS calls her 

2016 album, Honest Life, a “quiet, introspective 

songwriter record.” Nonetheless, it made 

a big splash, racking up glowing reviews, 

landing in Rolling Stone’s list of that year’s best 

country albums and raising the Seattle-based 

troubadour’s profile around the world. 

When it came time to make a follow-up, 

Andrews decided to stretch a bit. The result 

is May Your Kindness Remain, a gorgeous 

collection of ten tracks that features fuller 

arrangements and more roots-rock ’n’ soul to go 

with Andrews’ marvelous voice, mellow twang 

and melancholy story-songs. 

This time, those stories are more outwardlooking, 

Andrews said, with a special focus on 

regular folks struggling to cope with common 

demons and unattainable standards of success. 

It’s a story Andrews—who left her Arizona 

home at age 16—knows all too well. 

“Our job as songwriters is to empathize with 

the world. It’s hard not to let everything that 

is happening impact my writing in some way,” 

Andrews said. “Rural poverty, mental illness 

and delusions of grandeur are stories that have 

impacted me my whole life. It all just came to a 

head on this record.” 

Andrews made May Your Kindness Remain 

in a house overlooking Los Angeles, where 

recording felt “intuitive” and the music ebbed 

and flowed with the rhythms of Earth. 

“It was symbolic in a way. … You could point 

out the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ parts of town and 

wonder why the two don’t interact,” she said. 

“At night, when the sun came down over the 

hill and all was calm, we’d record the ballads. 

During the day, we’d open all the doors and (do) 

the more rockin’ tracks. It was natural.” 

Laura E. Partain 


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say wa? 

Bibliophile 

Seattle’s Story 

UW Press releases new version 

of Skid Road, a timeless tome 

about Seattle’s start 

interview by Sheila G. Miller 

AS NEWCOMERS CONTINUE to swarm Seattle and high 

rises replace historic storefronts, it’s easy to forget the city’s 

incredible history—Chief Seattle, the Great Seattle Fire in 

1906, the Sonics. 

For newcomers and Seattle natives alike, Skid Road should 

be required reading. First published in 1951 and written by 

Murray Morgan, the book, “an informal portrait of Seattle,” 

tells the city’s story through witty character studies. 

In March, the University of Washington press re-released 

Morgan’s Skid Road, with a new introduction from longtime 

local journalist Mary Ann Gwinn. 

“It’s a really inspired idea for the University of Washington 

Press to reissue it,” Gwinn said. “I consider myself a relative 

newcomer, but I have been here since the ’80s. A lot of 

people have been here for maybe a year or two. Skid Road 

is a great place for people to start when they want to learn 

more about their new home. It will not be a chore.” 

Gwinn, who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1990 for her coverage 

of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, worked at The Seattle Times 

for thirty-four years, eighteen of those as the book 

editor. Gwinn picked up Skid Road long before she 

became the Times’ book editor, though.

say wa? 

“Part of the genius of the book is that it’s a character study of 

several people who were instrumental in Seattle coming together. 

Characters are the heart and soul of the book.” 

—Mary Ann Gwinn 

How did you come to first read Skid 

Road? 

I came to Seattle in 1983, and I really 

didn’t know a thing about it. My first 

newspaper employer had laid off about 

a third of the staff, and I thought, ‘Oh, I 

need to find another job.’ I had a friend 

who worked at The Seattle Times, and 

so I came out here, and I got here in 

February. It was just dark, and the city 

was strange, and I thought, ‘What 

have I gotten myself into?’ I asked a 

colleague at the paper, ‘Can you give 

me a recommendation for a book, 

a work of history that explains this 

place?’ And he said, ‘You need to read 

Skid Road.’ He directed me to the Elliott 

Bay Book Company, and that was the 

beginning of a long relationship. 

I went down there and sat down 

and read it and I was just enthralled. 

It made me feel like I came to the right 

place after all. 

What are your favorite bits of history 

in the book? 

Part of the genius of the book is that 

it’s a character study of several people 

who were instrumental in Seattle 

coming together. Characters are the 

heart and soul of the book—and 

Doc Maynard has got to be the main 

character I love. I can’t believe no one’s 

made a movie out of this guy’s life. He 

was a frontier doctor, he was a lawyer, 

he was a real estate impresario—not a 

very good one, because I think he lost 

most of the money he made by the end 

of his life—most interestingly to me, 

he was really probably the best friend 

that Indians had among the white 

people. He was just an interesting 

combination of a visionary and a 

goofball, and I love that about him. 

Every character Murray 

Morgan picked was in 

some respects a kind of 

outlier or misfit. 

Why do you think Skid 

Road has stood the test 

of time? 

One thing it has going 

for it, other than that 

it’s never been out of 

print, is that I think 

Murray Morgan’s 

sensibility was really 

progressive for the 

time. He was born 

and raised in Tacoma, but he had been 

all over the world. He got a master’s 

degree at Columbia University in 

journalism, and he was in New York 

when Pearl Harbor was bombed so 

suddenly he was working all these jobs 

at a radio and at a newspaper. He and 

his wife, Rosa, traveled extensively all 

over the world. During World War II, 

Murray served in the Aleutians, and 

when I was researching him, I found he 

wrote great letters that his daughter 

has posted online. That’s where he first 

encountered African Americans, and 

he really got to know them. He also 

encountered people who were terrible 

bigots, and he was quite advanced 

for his time in his beliefs about how 

racism is the most pernicious aspect 

of human nature, of what a threat it 

was. That was in the late ’40s, and I 

think that sensibility, and his incredible 

sense of humor, keep the book feeling 

so fresh. 

How does one go about writing an 

introduction, especially to such a 

key book? 

I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll 

do it,’ and then I 

immediately thought, 

‘What am I supposed 

to do?’ I had a 

personal connection 

I knew I could write 

about, but then I 

decided—I’d heard 

of Murray Morgan, I 

knew who he was, but 

I didn’t know anything 

about him to speak of. I 

interviewed his daughter 

Lane, who is still around 

and available and had a 

good relationship, both 

working and personal, with her parents 

and knew a lot about him. I was able 

to go into his letters, which is where I 

got a sense of his voice independent 

of the book. And then I went down to 

the Tacoma public library, which has 

the Murray and Rosa Morgan Reading 

Room. That’s where his family donated 

all his books. His papers are there, too, 

but they haven’t been catalogued, so 

you can’t get into them in any shape. 

I was able to go through a lot of old 

newspaper clippings—a librarian had 

clipped them out—I was able to sit 

there and go through the actual clips, 

and that’s where I got a much better 

sense of his feistiness. He was a guy 

who was up for everything. 


food + drink 

Cocktail Card 

recipe courtesy of 

Fremont Mischief Distillery 

Grilled Storm-Tossed Sour 

1 ½ ounces Storm Tossed Rye Whiskey 

1 ounce grilled lemon juice 

¾ ounce rosemary simple syrup 

1 fresh egg white (optional) 

Put whiskey, egg white, lemon juice and 

rosemary simple syrup in shaker without 

ice. Shake well to mix egg whites and 

make them fluffy. Add ice to the shaker 

and shake to make the cocktail cold. 

Pour all into rocks glass (including ice) 

and garnish with a grilled lemon and a 

sprig of rosemary. 

FOR GRILLED LEMON JUICE 

You will need 1 lemon per cocktail. 

Fire up the grill on a low temperature. 

Cut lemons in half. Mix together fresh 

rosemary and white sugar (you can save 

the remaining mixture for the simple 

syrup). Dip the lemon half in the sugar 

mix and place face down on the grill. 

Slow grill for about 15 minutes on the 

face, then turn over for more grilling to 

make sure all the juice doesn’t leak out. 

Grill until the lemon is soft with a nice 

char. Once lemon has cooled, squeeze 

juice out, saving some grilled lemons 

for garnish. 

FOR ROSEMARY SIMPLE SYRUP 

Mix ¾ cup water and ¾ cup sugar with 

a handful of fresh chopped 

rosemary and put in a 

small pan. Put the 

pan on the grill 

while the lemons 

are grilling and let 

simmer. Strain the 

rosemary from the 

syrup and let it cool. 

Beervana 

Super Deli Mart builds community, one beer at a time 

written and photographed by Jackie Dodd 

IF THERE IS a place that exemplifies “hidden gem” more than Super Deli, I 

haven’t found it. From the outside it looks so much like any quick mart, any other 

convenience-store-that-no-longer-sells-gas, that you might drive by without 

knowing what it really is. 

If you did, you’d miss the sixteen taps of outstanding beer, the simple but 

delicious sandwiches and shelf after shelf of hard-to-find bottles of beer. You’d 

drive right past a community gathering spot of people from all walks of life, all 

ages and backgrounds, watching the game and sipping their beverage of choice. 

You’d never know that Brian Park, the impossibly dedicated owner, would be 

behind those simple walls pouring beer for his regular customers. 

This isn’t a place to go if you’re looking for frills—there aren’t any. There doesn’t 

need to be. Super Deli Mart is as unpretentious as it gets. It’s cups of ramen and 

bottles of Gatorade next to cellared bottles of barrel-aged wild fermented ales. 

It’s avocado spread on rye with Havarti next to Slim Jims and Diet Cokes. 

Park is a beer drinker, but that’s not why he searches high and low for the 

beer he stocks. It’s about community and how beer brings people together. Last 

summer, when he was asked to collaborate with Schooner Exact for a summer 

IPA, the name he chose for his first (of many) collaborations spoke volumes— 

Kizuna, the Chinese symbol for bond or relationship. He may have a head for 

business, but he has a heart for community. 

No matter the topic, conversation with Park always finds a way back to his 

desire to build a community and his love for people. The large and well-loved 

summer festival he puts on every July, with Korean food, beer and live music? It’s 

a benefit to raise money for the Children’s Hospital. He was inspired to donate 

to the cause when he discovered he has a few customers who have to spend a 

heartbreaking amount of time there. His prices are lower than most tap rooms 

and bottle shops because he wants people to come in and feel like they got a 

good deal, or as he puts it, “More beer happiness without breaking the wallet.” 

It’s hard to argue with that—after all, happiness and beer are great places to start 

when trying to build a community inside a small shop in Seattle. 

9051 35TH AVE. SW 

SEATTLE 

superdmart.com 

Brian Park pours a beer from one of Super Deli Mart’s sixteen taps. 


Pepper Bridge Winery 

You can wish your family 

had the chance to 

experience life on a farm. 

Or you can go ahead and 

give it to them. 

visiteasternoregon.com 

EXECUTION: EOVA COWGIRL 1/4 PAGE 

FILE NAME: EOVA_1889_4x5.06_cowgirl.indd 

PUB: 1889 

FINAL TRIM SIZE: 4" wide x 5.06" tall 

Abeja Inn & Winery 

Experience Walla Walla’s laid-back, 

small-town charm, blended with more than 120 

world-class wineries, award-winning restaurants, 

history, arts, and culture beyond our size. 

Fly from Walla Walla and check 

your first case of wine for free! 

Learn more at TasteAndTote.com

food + drink 

CRAVINGS 

SPECIALTY COFFEE 

Not only is Roost Coffee’s space 

cute and relaxing, the coffee is 

lovingly prepared with the best 

beans from local purveyors. 

Syrups are made in-house (the 

lavender is subtle and flavorful), 

as is the whipped cream. You’ll 

want to stop and stay awhile. 

125 SOUTHEAST SPRING STREET 

SUITE 102 

PULLMAN 

roostcoffeepullman.com 

RAMEN 

Though this place is new on the 

Capitol Hill scene, Ooink is already 

making a name among ramen 

enthusiasts. Its focus is on letting 

excellent ingredients speak for 

themselves (and sometimes in 

limited editions). 

1416 HARVARD AVENUE 

SEATTLE 

facebook.com/ooinkramen 

Gastronomy 

Raising the Bar 

written by Cara Strickland 

IN 2013, RENEE CEBULA channeled her love of days gone by into a business with 

a kick. Cebula sells vintage barware out of a cozy (and also vintage) trailer, and is 

always willing to talk about the history of cocktails. It’s that background in history 

that has Cebula in such demand for private cocktail events—you too can learn to 

make classic cocktails, create your own bitters and learn about the history of punch 

in the process. Catch Cebula and her trailer at one of the many events she attends 

in Washington or Oregon, or book her expertise for a class that’s sure to leave your 

guests stirred (not shaken). 

EVENTS THROUGHOUT WASHINGTON AND OREGON 

storiesinaglass.com 

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP Cebula hosts private cocktail 

events. Cebula’s vintage trailer. Vintage barware. 

ARTISAN PIZZA 

Pizza has come a long way since 

just marinara and mozzarella. 

Though it offers some of those, 

Fire also serves up pies like 

the Gordy, topped with dates, 

gorgonzola, balsamic reduction, 

a blend of cheeses, and, based 

on the addiction level, some sort 

of crack. 

816 WEST SPRAGUE AVENUE 

SPOKANE 

firepizzaspokane.com 

BREAKFAST 

Whether you sleep at White 

House or not, it’s the place to 

go for breakfast (and lunch). 

Everything on the concise menu 

is made with attention to detail 

and beautifully garnished. Try the 

croissant breakfast, an open-face 

croissant topped with ham and 

Havarti, broiled and served with 

fresh fruit. 

3602 KERN ROAD 

YAKIMA 

whitehouseinyakima.com 


food + drink 

BEST PLACES FOR 

GELATO 

NORTH TOWN 

COFFEEHOUSE 

Eat a variety of gelato flavors 

(or sip a coffee) in the reclaimed 

1909 waiting room of the Northern 

Pacific Train Depot in downtown 

Yakima. The gelato is smooth 

and satisfying (coconut is a 

favorite) and the location is 

elegant and inspiring. 

32 NORTH FRONT STREET 

YAKIMA 

northtowncoffee.com 

SOFIE’S SCOOPS 

GELATO 

Visit Sofie’s Scoops in the 222 

Market, and you’ll likely get to see 

gelato magic being made in front of 

you. With ever-changing flavors like 

cardamom, earl grey lavender chip, 

salty butterscotch and hibiscus, 

you’ll be glad Sofie’s offers tastes. 

222 CAPITOL WAY NORTH 

OLYMPIA 

sofiesscoops.com 

FERRANTE’S 

This casual neighborhood 

restaurant is known for its 

Italian food, and what better to 

complement than a choice of 

eighteen flavors of natural gelato? 

Hang out and enjoy the ambience 

and marketplace, or take your 

frozen happiness to go. 

4516 SOUTH REGAL STREET 

SPOKANE 

doitalian.com 

COLVILLE STREET 

PATISSERIE 

There’s a lot to love at this 

downtown Walla Walla staple, but 

with regularly rotating flavors of 

gelato made in-house with organic 

milk, this frozen confection is top 

of our list. Keep it simple with a 

scoop or take home a pint. 

40 SOUTH COLVILLE STREET 

WALLA WALLA 

colvillestreetpatisserie.com 

Andrae’s Kitchen makes homemade tortillas and smokes its own brisket. 

Dining 

Andrae’s Kitchen 


ANDRAE BOPP HAS an impressive culinary resume. He graduated from the 

French Culinary Institute in New York City, worked in fine dining restaurants such 

as Balthazar and Le Bernardin, and then opened a restaurant in Boise, Idaho, to 

critical acclaim. 

Bopp first moved to Walla Walla in 2008 and immediately began innovating— 

his food truck was one of the first in Washington. Now, in addition to the truck, 

you’ll find his restaurant in an unassuming Cenex gas station. But don’t be confused, 

because this is no ordinary gas station fare. Bopp and his team are making tortillas 

from scratch and smoking their own brisket for street tacos, “Voodoo Fries” topped 

with pulled pork, aioli and peppers, and a host of gourmet hot dogs. 

Bopp likes that his place is a bit of a secret. “I can see the trepidation as they walk 

in and look around like, ‘Is this the place?’ Then you smell the food and realize this 

is the place to be.” 

706 W. ROSE STREET 

WALLA WALLA 

andraeskitchen.com 


farm to table 

Nash’s Organic Produce manager Kia Armstrong 

checks on a chard crop after a snowstorm. 


farm to table 

Farm to Table 

The Underappreciated Leek 

Exploring farm-fresh treasures 

from Sequim-Dungeness Valley 

written by Corinne Whiting 

photography by Tegra Stone Nuess 

WHEN WE FIRST connected with Kia Armstrong, manager 

at Nash’s Organic Produce, she was dreaming up dishes for an 

upcoming crew meal. At Nash’s home in Washington’s fertile 

Sequim-Dungeness Valley, they serve “farm lunch” for the team 

the last Friday of every month. 

Among Armstrong’s favorite leek-centric creations—a 

hummus puree that features the farm’s dried field peas with 

roasted leeks, and a cornbread made using Nash’s freshly ground 

cornmeal and leeks. (Inspiration for the cornbread comes from 

Sid Maroney, a farm employee from Tennessee, where cornbread 

remains unadulterated by wheat flour or sweeteners.) “I love to 

cook and am passionate about feeding large groups of people 

and sharing simple recipes that utilize seasonal ingredients,” 

Armstrong said. 

Armstrong, who has worked at Nash’s for fifteen years in roles 

ranging from harvest crew to booths at Seattle farmers markets, 

loves leeks. “I can’t have enough in my fridge,” she said. Luckily 

for her, she has access to them August through May, thanks 

to the region’s microclimate and the farm’s season extension 

techniques. “Overwintered leeks are sown in the field in tightly 

knit rows in late April and then transplanted into beds about 

eight weeks later,” Armstrong said. “They are ready to harvest in 

November, and we peck away at them through May.” 

Armstrong likes to get these nutrient-packed, allium family 

veggies into her diet, especially throughout the winter, as a 

way to “keep the immune system strong … in a delicious way.” 

She lauds Nash’s leeks for being consistently tender, and she 

encourages consumers to eat the entire thing, “from root to tip.” 

Jason Stoneburner, executive chef at Seattle’s Bastille Café & 

Bar and Stoneburner, has an affinity for leeks, too. “[The leek 

is] humble and inexpensive and extremely versatile,” he said. 

“You’re able to change its flavor profile and texture by different 

techniques, similar to what you can do with meat.” Stoneburner’s 

favorite way to prepare leeks? “I make big batches of a leek 

condiment in the summer to spoon over grilled meat, cheese, 

toast and fish,” he said. In order to use fresh leeks throughout the 

year, Stoneburner sources from several farms, most of them— 

like Nash’s—based at Seattle’s Ballard Farmers Market. 

Over the years, Nash’s Organic Produce has won awards from 

many local organizations on the Olympic Peninsula, 

in addition to receiving state and national accolades. 

Situated on the fertile delta of the Dungeness River, 

Nash’s is surrounded by water on three sides and the 


farm to table 

Harvest manager Suzy Strom trims the 

roots and tops off a freshly dug leek. 


farm to table 

majestic Olympic Mountains to the south. The North 

Olympic Peninsula boasts a unique, moderate climate 

and “amazing alluvial soil” that enables Nash Huber and 

his team to produce “the finest organic fruits, vegetables, 

grains, seed, eggs and pork year-round.” 

Armstrong said that, among the farm’s “wonderfultasting, 

fresh food,” carrots stand out. Huber has been 

planting his own carrot seeds for decades; these days, 

the farm grows 9 acres of carrots annually (over seven 

rotations). She praised the farm’s Brussels sprouts, too. 

The farm sells its goods at seven local markets, through 

CSA programs and wholesale to PCC Natural Markets 

(Seattle), Organically Grown Company (Portland) and 

Discovery Organics (Victoria, B.C.). 

Although Huber and his wife, Patty McManus-Huber, 

own 19 acres of land, their team farms more than 600 

acres and has nine landlords. The land includes 70 acres 

of vegetables, berries and orchard; 355 acres of grain; 30 

acres of organic seed; 40 acres devoted to pigs, poultry 

and compost; 40 acres in wildlife habitat and buffers, and 

the remainder hay or fallow. The farm employs about 

thirty-two people (two-thirds of them full-time). 

The couple pushes for seasonal extension for several 

reasons—since people have to eat all year long and so the 

farm can offer year-round employment. “It takes many 

years to train a good farmer,” Armstrong said, explaining 

the farm strives to retain staff for multiple years. “We 

grow a lot of winter crops to be harvested fresh from 

the fields twelve months a year. It’s rough work picking 

Brussels sprouts or kale in the rain and cold, but it keeps 

folks employed.” 

Huber has also worked hard over the past forty years to 

expand the farm’s footprint and to retain the agricultural 

landscape of Sequim. With so much pressure on the 

development of farmland, he attempts to keep as much 

of it in production as possible. The farm’s seed-breeding 

work also plays into season extension, as it develops 

varieties suited to the Pacific Northwest climate. 

Loyal Nash followers love visiting the farm store, which 

is open six days a week (and daily from May through 

October). The shop features more than eighty items on 

any given day, with items ranging from local cider and 

craft beer to cheese and meat, as well as an extensive allorganic 

produce department. Shoppers notice a strong 

emphasis on education and access to recipes, plus a kids’ 

corner and lending library. 

“It’s a great place for folks to come get perspective on 

what’s going on here,” Armstrong said. “They get a sense 

of place, as they have to drive right by the fields to get to 

the store, which was intentionally placed in the heart of 

the operation.” 

AT RIGHT, FROM TOP Andrea LaPlante, pastured hog manager, rakes barley 

grain as it comes out of the mill; Nash’s grows and mills the barley for its hogs. 

View of the Olympic Mountains from Nash’s Organic Produce. 


farm to table 

Pepper flakes and lemon add 

zest to Stoneburner’s Burrata 

and Leek Big Toast. 

Washington Recipes 

Limitless Leeks 

Corned Beef Hash with Leek Soubise 

SEATTLE / Saint Helens Cafe 

Ira Taylor 

FOR THE CORNED BEEF 

HASH (SERVES 1) 

3 ounces chopped corned 

beef 

3 ounces blanched sweet 

potatoes 

⅛ cup pickled leeks 

2 eggs 

Salt and pepper to taste 

Dill sprigs (for plating) 

FOR THE LEEK SOUBISE 

(SERVES 4) 

2 tablespoons butter 

2 tablespoons all-purpose 

flour 

1 cup whole milk 

⅓ cup chopped leeks 

1 teaspoon salt 

FOR THE LEEK SOUBISE 

In a small saucepan, begin melting 2 tablespoons of butter 

on low heat. Once melted, add ⅓ cup chopped leeks and stir 

until leeks are translucent and tender. Once translucent, add 

2 tablespoons of flour and stir for 5 minutes on low heat. 

Make sure the flower-butter mixture does not brown. After 

5 minutes, add 1 cup whole milk and whisk on low heat until 

sauce has thickened. Using a hand blender, puree sauce until 

smooth. Add 1 teaspoon of salt. 

FOR THE CORNED BEEF HASH 

In a medium sauté pan, heat 1 teaspoon of canola oil on 

medium high until the oil just starts to ripple. Add in corned 

beef and diced sweet potatoes, then add a pinch of salt and 1 

ounce of lemon juice to get some golden-brown color on the 

sweet potatoes. Add ⅛ cup of pickled leeks and warm through 

with the hash mixture. Check seasoning and adjust with salt 

and lemon juice as needed. 

While cooking hash mixture, heat up the soubise over 

medium-low heat to warm through. Set aside in a warm place 

for plating. 

While your hash mixture finishes cooking, heat a small knob 

of butter in a small, nonstick sauté pan over medium-low heat. 

When butter is fully melted, add two eggs and continue to 

cook slowly over medium-low heat. When the eggs are cooked 

to your satisfaction, season with salt and pepper. Set aside in a 

warm area for plating. 

On a warmed entrée plate, place about 2 ounces of soubise 

in the center of the plate, spreading it out evenly. Place the 

hash mixture in the center of the sauce. Place eggs on top of 

hash mixture and garnish with sea salt and dill sprigs. 

Burrata and Leek Big Toast 

SEATTLE / Stoneburner 

Jason Stoneburner 

SERVES 2 

2 ½ cups leeks, thinly sliced 

in half moons 

1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper 

or chili flakes 

¾ cup olive oil 

⅛ teaspoon salt 

Zest and juice of 1 large lemon 

Split the leeks lengthwise and thinly slice into half moons. Blanch leeks 

in boiling salted water for 20 seconds and shock in a water ice bath, then 

drain leeks and dry. Lightly heat olive oil, add pepper and zest, then pour 

over blanched leeks. Add lemon juice and salt, then stir to mix. Grill bread 

with a little olive oil and salt, divide cheese among bread pieces, and 

top with leek condiment, herbs and greens. The leek condiment can be 

stored in the fridge for 5 to 8 days, and can be spooned over everything 

from fried eggs to grilled steak or fish. 

Leek Bagna Caoda with Long Pepper 

SEATTLE / mbar 

Jason Stratton 

SERVES 4 

2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil 

20 oil-cured anchovy fillets 

(such as Agostino Recca), 

drained of oil 

8 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced 

1 Burrata or your favorite 

cheese 

1 loaf of your favorite rustic 

bread, such as ciabatta 

Picked herbs and greens to 

garnish (mint, dill, arugula and 

mustard greens recommended) 

4 leeks, whites cut into small 

dice and rinsed well 

1 cup cream 

1 teaspoon ground long pepper 

Lemon juice to taste (optional) 

Heat the butter and olive oil in a heavy-bottomed non-reactive pot over 

medium heat. Add anchovies and garlic and cook until anchovies begin 

to break apart and garlic just starts to get a little color. Lower heat and 

cook slowly, stirring every 5 minutes or so with a wooden spoon until 

the anchovies completely break down into a paste and reach a deep 

brown. Add leeks and continue to cook until the leeks are tender. Add 

cream and continue to cook until the volume reduces by two-thirds. 

Season with the long pepper and lemon if desired. Use immediately or 

cool down for future use. Reheat over very low heat, adding a teaspoon 

of water or cream if it threatens to break. 


Summer 

is right around the corner 

FREE Travel Guide cascadeloop.com

home + design 

Perfect Harmony 

Two Seattle designers rework 

dysfunctional kitchens to sing 

with their surroundings 


Seattle: An Inviting Loft Makeover 

WITH ITS CONCRETE floors, airy open spaces and 

galvanized steel decking on the ceiling, this Capitol 

Hill apartment embodied chic, pared-back loft living. 

Unfortunately, its kitchen was equally bare bones. 

“These lofts were very raw,” said architect Thomas 

Schaer of the units in the 2001 building. “The original 

concept was an industrial chef’s kitchen.” As such, 

everything was out in the open, from the plumbing 

pipes beneath the commercial sink basin to the pots 

and pans stacked under a stainless-steel prep table. 

A Sears cabinet with a butcher-block top possessed 

the only closed drawers. “It was pretty hard to work 

with that kitchen,” Schaer said. 

Nearby, the loft’s front door spilled unceremoniously into the 

home, providing no natural spots for hanging coats, putting 

on shoes or throwing down keys. An empty zone beneath the 

stairs became a dumping ground for bikes, backpacks and even 

bulky kitchen items that couldn’t find a home. In 2014, Schaer, 

principal of Seattle’s SHED Architecture & Design, paired up 

with contractor Dolan Built for a targeted renovation. 

The revamp started with a smart spatial tweak that fixes both 

the kitchen and the entry—a 4-foot extension of the kitchen 

wall. Not only does the subtle addition increase culinary 

capacity, but the back side of the new wall defines the entryway 

and forms a niche for a built-in bench with shoe storage. A 

custom wall-hanging cabinet beneath the stairs is a prettier 

catchall, with the wall space below it cleverly protected with 

metal. “The steel plate is intended as a spot where you can park 

your bike without damaging the wall,” Schaer said. 

For materials, he chose a palette that complements the loft’s 

existing industrial mix and adds subtle texture. “One of the first 

ideas that we came up with was the concrete bricks,” he said. 

“We thought, because we have this concrete floor, we can just 

build brick right on the floor. If it was a house with a wood floor, 

you wouldn’t do that.” That brick now lines the backsplash, 

frames up the island and supports the entry bench. 

One countertop, composed of glimmering ¼-inch 

bead-blasted stainless-steel plate, references the 

beams overhead, and has the added benefit of being 


home + design 

Mark Woods 

The Capitol Hill loft’s kitchen got an upgrade 

with concrete bricks and more storage. 


Haris Kenjar 

“pretty indestructible,” Schaer said. Zebrawood with a pronounced 

grain pattern flows across the flat-front cabinetry and island 

worktop. “That element strategically adds warmth and material 

depth to what is otherwise a pretty cold space,” Schaer said. 

The new island accommodates seating and additional storage, 

but it’s the under-the-counter microwave there that infuses a little 

quirk into the new space. It wasn’t possible to drill new electrical 

connections through the concrete floor, so the appliance is 

powered vis-a-vis a curly pigtail cord that stretches all the way to 

the ceiling. Like everything else that came with the renovation, the 

treatment fits the loft’s overall vibe. “In the end it was an easy way 

to solve a functional problem,” Schaer said of the cord. “Now that 

it’s there, it’s a cool element.” 

Woodinville: A New Family Hub 

In this Woodinville house built in 1986, the impetus for 

remodeling the kitchen wasn’t just its cramped work triangle and 

dated finishes. The homeowners were equally motivated to tackle 

an adjacent room—a large sunken family room everyone in the 

household had abandoned. The room’s awkward layout, cold stone 

floor and lack of natural light made it uniformly unwelcoming. “All 

the way in the back of the house, separated by columns and a step 

was this sunken family room,” said Heidi Caillier, a Seattle-based 

interior designer in charge of the home’s 2017 overhaul. “They 

never used it, just because it felt so disconnected from the rest of 

the house.” 

Caillier’s design plan was a bold redress: to flip the first-floor 

layout and swap the kitchen into the unused space. Now, a more 

generous eat-in kitchen segues into a relaxed dining area and 

cozy family room. “They really wanted something that was more 

open, a joined area that felt like it all flowed,” Caillier said. Such 

an approach was not without its challenges, from reconfiguring 

windows, relocating plumbing and raising the floor, to devising an 

efficient floor plan. “It was tricky trying to figure out the layout,” 

Caillier said. “No matter what we did with it, it was still going to 

have an L-shape that you can’t really change without changing other 

significant parts of the house.” Her solution was to incorporate a 

butler’s pantry and eating nook along one wall, ensuring that every 

inch of previously wasted space is put to good use. 

Now, the 450-square-foot kitchen is grounded by a 10-foot-long 

island packed with storage on both sides, its warm brown-black 

color silhouetted against white perimeter cabinets. “We knew that 

it was going to be the anchor of the room and where everyone 

would gather,” Caillier said of the island. A snowy Caesarstone 

counter climbs up the backsplash for a seamless look. Brass cabinet 

hardware and lighting punctuate the cool color palette while wood 

accents, including dark-stained oak floors, a sliding wood door 

on the pantry and floating bench, offer understated texture that 

mingles well with the traditional elements. Painted shiplap wraps 

the breakfast nook, keeping it light and bright. “I just wanted it to 

feel a little bit cozy and textural, while working with the rest of the 

space,” Caillier said. 

Caillier juxtaposed playful personality suitable to a family with 

young kids via a few more stylish steps. “It’s a big kitchen, so I felt 

like we needed to mix the finishes up a little bit to make it layered 

and interesting,” she said. The cement tile backsplash at a drinks 

station lends a hit of contemporary pattern. Woven pendant lights 

skew whimsical, the pattern giving off a fun glow at night. “I love 

the kitchen nook; it’s probably my favorite part,” Caillier said. “I like 

that it brings down the seriousness a little bit.” Even better is how 

her redesign has transformed the household’s former dead zones 

into family destinations, revitalizing the home in the process. Said 

Caillier: “It’s changed the way they use their house.” 


home + design 

FROM LEFT Interior designer Heidi Caillier 

moved the kitchen to an underused room 

in the house. The breakfast nook has 

painted shiplap and a wooden bench. 

Haris Kenjar 


home + design 

DIY: Unite the Kitchen with the Rest of the House 

OPEN-CONCEPT FLOOR PLANS have become extremely popular over the years, and the kitchen is always at the center. 

We asked Schaer and Caillier their tricks for seamlessly incorporating the kitchen with the adjoining living spaces. 

1 

2 

REPEAT MATERIALS 

“Material connection is really important,” Schaer 

said. This is why he used Zebrawood for both the 

entry cabinet and main kitchen area in the Capitol 

Hill loft. “It makes it feel like it wasn’t just a random 

kitchen plugged into the living room,” he said. “It 

feels like part of a suite of moves.” Caillier agreed. 

“All of the materials have to work together,” she 

said. For instance, she chose furnishings with the 

same wood tones across the different spaces, such 

as the kitchen counter stools, the dining room 

table and a credenza in the family room. 

KEEP COLORS CONSISTENT 

Seeing too many colors at once can make the 

final scheme look choppy. “We painted everything 

the same color and I think that’s really important,” 

Caillier said. “There are some starts and stops 

that could have facilitated using different paint 

colors, but we really wanted it to feel like one big 

open space.” 

CREATE SUBTLE LAYERS WITH CONTRAST 

Subtle contrast draws the eye through the space. 

In Woodinville, Caillier positioned four curvy 

walnut stools (the Cherner barstool from Design 

Within Reach) against the dark backdrop of 

the island cabinetry to pleasing effect. A large 

blank wall in the loft had the owner wanting to 

incorporate a unique decorative touch. A local 

interior designer, Brian Paquette, suggested 

wallpaper printed with a Japanese kimono pattern. 

The design was photocopied onto 11x17 printer 

paper and then carefully pasted in place for 

a layered look that contrasts nicely with the 

kitchen’s crisp lines and unites the open room. 


home + design 

Beautiful Utility from Washington Makers 

Girl Meets Dirt is an Orcas Island “farmette” dedicated to 

spreading the sweetness of heritage preserves. The Orcas 

Madrona Wood Serving Board, available in the online shop and 

made by artisans at Orcas Workshop, is composed of wood from 

the island with an organic live-edge shape, perfect for 

showcasing your next fruit and cheese spread. 

girlmeetsdirt.com 

The online shop Goose Creek Mercantile, 

curated by the West Seattle-based Holly Johnston, 

specializes in “natural goods for the modern home,” 

all with a Pacific Northwest sensibility. We like the 

oversized Cherry spoon, made in Woodinville, for 

its modern take on a good old kitchen standby. 

goosecreekmercantile.com 

Sur La Table 

The handmade knives from celebrated Bellingham master 

bladesmith Bob Kramer are the prized possession of many 

chefs—just ask Anthony Bourdain. Kramer’s creations are 

primarily available by auction and lottery, meaning years-long 

waitlists. Luckily for impatient home cooks, he teamed up with 

Zwilling J.A. Henckels to produce this line of carbon steel blades 

fashioned after the ones that come from his workshop. 

surlatable.com 


mind + body 

Just Getting Started 

Skier Breezy Johnson competed at the 

Winter Olympics, and is ready for more 

written by Lauren Kramer 

U.S. Ski & Snowboard 


mind + body 

Breezy Johnson 

U.S. Olympic Skier 

Age: 22 

Born: Jackson, Wyoming 

Residence: Victor, Idaho, and Bellingham, Washington 

Breezy Johnson cruises downhilll during the 2017 U.S. Alpine Ski Team training 

camp in Chile. 

WHEN BREEZY JOHNSON got the call saying she’d been 

selected to be one of the U.S. alpine skiers in the 2018 Winter 

Olympics in PyeongChang, the 22-year-old was breathless with 

excitement. A fierce competitor since her childhood days, this 

was the ultimate test of her skill, pairing her with the world’s 

finest alpine skiers. 

“I was always super serious about ski racing, and for as long 

as I can remember I wanted to be an Olympian ski racer,” she 

said. “I remember competing at one race when I was super 

young, and where they gave ribbons to everyone who competed. 

I immediately threw mine out because I wasn’t interested in 

something given just for competing. I wanted something I had 

to earn.” 

Johnson’s father, Greg Johnson, was her first ski instructor and 

coach and she quickly took a shine to the sport. “My brother and 

I were pains in the butt to any resort we were at,” she recalled. 

“We were better skiers than our instructors even as kids, so we’d 

ditch them and rip around the mountain on our own. But what 

influenced me to stick with the sport is that I’m always looking 

for a challenge, and skiing was the most challenging thing I ever 

did, which made it the most rewarding.” 

Accustomed to skiing at speeds of up to 85 mph, Johnson said 

what scares her is less the actual speed and more the relative 

speed of “things coming at you. I always say that alpine speed 

skiing is about hearing that little instinctual voice tell you to slow 

down and then going faster anyway. It’s so thrilling to see how far 

you can push the limits. And every time you decide not to listen 

to your instincts and you go faster, you feel a little bit like you’re 

defying death itself.” 

A member of the U.S. Ski Team since 2014, Johnson has been 

in training for several years, tackling glacial slopes in Europe and 

snowy peaks in New Zealand, Chile and across the U.S. She’s 

determined to come home with a gold medal. In PyeongChang, 

she finished fourteenth in Super G and seventh in the downhill, 

just 1.12 seconds behind the gold medal winner. “We know that 

we are all good,” she said of her seven fellow athletes on the team. 

“The only thing we can do is ski our best. If I can’t win, then 

having one of my teammates win is the next best thing.” 

U.S. Ski Team 

WORKOUT 

SUMMER TRAINING 

Monday: 45-minute jog followed by 2.5 hours strength training, lunch 

then 1.5 hours core workout 

Tuesday: 30-minute jog, 1.5 hours coordination (soccer ball work, 

slackline, trampoline), lunch then 1.5 hours sprint workout 

Wednesday: 3 hours strength (more power-based), afternoon off 

Thursday: 30-minute jog, medium-intensity cardio workout, then 

2-hour core workout 

Friday: 2.5 hours strength, then 1-hour coordination workout (speed 

ladder, possibly rollerblading), maybe a 1-hour fun game in evening 

with friends 

Saturday: 3-5 hour hike, bike, run or swim 

Sunday: Off 

WINTER TRAINING 

Monday: Off 

Tuesday: 3 hours ski training, 1-hour game in afternoon (volleyball, 

tennis, tennoccer) 

Wednesday: Off 

Thursday: Training run (on hill for 4 hours with two 30-minute 

warmup bodyweight workouts with squats, jumps, lunges etc.), 

30-minute core workout in afternoon 

Friday: Training run (on hill for 4 hours with two 30-minute warmup 

bodyweight workouts with squats, jumps, lunges etc.), 1-hour 

coordination and power workout (stair jumps, skips, speed ladder) 

Saturday: Race Downhill (on hill for 5 hours with two 30-minute 

warmup bodyweight workouts with squats, jumps, lunges etc.), 

30-minute recovery spin in afternoon 

Sunday: Race Super G (on hill for 5 hours with two 30-minute warmup 

bodyweight workouts with squats, jumps, lunges etc.), 1-2 hour weight 

workout in afternoon 

NUTRITION: 

• All sources of proteins (eggs, meat, salmon, dairy, tofu) 

• Berries, tomatoes, cherries 

• 4-5 cups veggies 

• 4-5 cups whole wheat grains 

• 1 sea salt caramel prior to races 

INSPIRATIONS: 

• “Your body is firing at 100 percent when you’re skiing, and your mind 

is also working at 100 percent. That combination of using your mind 

and body makes me feel more alive than anything else.” 

• “My amazing U.S. Ski Team teammates, who know so much and have 

shared their knowledge and experience with me, even though at times 

like Olympics and World Championships we have to compete against 

each other. We are constantly bouncing ideas back and forth and I 

honestly can’t say if I would be as good as I am today without them.” 


artist in residence 

Tackling 

Misconceptions 

Filmmaker takes on social issues 

written by Viki Eierdam 

36 1889 WASHINGTONS’S MAGAZINE FEBRUARY APRIL | MAY | MARCH 2018 2017

artist in residence 

IT’S BEEN SAID that overnight success can take years to achieve. Seattle filmmaker Derek Armstrong 

McNeill can attest to that. After three decades pursuing related yet fragmented interests, the 

common denominators of his life finally revealed his gift of storytelling. 

When McNeill began concentrating on the growing homelessness in his city, clarity hit him and 

he knew he could present the human side of the issue with The Road to Nickelsville. 

“A moment was happening in Seattle that would later 

be seen as a pivotal point, and I felt there was a story 

that needed to be told,” McNeill said. “I wanted to craft 

something more than a sleepy documentary but add 

subtext that operated on different emotional layers.” 

McNeill joined the United States Air Force straight 

out of high school and spent the next eight years as 

a photographer. For the better part of his Air Force 

career he shot, printed and processed film. After his 

service, he worked as a wedding and 

portrait photographer, freelanced for 

a newspaper, earned an advertising 

degree from the University of Alaska 

with a minor in design and even 

created Windows ads for Microsoft. 

He’d wanted to pursue filmmaking 

since he was a child, but McNeill was 

unable to afford film school so he tried 

to find satisfaction in photography. In 

2000, he was inspired by the opening 

title sequence of the HBO series 

Six Feet Under. He discovered the 

company responsible for it, Digital 

Kitchen, was in Seattle and took a 

motion design class it offered. McNeill 

then had a front-row seat to the 

making of the True Blood title sequence and his path in 

filmmaking became more grounded. 

McNeill began to feel the stirrings to go out on his own 

in 2013, and a couple years later he decided to tackle the 

topic of the controversial Seattle homeless encampment 

known as Nickelsville. To date, his documentary, The 

Road to Nickelsville, has earned multiple awards and 

nominations from the film community. 

Through a series of intimate interviews, McNeill 

breaks down misconception after misconception 

without taking a political or social side or offering a 

solution to the homelessness problem. He allows the 

“cast” to tell their own stories in words, through facial 

expressions and a very personal look into their day-today 

lives. 

Compassion and empathy are the premier 

instruments in any effective storyteller’s toolbox, and 

McNeill employs both deftly as he seeks to deliver a 

familiar concept to his audience and let them digest 

it anew. 

“I didn’t want it to be a finger-wagging exercise. I 

wanted people to stop and think and question their 

assumptions. I wanted to create a neutral look. It’s a very 

emotional and personal look, but I didn’t have a strong 

agenda that you must feel sorry for these people, and I 

also didn’t say, ‘These people are lazy,’” McNeill said. “I 

think art in its truest form works best when it holds a 

mirror up to the viewer and causes them to stop and 

think about their own humanity.” 

It is his nuanced stylings that have 

garnered critical acclaim for The 

Road to Nickelsville, including winner 

at the International Independent 

Film Awards for Title/Credit Design, 

Editing, Cinematography, Directing 

and Documentary Short Film. He 

was one of four finalists—out of 1,300 

submissions—for Best International 

Documentary at the Fabrique Du 

Cinema Awards held in Rome last 

December and judged by American 

representative, Willem DeFoe. 

“Fabrique is a symbol to me that it 

(the film) is doing well and touching 

people,” McNeill said. 

His next venture, Appleseeds, 

explores another complex human issue—the secret to 

true happiness. Similar in style to The Road to Nickelsville, 

McNeill pastes together a collection of interviews with 

men and women ages 65 to 85. Commissioned by a 

friend designing an installation on aging, Appleseeds goes 

beyond the premise of how to find hope and happiness 

through adverse life moments and, organically, delves 

into the cultural issue of elder worth. 

One interviewee mimics the way he’s treated by 

saying, “Oh, he’s old. He must be retarded.” 

While that may sound harsh, it is a reality that the 

elderly face and, just like The Road to Nickelsville, 

Appleseeds promises to challenge cultural assumptions, 

open the eyes of the audience who choose to see the film 

and, possibly, start a conversation. It also offers hope. 

“So, you take everything you’ve been through in life 

and, if you’re fortunate enough to live ‘til you’re older, 

how can you not be beautiful? It has nothing to do with 

your gender or the color of your skin. How can we not be 

beautiful?” another interviewee asks proudly. 

FEBRUARY APRIL | MARCH | MAY 2018 2017 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 37

STARTUP 40 

WHAT’S GOING UP 42 

WHAT I’M WORKING ON 44 

MY WORKSPACE 46 

GAME CHANGER 48 

pg. 44 

Mona Ghandi wants buildings to adapt to our moods.

golf, dine, explore 

PULLMAN, WA 

Rob Perry 

Birch & Barley PalousePics.com Majestic Nature 

Home of Washington State University 

and so much more 

pullmanchamber.com 509.334.3565

startup 

Trash to Treasure 

Appliance Depot reduces waste and trains 

employees to re-enter the workforce 

written by Lauren Kramer 


startup 

“[Our trainees] get a sense of ownership in the business 

and a sense of community from their coworkers. That 

feeling of support and investment goes a long way toward 

building confidence and we see huge transformations in 

our trainees’ demeanor, communication skills and selfesteem 

in their time with us.” 

—Dallas Betz 

ReUse Works 

SUSTAINABILITY IS A BUZZWORD these days, 

but when Appliance Depot started in 2005 it was one 

of the early pioneers of the movement. The goal of 

the Bellingham-based nonprofit is to convert trash to 

treasure by refurbishing old appliances or, when that’s 

not possible, to strip their reusable parts and put 

them back to work. Refurbished appliances are resold 

at a fraction of the cost of new ones. The sales team, 

funneled from social service agencies, consists of 

folks who have experienced significant life challenges 

and need new, basic skills and experience to re-enter 

the workforce. 

“Our program is unique in that it was created 

with the aim of using trainees as primary workers,” 

explained Dallas Betz, executive director at ReUse 

Works, the nonprofit that operates Appliance Depot. 

“Trainees work at a variety of tasks and progress 

quickly. Moreover, they get a sense of ownership in 

the business and a sense of community from their 

coworkers. That feeling of support and investment 

goes a long way toward building confidence, and we 

see huge transformations in our trainees’ demeanor, 

communication skills and self-esteem in their time 

with us.” 

Most of the 450 trainees who have worked at 

Appliance Depot have arrived with little or no work 

history—or nothing recent. The team of seven full-time 

staff helps train for soft skills like customer service, 

and trainees usually leave with a good reference and 

recent work history they can take to their next jobs. 

To date, Appliance Depot has kept 50,000 appliances 

out of the waste stream and sold 13,000 refurbished 

appliances, generating $3.5 million in sales. “Our planet 

has limited resources that are rapidly diminishing, so 

we need to extend the life of those goods that already 

exist,” Betz said. While recycling is a good idea, the 

first option should be re-use because that “allows us to 

maintain the embedded energy in each machine and 

keeping our money circulating locally,” he explained. 

Up to 25 percent of the appliances Appliance 

Depot receives can be reconditioned. The rest are 

stripped for parts and then recycled for scrap metal. 

Salvageable appliances are repaired in the nonprofit’s 

2,000-square-foot shop and sold in the showroom 

at 802 Marine Drive. Surplus revenue is set aside for 

unforeseen, unpredictable expenses, like the new box 

truck that was needed after the old one’s transmission 

failed recently. 

For most of us, when we need a new appliance we 

go out and buy it. We don’t think about the energy 

that goes into creating that machine, from resource 

extraction to manufacturing and transportation. 

“Every appliance we refurbish means that one less 

needs to be manufactured,” Betz said. 

Betz doesn’t put much stock in the touted energy 

efficiencies of new appliances, either. “When you look 

deeper, they’re made of flimsy materials and typically 

last less than ten years,” he said. “When we see them 

here at Appliance Depot, they are rarely worth 

repairing. We need to shift our thinking to designing 

and manufacturing that is not only energy efficient 

in use, but has a long lifespan and can be repaired. 

Planned obsolescence is not a sustainable practice.” 

As consumers we have to stop perceiving broken 

items as trash, he said, especially when it comes to 

appliances. “When we take people’s broken appliances 

and give them new life, we’re offering purchasers 

something that’s affordable, reliable and guaranteed 

by us. That appliance also enables us to provide job 

training services to low-income residents, so we 

regard it as treasure.” 

Collecting old appliances is one of Appliance Depot’s 

challenges, but the nonprofit is grateful to have secured 

a partnership with Home Depot in Bellingham. “Some 

of their take-backs are set aside for us and we so 

appreciate these donations,” Betz said. “We hope that 

Home Depot’s model of community support opens 

doors to other retailers doing the same.” 


what’s going up? 

Everything Old 

Is New Again 

Classic architecture meets upscale hotel 

properties around Washington 

written by Sheila G. Miller 

WALLA WALLA 

Visitors to Walla Walla will have a four-star hotel 

to look forward to when the Penrose Walla Walla 

opens in 2019. The project, overseen by Stephen Day 

Architecture, will transform the National Registerlisted 

Odd Fellows building and a large addition on 

Mill Creek near Whitman College into a hotel with 

132 rooms, event spaces, a music venue, a penthouse 

swimming pool and rooftop terraces. 

PORT TOWNSEND 

Another Stephen Day Architecture project 

expected to transform a historic area is the waterfront 

redevelopment in Port Townsend. The project will 

update the 1890 Hastings Building and add a new 

building near the pier that will have a hotel, restaurant 

and ferry terminal. The project will also replace the 

pier, which has been damaged over the years in a 

series of storms. Day said the project is slated to be 

finished in 2020. 

The Penrose Walla Walla will 

open in 2019 with 132 rooms. 


Find Wonder. Everywhere You Look. 

Spring in the San Juan Islands is always new. Clear mornings and lingering sunsets. 

And always the magic of orca whales in the sparkling waters they call home. Come to 

the islands for your spring break getaway and be wonder-fi lled. 

INSPIRATION FOR THE SENSES 

VisitSanJuans.com 

Lopez Island • Orcas Island • San Juan Island / Friday Harbor 

SJIVB_2018_1889WashMag_HalfPage_final.indd 1 

2/20/18 8:51 AM 

D I S C O V 

E R 

M UKI L T E O 

Lighthouse Park 

www.discovermukilteo.org 

Whidbey Island Ferry Japanese Gulch Trails Harbour Pointe Golf Course Paine Field Aerospace Museums

what i’m working on 

Mona Ghandi, a WSU professor, 

recently won a Vilcek Prize for 

Creative Promise. 

What I’m Working On 

What Has Your House 

Done for You Lately? 

Mona Ghandi is working across disciplines 

to make architecture more adaptive 

interview by Sheila G. Miller 

WHAT IF YOUR apartment could change the lighting, window size 

or wall configuration depending on your mood? Mona Ghandi 

wants to make that a reality. 

Ghandi was born in Iran and earned her bachelor’s and master’s 

degrees in architecture from Tehran University. In 2012, she earned 

another master’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, 

and is now an associate professor of architecture and design at 

Washington State University. Most recently she received a Vilcek 

Prize for Creative Promise, which is given to young immigrants who 

are showing signs of being high achievers in fields like biomedical 

science and the arts. 

Her focus is in computational design and compassionate 

spaces—more on that later. In a word, she wants buildings to 

change depending on what their users need. The building, 

she believes, should be more of a living organism that can 

adapt as necessary, especially for people who might need 

a little extra help making their environment work for them. 


what i’m working on 

In layman’s terms, what is 

computational design? 

Computational design looks at how 

we design a building. Rather than just 

being involved in the geometry and 

shape of the place and the building, 

we can encode a set of instructions 

and let that generate a design. 

Computational design is a change of 

medium, from geometry to logic. We 

use coding, computer language, to 

enhance a space. 

I believe computational design can 

provide diverse aspirations—artistic 

expression, efficiency, a scientific 

approach in the design. It can also 

help to optimize the building practice 

based on its parameters. It can help 

you evaluate before you start building, 

so it prevents mistakes and saves 

a lot of money. And it helps in the 

sustainability approach—you can 

analyze and simulate the environment 

and make an informed decision before 

you start building. 

You speak a lot about building 

compassionate spaces. What does 

that mean and how does it manifest 

itself in your work? 

This is truly my motivator. I am 

interested in the idea of how we 

can make a building concerned with 

healing—both the user and society’s 

well-being. So, the strategy changes 

from a rigid architectural structure to a 

transformable structure that takes into 

account an individual’s emotions and 

feelings. This combines architecture, 

computer science, materials science, 

robotics and psychology. 

It’s the idea that spaces can have 

empathy, that they can heal and 

empower the user by understanding 

and accommodating the user’s needs. 

That can happen with a chance in the 

shape of the building’s environment, 

for example. Whatever the user wants, 

the building will act accordingly and it 

will make the user feel better. 

How does that work, exactly? 

The building would be able to 

make changes based on user 

Ghandi is focused on creating spaces that adapt to users’ needs. 

behavior. Currently we are gathering 

neurological and biofeedback data, 

things like heart rates, brain waves, 

blood pressure, electromagnetic 

charges in the body, to create smart 

data. The idea is, ‘How can the 

synapses in the brain trigger changes 

in the building?’ Maybe we can make 

the user and the building into a single 

entity and dissolve the boundaries. 

We are collecting that data and then 

finding materials that can respond in 

kind, so that structure needs to be 

kinetic and transformable and be able 

to perform some configuration— 

moving back and forth, opening 

and closing. 

It seems like this work would 

be perfect to assist people with 

disabilities. 

That’s the whole purpose—to move 

toward democratizing buildings. My 

research tries to provide access to 

underrepresented people who have 

always been limited to the final design 

of a building environment without 

taking into account their preferences 

or needs. This works for two groups 

of people—those with disabilities 

like a spinal cord injury who cannot 

move, those who are not disabled but 

are having a hard time taking care of 

some stuff becuase of their ages, and 

then some are disabled mentally— 

they can’t communicate or express 

feelings and emotions. What we’re 

trying to do is give them more control 

over their environment. 

And how does that work? 

We collect data from the user. For 

those with physical disabilities, the 

user would have the opportunity to 

control the structure just by looking at 

it. So you move your head, or your eye, 

and they can open or close a window 

that way. They can change the size 

or location of the window, a wall can 

transform to offer a desk or to offer a 

table or shelves, and when needed it 

will go back to the neutral wall. 

The other group we gather is 

emotional data—the building can 

guess your mood or feeling by your 

tone of voice, your heart rate, your 

body temperature and make changes 

accordingly. And then these changes 

in the space could be used as a 

communicative tool for parents or 

others, and the building could be used 

to change or improve your mood. 


my workspace 

CoMotion Labs, based at the University of 

Washington, is dedicated to the high-tech 

startup community. Members can be from 

anywhere in the state. The lab’s mission is 

to expand the economic, societal impact of 

the community and help innovators make 

the biggest impact with their discoveries. 

There are three CoMotion Labs around the 

University of Washington campus area. 

The group also operates a virtual space in 

Spokane. Each lab has an industry cluster as 

its focus—one offers a focus on health care 

and biotech engineering, others virtual reality 

and augmented reality, and IT, software and 

artificial intelligence development. 

Associate director Elizabeth Scallon 

runs the labs and also does much of 

the legwork surrounding partnerships, 

strategic vision and identifying new 

startups for CoMotion to work with. 

Scallon has a graduate degree in global 

business and previously worked for 

a small biotech company called 

VLST that grew from an accelerator 

and in turn incubated more biotech 

companies in the area. 

My Workspace 

Start It Up 

CoMotion Labs is a high-tech startup’s best friend 



my workspace 

Conrado Tapado 

The space first opened in 2012. By 2013, twelve 

startups were being developed through the labs. 

Today there are about ninety-five in the program. 

“We provide space and a learning network and 

services to help the startup community in that 

early phase,” Scallon said. “We help them as 

they go on their journey to scale up.” Two of 

the more successful startups to come out of 

CoMotion Labs include Turi, a machine learning 

company that was acquired by Apple for about 

$200 million, and Vicis, which has developed 

technology in athletes’ helmets that can reduce 

concussions by absorbing the impact. Or take 

M3 Biotechnology, which has a technology in 

phase-one clinical trials for the treatment of 

Alzheimer’s. That technology was developed at 

Washington State University and the startup 

was incubated at CoMotion Labs. 

Matt Hagen 

More than half the people developing 

startups through CoMotion Labs are 

from outside UW. “What I think is great 

about that is, we have these startups 

throughout the entire community and 

they hire UW interns or grads to be part 

of their startup full time, and then the 

startup also has opportunities to join 

in with different professors on campus 

and to develop capstone projects for 

which students can apply.” 

The group also operates a maker space available 

to the public, who can borrow a tool or participate 

in workshops. There are education and training 

programs free and open to the public, as well as 

available through live-streaming on YouTube. 

“It’s great, because when you have a mission of 

economic development you can take a broad view 

rather than a very singular view,” Scallon said. 


game changer 

“Even though we 

make fiction for a 

living, the truth is 

really important.” 

—Shanna Germain 

Acceptance, Inclusion and Truth 

No Thank You, Evil, a children’s game created by Monte Cook 

Games, is used by schools to help children confront issues. 

Monte Cook Games is creating positive 

change through core values 

written by Gina Williams 

FROM THEIR CREATIVE PERCH in the wild garden that is 

northern Washington, Monte Cook and Shanna Germain are busy 

creating new worlds and changing the real world—for the better. 

The duo founded Monte Cook Games in 2012 with business 

partner Charles Ryan, who is based in Kansas City, Kansas. The 

company develops and produces some of today’s most innovative 

tabletop roleplaying games 

From the beginning, Germain said, they built core values 

into their company that put diversity, inclusivity and truth at the 

forefront of their business practices, employee relations and product 

development. 

“We started the company as human beings and we included those 

core values into company structure because they are our own core 

values as human beings,” Germain said. “At some point we realized 

we wanted to put those on the page.” 

“In our products, in the events we support, and in the gaming 

spaces we strive to create, we welcome people from all walks of 

life, all genders and orientations, all religions and cultures, and all 

ethnicities,” the company’s values credo states in part. “Although 

fantasy is our business, we recognize that we can’t be good stewards 

of that business if we make decisions based on fantasy. Our 

employees, our families, our Kickstarter backers, our fans, and our 

future all depend on vision and aspiration built upon a foundation 

of fact.” 

How do the company’s stated values reveal themselves 

in products? 

“We do a lot of art that reflects diversity. And we are very 

careful with language,” Germain said. “Our games give players 

tools to encourage individuality without shame, and we create 

characters in our novels that are gay, gender-neutral and people 

of color, for example.” 

Traditionally, she said, the world of tabletop roleplaying games 

and electronic games was a white male place. That’s changing, 

Germain added, but when there’s change, there can be pushback. 

That’s not an issue for Monte Cook Games. Both Germain and 

Cook said they welcome the challenges. 

The company also produced No Thank You, Evil, a wildly 

successful children’s game that is also popular with general 

audiences and is used by schools and organizations like Kirklandbased 

“Game To Grow” to help children work through grief and 

other difficult issues. 

“We are all searching for safe havens,” Germain said, adding 

that more and more people from all walks of life who never felt 

comfortable entering the gaming world—and especially roleplaying 

games—are emboldened to join the ranks and love the experience. 

“And we’re seeing such diversity at game conventions and in 

other arenas,” she said. “That’s positive growth.” 

As for what’s next, Germain, an award-winning writer, is 

working on a game-related novel that will come out next year. 

Cook, also a writer and well-known creator and game designer, 

said the company is finalizing production of a new tabletop game 

called Invisible Sun, expected out in May, that he described as 

surreal fantasy, filled with magic and wonder that focuses on 

personal change and growth. 

“Most of all, it’s a game about escaping the real world for a short 

while and enjoying experiences in a very different realm,” Cook 

said. “And I think we can all enjoy a little escape right now.” 


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14 SHOWROOMS THROUGHOUT WASHINGTON 

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Outward 

Bound 

THREE HOMES DESIGNED TO GET AWAY FROM IT ALL 


FROM ISLAND BEACHES to rainforests to mountain meadows, 

this state has a lot to lure us outside the city limits. Step inside 

three houses that offer a stylish respite from urban life. 



Benjamin Benschneider 

Longbranch 

THE STORIED FOREST CABIN 

OF AN ESTEEMED ARCHITECT 


AT LEFT Windows in the Olson cabin blur the boundary of 

inside and out. 

CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT Walls at the cabin 

feature plywood and recycled boards. The modern building 

started as a cabin in 1912. Two guest rooms were added in a 

recent remodel. 

JIM OLSON’S ARCHITECTURAL training began in the woods. In 1966, 

the architect founded the Seattle-based Olson Kundig, a firm that has since 

expanded and is long respected for its contributions to modern Pacific 

Northwest architecture (updating the Space Needle is a recent commission). But 

Olson grew up tramping through the forest that surrounds his family’s waterside 

cottage on the South Puget Sound. “There, I started noticing things, like the verticality 

of the fir trees or the curve of the madrone trees—how the straight line of one plays off 

the curve of the other,” Olson said. Such observations proved to have lasting impact. 

“The things from this place that I noticed as a child are still playing out in my work as 

an architect today,” Olson said. 

His grandparents, both avid hikers, built their getaway in 1912, when the only 

access to the land was via ferry from Tacoma and a rowboat. Years later, in 1959, 

Olson’s father gave the first-year architecture student $500 and a request to build 

a bunkhouse to accommodate overflow guests. Olson erected a 14x14-foot cabin 

elevated on stilts in the forested hillside. “That was the start of my philosophy as 

an architect in doing things that are not about themselves but are about creating an 

experience for the people inhabiting them,” Olson said. “In this case, it was about 

being in nature.” 

Unfortunately, his grandparents’ cottage was destroyed by fire in the next year. 

Olson’s tiny bunkhouse then underwent a series of remodels over the ensuing 

decades. In 1981, a bedroom and bathroom were added as separate units linked by 

outdoor catwalks. In 2003, a roof was incorporated to “knit all the rooms together.” In 

2014, the cabin received a revamped principle suite and two guest rooms. “First it was 

a bunkhouse for friends, then an experimental retreat for a young couple and family, 

and now it’s a quiet place for contemplation and creative work,” Olson said. 

Throughout the renovations, Olson never lost sight of the home’s original intent: to 

bring its occupants closer to nature. Now, copious windows blur the boundaries 

between inside and out. Light walls “sheathed in plywood and recycled boards” 


“I started noticing things, like the verticality of the fir trees or the 

curve of the madrone trees—how the straight line of one plays off 

the curve of the other. The things from this place that I noticed as a 

child are still playing out in my work as an architect today.” 

— JIM OLSON 

evoke fir bark and the nearby 

beach’s driftwood. A private 

deck off the principle suite 

produces a treehouse effect. “You 

feel as though you are sitting in the 

trees with the birds and squirrels at 

eye level,” Olson said. 

With every remodel, the 

previous structure was carefully 

integrated with the new, instead 

of demolished. Old walls visibly 

connect with new walls. Exterior 

decks skirt mature trees, with one 

canopy extending through the 

roof. In this way, the cabin acts 

as a chronicle of Olson’s creative 

practice over the decades, as 

well as a testament to his family’s 

history in such a beautiful, natural 

spot. “You can see and feel all 

those layers of history,” he said. 

“Each iteration of the cabin marks 

a point of evolution not only 

in my personal life, but in my 

architectural career.” 

Get the 

Look 

East Cascades 

A CENTURY-OLD BARN RETROFITTED 

INTO A CITY ESCAPE 

ABOUT A DECADE AGO, a Seattle couple fell in love with a dilapidated 

barn on a few hundred acres in the eastern foothills of the Cascade 

Mountains and decided to transform it into their city escape. Upon seeing 

the barn, Matt King of the Mercer Island-based King Construction knew he was 

looking at a challenge. “The structure was over a hundred years old and looked 

like it would blow over in a windstorm,” he said. The building’s age was both a 

burden and a blessing. Having sat unused for more than thirty years, the barn was 

uninhabitable as it stood, but that vintage personality was just what the new owners 

sought to preserve. “It was interesting because it was in such a state of disrepair, but 

the owners were so excited about turning it into a house,” King said. The question 

became, how to retain the building’s appeal and make it structurally sound and 

livable? King joined up with MW Works Architecture and Nelleen Berlin Interior 

Design to discover the answers. 

Reuse became a key component to the project, starting with the exterior shell. All 

of the framing material—including the siding, studs, floorboards and joists—was 

stripped off and saved, leaving the roof and some of the skeleton intact. Then the 

team installed a new foundation, framework, insulation and drywall. The salvaged 

wood was then reapplied to the interior walls, “so when you’re inside the space, 

everything you see is authentic,” King said. 

That recycling ethos continues throughout the interior’s design. “Basically, the 

story behind it was, ‘What if a farmer came across this barn and wanted to turn it 

into a house?’” King said. “How would he go about doing that? By using raw, 

natural materials that were laying around the farm.” To that end, a cattle-milking 

1 Outdoor grilling is a summer must. The 

fire pits from Hotspot, located in Twisp, 

let you assemble s’mores in utilitarian 

style. The steel-footed basins come in a 

range of sizes, from the 24-inch round 

Chico model to the super-sized Jefe, which 

clocks in at 48 inches. Marshmallows not 

included. 

hotspotfirepits.com 

2 The Seattle-based painter and potter 

Jose Melchor is influenced by Japanese 

and Korean ceramic traditions when 

shaping his mugs and tea ware on 

the wheel. His one-of-a-kind creations 

embrace drips and imperfections in the 

glaze, for a finish that’s both elegant and 

eye-catching. 

etsy.me/2FTksxg 

3 Whether you’re after a classic farm 

table, an elegant Stickley spindle chair, or 

a pie safe, The Shaker Craftsman has 

you covered. The family-run woodworking 

studio in Yakima uses a variety of 

wood species to make all of its custom 

furnishings by hand, right down to the 

dovetails on drawers. 

theshakercraftsman.com 


Wood salvaged from the framing material 

was reapplied to interior walls, giving the 

barn an authentic feel. 

Tim Bies 

1 

2 

3 

4 After spending fifteen years working as a freelance 

designer, Jonathan Baker moved 3,000 miles to 

Twisp and set up eqpd (pronounced “equipped”), a 

reusable bag company. The product line, designed 

and manufactured at TwispWorks, features durable 

and streamlined bags that will “live long and carry 

lots.” We like the hardy Log Tote, which is fashioned 

from coated fabric with a tear strength of 90 pounds. 

eqpdgear.com 

4 


“Basically, the 

story behind it was, 

‘What if a farmer 

came across this 

barn and wanted 

to turn it into a 

house?’ How would 

he go about doing 

that? By using raw, 

natural materials 

that were laying 

around the farm.” 

— MATT KING 

CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT The revamped barn, 

nestled in the Cascade foothills. A feature wall 

incorporates old apple crates found around the 

property. The fireplace was made from steel drums. 

station was taken apart and reassembled to create the framework for a 

mudroom. The old meat locker door now provides entry to the wine cellar. A 

hog-wire chandelier dangles from a track previously used to move hay, and a feature 

wall is comprised of a mélange of apple crates once stacked in the barn or found in 

the meadow. 

New materials were carefully inserted into the mix so as to flow well with the old. 

The former hayloft opening was glassed in. Wood stair stringers and treads were 

sprayed with a mixture of water, vinegar, steel wool and rusty nails, for instant patina. 

A local fabricator constructed fireplaces from steel drums, and they’re affixed with 

hardware that came off an abandoned tractor. 

Striking just the right balance between old and new was integral to fulfilling the 

homeowners’ vision—and you need only look up to see the team’s success. At the 

ceiling, there are glimpses of the original galvanized steel roof and shingles. That’s 

because a key decision was to blanket that roof with a new layer of Cor-ten steel, so 

as to keep the building’s distinctive silhouette—and character—intact. Said King: 

“There was no other way to create the feeling of that old barn.” 

Photos by Tim Bies 


TACOMA: CLEVER URBAN INFILL 

A few years ago, Cady Chintis and John Wolters decided 

to build the type of housing they had often looked for 

but rarely found in their hometown of Tacoma. When 

searching for a rental, the co-founders of WC Studio, 

an architecture agency, discovered a problem of scale, 

popularly termed the “missing middle,” Chintis said. 

“There are not that many options that are somewhere 

in between a single-family home or a large apartment 

building.” So in 2015, they designed and built a modern 

take on a fourplex. The result, dubbed the Prospect, is 

located on a typical 25x100-foot lot between an alley and 

a street in a mixed-use center. Early on, the architects 

realized that constructing a single building would block 

the sunlight to the neighbor’s south-facing windows, 

so they split the plex into two structures with a shared 

courtyard nestled in-between. Each building houses a 

ground-floor studio with a two-bedroom apartment 

above. A mix of off-the-shelf and custom materials, such 

as IKEA kitchen cabinets and bespoke light fixtures, make 

for sleek and uncluttered interiors, while the communal 

greenspace encourages people to come together. 

Kelly Nowels 

Washington 

Rising 

SUPERIOR URBAN 

HOUSING ACROSS 

THE STATE 

SPOKANE: CHIC LOFTS IN A 

HISTORIC DOWNTOWN BUILDING 

HDG Architecture has been reinventing a 1905 brick building 

in downtown Spokane’s theater district, one square foot at a 

time. Starting in 2012, the firm tackled the first floor, eventually 

replacing a defunct restaurant and old shoe store with two new 

restaurant destinations, Fire Artisan Pizza and Nudo, respectively. 

In 2016, it was the second floor’s turn. It had been fitfully 

remodeled over the years and previously housed a dance studio. 

Upon walking through the space, architects Armando Hurtado 

and Josh Hissong saw past the layers of dropped ceilings 

and uninspired finishes to envision four chic loft apartments, 

called the Mystery Lofts. In short order, the space was gutted 

and the historical building’s inherent charm revealed. “We 

left as much of the original structure as exposed as possible,” 

Hissong said. The resulting units now possess brick walls with 

a whitewash finish, crosshatch trusses that soar overhead, 

and restored 10-foot-high arched windows. Thanks to interior 

designer Hannah Mackin, those features mesh with a simple, 

contemporary palette, like Silestone counters and flat-front 

cabinets, to capture that elusive, sought-after urban loft vibe. 

Tony Roslund Photography 

SEATTLE: THE CITY’S FIRST 

PASSIVE HOUSE TOWNHOMES 

Clad in a mix of reclaimed wood, charcoal Shou Sugi Ban cedar 

and painted cement board, from the outside the View Haus 

5 townhomes could pass for just the usual stylish Seattle 

housing. But upon closer inspection, this Madison Park 

development boasts some serious green building cred. In 2014, 

View Haus 5 became the city’s first townhomes designed and 

built to Passive House standards. Buildings constructed to the 

Passive House paradigm provide peak energy efficiency, relying 

on features like airtight construction, copious insulation, uberefficient 

doors and windows and advanced mechanical systems 

to deliver major savings. The challenge behind View Haus 

5, which was helmed by b9 Architects and pioneering green 

builder Cascade Built, was achieving those goals on a steep and 

narrow city lot. The team succeeded and then repeated the 

effort, combining modern design with Passive House principles 

in an even bigger project in 2016: a cluster of ten townhomes, 

called SolHaus, in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. 

Aaron Leitz Photography

Will Austin 


Photos by Will Austin 

Orcas Island 

AN ARCHITECT CREATES AN ELEGANT 

RETREAT FOR HIS MOM 

W 

HEN MARIE GLADWISH was 17 years old and living on the east coast, 

she took a summer cruise to tour the San Juan Islands. Upon arriving at 

Orcas Island for the first time, she had a surprising and heady reaction, 

despite having never seen the place before. “I got very welled up and felt like I was 

coming home,” she said. She decided she would someday live on the island. Decades 

later, she made good on that promise. 

Gladwish bought 7 acres on the island in the late ’90s while still living on the east 

coast, where she worked as a graphic designer. With retirement approaching, she 

partnered up with her son, the Seattle-based architect Gary Gladwish, to design and 

build a home that would connect her to the spectacular location that so struck her as 

an adolescent. “She didn’t want the house to be an imposition on the site,” Gary said. 

“She wanted to have a roof over her in nature, almost like she’s outside all the time.” 

His answering design is a seamless union between the home and its natural setting. 

To start, Gary kept the exterior form simple, essentially merging two boxes into 

an L-shape. The long walkway to the front door borders a yard that Gladwish 

landscaped with moss-covered rocks, burgeoning ferns and a small pond. “A 

relaxed, Zen-feeling comes over me,” she said of the approach to the entry. Through 

a 10-foot-tall pivoting glass door, one immediately glimpses an indoor moss garden 

lit by a skylight above. Beyond the garden, a floor-to-ceiling window beckons the eye 

back outside to tall trees silhouetted against the distant water. “I didn’t want to just 

enter into a room since the view and the landscape is so important there,” Gary said. 

“I wanted it to be a gentle transition from the outside to the inside.” 

Nature’s presence continues to be felt in every room. “The landscape flows through 

the house,” Gary said. In a bedroom, a horizontal band of windows frames Gladwish’s 

rock garden in the front. In the kitchen, a single glass door acts as a lens zooming 

in on the nearby tree trunks and underbrush. In the living room, retractable glass 

panels wrap a corner of the house to convey panoramic views. When the doors are 

pulled open in fine weather, the living room virtually becomes an outdoor pavilion. 

“I feel as though I can just soar off into the view,” Gladwish said. 

The limited-materials palette never detracts from the house’s main purpose. On 

the exterior, Cor-ten steel and reclaimed wood, two of Gladwish’s favorite materials, 

are more textural than showy. Inside, simple white walls, exposed steel and acidetched 

concrete floors create the perfect backdrop to appreciate the house’s various 

perspectives of the island’s beauty. From the micro to macro, moss gardens to 

soaring vistas, the effect is both relaxing and exhilarating for Marie. “Mom giggles 

every time she goes home,” Gary said. “She loves it.” 

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP The living room features 

retractable glass panels. The home is a simple 

L shape. In the kitchen, simple white walls and 

exposed steel keep the focus on nature. 

AT LEFT An indoor moss garden is lit by a skylight. 


THE DEATH 

SUSTA 


OF 

An emerging regenerative ethic is 

taking on more and staying net positive 


INABILITY 

illustrated by Allison Bye 

SUSTAINABILITY IS DEAD. 

German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche led us out of the Age of 

Enlightenment, with the declaration in his philosophical novel Thus 

Spoke Zarathustra, “God is dead.” Emerging voices in architecture and 

design today are trumpeting a new execution—Sustainability is Dead. 

A nascent movement called “regenerative design” is pushing a higher standard 

and becoming an ideal that could save the world from itself. 

Cork floors? No-VOC paint? Reclaimed 

barn wood? No longer is the act of doing less 

environmental harm good enough. As earthlings 

overseeing global environmental degradation, we 

may be too far gone for that. Regenerative design 

demands that each building project actually 

improve the environment and, perhaps, even 

boost human well-being, a more elusive goal. 

When the concept of sustainable development 

first surfaced in earnest, it came from a 

Norwegian woman. In 1987, the Brundtland 

Commission released its watershed report, 

Our Common Future, to the United Nations. 

Led by the former longstanding Norwegian 

prime minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland, the 

commission defined sustainable development 

as that which meets the needs of the present 

without compromising the needs of future 

generations. That notion would see minor 

facelifts over the next generation, but largely 

stayed intact over the years. 

Regenerative development goes beyond this 

lesser standard of not compromising the needs 

of future generations. Its goal is the ambitious 

task of improving the prospects for future 

generations, making net positive gains. 

Phaedra Svec is the director of regenerative 

design at Seattle’s McLennan Design. She grew 

up in rural Iowa, where her family restored a 

barren farm plot to health. “It was there that 

I first understood if you invite life to barren 

places, it will always show up (a regenerative 

concept),” Svec said. “We participated 

with our place, took responsibility for 

its health, and it allowed us to thrive 

there (another regenerative concept).” 


CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT Heron Hall, on Bainbridge 

Island, is a 3,200-square-foot solar-powered building. 

It features rammed-earth walls. The University of 

British Columbia’s Center for Interactive Research on 

Sustainability (CIRS) includes a living wall, which helps 

shade the building. Solar water-heating cylinders at CIRS. 

The Brundtland concept of sustainability, 

Svec said, fails because humans are not good 

at predicting the needs of future generations. 

“Sustainability is about surviving, not 

thriving,” she said. “So, how do we inspire 

our communities to act in their own best 

interest and in service to life if they are in 

survival mode? I believe regenerative design 

is an approach which heals our community 

trauma and harnesses the best of our 

creative energy to allow us to leap, skip and 

catapult to quality-of-life solutions that 

restore, repair and invite life to thrive before 

our very eyes.” 

Regenerative design is a comprehensive 

plan that aspires for positive outcomes 

across social, economic and ecological 

systems, rolled together. “Regenerative 

design is not a style or a building or a thing 

at all,” according to Svec. Rather, she said, 

it’s a mindset that asks, “What can we do to 

make something better, more vital than the 

state we find it in from the outset?” 

Foremost among regenerative design’s 

pieces is human and wildlife well-being. Can 

it be improved by the act of development? 

Given the significant amount of time people 

spend indoors today, an ongoing connection 

to nature is crucial for ongoing health in a 

regenerative environment. 

Next are the systems involved—from water 

quality to wastewater management, energy 

generation and pollution remediation. In 

a house built under today’s green building 

ethic, we will find solar arrays for hot water 

heat, passive solar for light and ambient 

heat, low-flush toilets to reduce water use 

and sustainably harvested materials to avert 

bad forestry practices. We’ve created a nice 

home for ourselves, but not made the world 

a net better place for our effort. 

The regenerative portfolio of options 

goes beyond these with human experience 

research, rain capture for complete 

water use, composting toilets, carbon 

sequestration, living walls and roofs, and net 

positive energy production per project. 

Daniel Banko 


Don Erhardt Don Erhardt Emily Hagopian 

“Sustainability is about surviving, not thriving. So, how do 

we inspire our communities to act in their own best interest 

and in service to life if they are in survival mode? I believe 

regenerative design is an approach which heals our community 

trauma and harnesses the best of our creative energy to allow 

us to leap, skip and catapult to quality-of-life solutions that 

restore, repair and invite life to thrive before our very eyes.” 

—Phaedra Svec 

WITHIN MCLENNAN Design’s 

portfolio are a number of 

examples of the state of 

regenerative projects today. 

Take, for example, the home 

of McLennan Design founder Jason 

McLennan. Heron Hall on Bainbridge 

Island is a 3,200-square-foot solar-powered 

building with rammed-earth walls and the 

area’s first certified composting toilets. 

This project has earned a Living Building 

Certification, meaning it has to create more 

energy than it uses; harvest, use and treat 

all water it uses, and salvage and re-use 

materials destined for landfills. 

The house is a beacon of regenerative 

design on a small scale. For the new 

development ethic to succeed, however, 

the bigger community of municipalities, 

commercial builders and universities must 

also be engaged. 

Another McLennan project that goes 

deeper into human wellbeing is that of 

the Warriors’ Ascent project, a retreat 

for active-duty military, veterans and first 

responders who suffer from post-traumatic 

stress disorder. Through design and holistic 

medicine, this prospective healing center 

on 116 acres in Kansas City, Missouri, 

intermingles research, design, architecture 

and nature in a program that aims to help 

people strengthen themselves and their ties 

to family and community. 

One test piece from the University of 

British Columbia brings together many of 

the elements of regenerative design in a 

commercial building that houses its Center 

for Interactive Research on Sustainability 

(CIRS). A concept led by Dr. John 

Robinson, then the executive director of the 

sustainability initiative at UBC, CIRS is the 

collegiate benchmark for a living laboratory 

of regenerative design. 

The concept was born in 1999, when he 

was talking to colleagues at the institute, 

recalled Robinson, now presidential adviser 

on the environment, climate change and 

sustainability at University of Toronto. “We 

talked about doing all of this research but 

not putting it into practice. So we said, ‘Why 

don’t we build a building at the frontier 

of sustainability? Well, because faculty 

don’t build buildings.’” Robinson and his 

colleagues, nonetheless, raised about $25 

million before the university contributed its 

first dollar, Robinson said. 

This project would be designed to move 

beyond net-zero energy use to net-positive 

energy creation and the more nebulous 

net-positive human health. “It was always 

inevitable that it would happen—it was 

just a small circle who knew that at the 

start,” Robinson said with a laugh. “It just 

wasn’t exciting enough to be net zero. We 

were trying to create something that was 

net positive.” 

The group of architects, designers, 

engineers and sustainability practitioners 

threw everything on the table and 

researched and analyzed each aspect of the 

building—from water reclamation 

to human behavior. “We ended up 

with ten goals and 150 strategies,” 

Robinson said. “We all agreed that 


62 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE APRIL | MAY 2018 

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA’S 

CENTER FOR INTERACTIVE RESEARCH 

ON SUSTAINABILITY (CIRS)

the basic principles were three—this had to be smart 

[cost-conscious], green [net positive] and humane.” 

The four-story, 61,000-square-foot frame of the 

CIRS building is largely composed of Canadian timber, 

including from Western Beetle-infested stands. The 

building’s water demand is offset by captured rain 

water. CIRS can purify up to 2,300 liters of water per 

day and accounts for 600 tons of sequestered carbon. 

Its 275-megawatt solar array supplies excess power. 

(For measure, one megawatt can power more than 500 

residential homes for a year.) 

Robinson noted that while many of the building’s 

objectives were met, it fell short in two categories— 

water quality and energy production goals. 

Nonetheless, CIRS is a living laboratory where 

theses are tested and rejected or embraced for future 

development. The result is a tome of research and 

practice from which tomorrow’s regenerative leaders 

will emerge at the university. “From a living lab point 

of view, we learned a ton that we now use in different 

projects,” Robinson said. 

WHY IS THE regenerative movement 

getting its legs now? One argument is that 

climate change is making us all lobsters in 

a pot whose temperature (and urgency) 

is slowly rising. We are increasingly 

witnessing the effects of environmental degradation 

and global warming. NASA and NOAA reported that 

seventeen of the eighteen warmest years in the 136- 

year history of that recorded data have all occurred 

since 2001, with the exception of 1998. Sustaining this 

is equivalent to locking in heightened greenhouse gas 

levels and long-term failure. 

It’s also no coincidence that a New York Times 

bestseller in 2017 was Drawdown: The Most 

Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global 

Warming. This book, edited by environmentalist Paul 

Hawken, examines 100 ways we can reverse manmade 

greenhouse gas levels and restore the natural order 

of things. 

While success is a piecemeal story in this 

movement, ultimately its edges have to overlap global 

boundaries in one defense shield. In South Africa at 

University of Pretoria’s department of agriculture, 

Professor Chrisna du Plessis is seeding regenerative 

sustainability. She got involved in this field because 

she was an optimist with a good imagination. “I could 

see the world was taking a direction that would lead us 

off an evolutionary cliff if we we did not dramatically 

change our values and practices,” du Plessis said. “And 

watching the global ‘us’ continue to hurtle down this 

path at a growing pace certainly leads to moments of 

Martin Dee Don Erhardt 

existential despair. However, I chose to do something 

about it in whatever way I could, so you could say I 

chose the path of hope.” 

In the late 1990s, du Plessis began writing articles, 

speaking at conferences and producing books on 

the subject. In her latest book, Designing for Hope: 

Pathways to Regenerative Sustainability, du Plessis 

offers a hopeful perspective that uses science and 

optimism to refute doom-sayers. 

“It is true that the longer we stay on the current 

path, the fewer the available options that would lead to 

a positive outcome,” du Plessis noted. “But as thinkers 

like Paul Hawken, [Belgian technologist] Michel 

Bauwens and [self-described ‘de-growth activist’] 

Charles Eisenstein point out—we have everything we 

need to choose a different path. What is holding us 

back is our fear of change, our own path dependency.” 

Regenerative sustainability is a lofty goal, but is it 

achievable? “I think it is,” Robinson said. “I think it’s 

happening now.” 

MORE ONLINE 

Watch The Regenerates, a documentary produced by 

Chrisna du Plessis: vimeo.com/phlogiston/theregenerates 

FROM TOP The 

CIRS building is a 

living laboratory of 

regenerative design. 

Dr. John Robinson 

led the push to build 

the facility. 


HIGHER GROUND 

photography by Cameron Zegers 

STEP INTO WASHINGTON’S temperate rainforest. 

TreeHouse Point, in Fall City, is only a half hour 

from Seattle, but it couldn’t feel farther away from 

the hustle and bustle of city life. The bed-andbreakfast 

property, with six hand-hewn tree houses 

and a small lodge, is the brain child of Pete Nelson. 

Nelson purchased the property in 2005, after nearly 

a lifetime of building tree houses. Since building 

his first tree house on the site, Temple of the Blue 

Moon, he’s added five more. And he’s also started 

a company, Nelson Tree House and Supply, which 

offers workshops and sells the tools and units 

necessary to build your own at home. 

Temple of the Blue Moon was Nelson’s first project 

on the site, and is accessed by a suspension bridge. 



FROM LEFT The Burl, the most recently built tree house on 

the site, curls around a huge fir tree. Trillium is a two-story 

tree house, 16 feet up in the air in a cedar tree. 


LEFT Bonbibi has a covered deck that allows you to sit among the 

trees even in bad weather. 

AT RIGHT 1) A sign directs visitors to each of the tree houses on the 

property. 2) As the newest tree house, The Burl is the only one to offer 

indoor plumbing. 3) Nest has a large deck allowing views of the river. 

4) Upper Pond is the largest tree house on the property, with a ship’s 

ladder access and room for up to four people to sleep over. 


1 2 

4 

3 


TRAVEL SPOTLIGHT 72 

ADVENTURE 74 

LODGING 76 

TRIP PLANNER 78 

NORTHWEST DESTINATION 82 

pg. 74 

Racers and spectators prepare for the sea kayak 

section of Ski to Sea.

travel spotlight 

Travel Spotlight 

How Does Your 

Garden Grow? 

Ohme Gardens in Wenatchee 

brings the green 


WHEN HERMAN AND RUTH OHME 

bought 40 acres of land in Wenatchee in 

1929, they planned an orchard. But one 

section of the land was so beautiful, with 

its view of the Cascade Mountains and 

the Columbia River, that the pair set to 

building a private garden. 

It was a massive project—transplanting 

trees, hauling buckets of water and 

stone to the site, and turning the area 

into a lush, green landscape. The Ohmes 

planned the gardens to be a private 

family spot, but eventually opened it to 

the public. 

Today, the 9-acre property is owned 

and managed by Chelan County, and 

Ohme Gardens lives on. It’s filled with 

green spots perfect for photo ops and 

breathtaking scenery—look for the 

Hobbit Bench and the Sylvan Pool, or get 

off the beaten path with a walk to two 

other pools or Enchantment Falls. 

A popular wedding site, the park is 

open seven days a week from April 15 to 

October 15. Adults enter for $8, kids 5 

and under are free and 6 to 17 are $4. 


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adventure 

Ski to Sea begins with a 

4-mile cross-country ski. 

Adventure 

RACE DAY: SKI TO SEA 

Feeling the rush from Baker to Bellingham 

written by Corinne Whiting 

TALK TO FOLKS in Bellingham about the annual Ski to Sea event and 

the excitement is palpable. Dubbed the original adventure race, this 

team relay from the Mt. Baker Ski Area to Bellingham Bay comes 

steeped in history (it had its first run in 1973) and enveloped in beauty. 

With a stunning course that winds 

through Washington’s Whatcom County, 

the much-anticipated gathering happens 

annually on the Sunday of Memorial Day 

weekend. It draws racers, spectators and 

tourists from around the globe—and 

culminates in a massive party. “Ski to Sea 

is a truly iconic Northwest event,” race 

director Anna Rankin said. “This May 

will be our forty-sixth year!” 

The race has traditionally featured 

teams of eight competing in seven 

different sports: cross-country ski, 

downhill ski/snowboard, running, road 

bike, canoe (two paddlers), cyclocross 

bike and sea kayak. Beginning this year, 

racers can participate in up to three legs 

(for one team or multiple teams). Teams 

now consist of a minimum of three 

racers and a maximum of eight. 

The 96-mile course breaks down 

like this—a 4-mile cross-country ski 

starts the course, followed by a 2.5- 

mile downhill ski or snowboard. After 

an 8-mile run, racers complete a 42- 

mile bike leg. The fifth leg is a twoperson, 

18.5-mile canoe trip, followed 

by a 14-mile cyclocross bike leg and 

finishing with a 5-mile sea 

kayak journey. 

Bellingham resident Fred 

Schacht has participated six 

TIPS FOR SPECTATORS 

The course runs through the towns 

of Glacier, Maple Falls, Kendall, Everson, 

Lynden and Ferndale, finishing in Bellingham’s 

beautiful Marine Park. Here, 

enthusiastic spectators wait on the beach 

and along the finish-line chute; the festive 

gathering features the Boundary Bay 

beer garden plus local food vendors and 

sponsor booths. 

Attendees will find giveaways, a photo 

booth and merchandise for sale. “By 2 

p.m., the Beer Garden is full and stays 

that way until we close at 7 p.m.,” race 

director Anna Rankin said. During a 5 p.m. 

awards ceremony, the top three teams in 

each division receive plaques. Tip: to avoid 

parking woes, take public transportation or 

ride your bike. A separate festival enlivens 

the town of Fairhaven (eight to ten blocks 

from the finish line). 

TWO OTHER SPOTS FOR SPECTATING: 

Zuanich Park, where the cyclocross to 

kayak hand-off takes place, and Hovander 

Park (technically in Ferndale), where the 

canoe team comes in and the cyclocross 

biker completes a few obstacles before 

riding to Bellingham. Parking can be difficult 

at Zuanich, yet remains plentiful 

at Hovander. 


adventure 

FROM LEFT The race begins with a 4-mile cross-country ski. A maximum of eight people can be on each team. The 5-mile sea kayak finishes the race in Bellingham. 

The 96-mile course breaks down like this—a 4-mile cross-country ski 

starts the course, followed by a 2.5-mile downhill ski or snowboard. 

After an 8-mile run, racers complete a 42-mile bike leg. The fifth leg 

is a two-person, 18.5-mile canoe trip, followed by a 14-mile cyclocross 

bike leg and finishing with a 5-mile sea kayak journey. 

times, always as a runner. “The race is cool for a lot of reasons,” 

he explained, “but the team concept is a big one. Add to that 

the fact that the participants will range from super-novice and 

weekenders to Olympic-caliber athletes.” 

Schacht said the sign-up process is fairly straightforward— 

the team captain goes online to register team members and pay 

the fee. (The registration system, built in-house and tailor-made 

for the race, proves easy for captains and racers to navigate.) 

“Preparation for race day can be significant or absolutely nothing, 

as some people jump on a team at the last minute to cover for 

someone who became injured,” Schacht said. “With that said, lots 

of team participants take the event and the training process very 

seriously. They know they are not going to finish anywhere at the 

top of the stack, but they want to perform their best regardless.” 

“Many people train for months to beat their personal best or 

another team or simply just to finish (a goal for all teams),” Rankin 

said. ”All of the legs are pretty lengthy. I never recommend that 

people do the race without any training, but it does happen.” 

Schacht believes the event showcases what many residents find 

so special about their region: the natural beauty and its accessibility, 

the adventurous lifestyle and commitment to personal fitness. 

“Regardless of how you do,” he said, “the hard work ends and you 

go somewhere to celebrate with your teammates and families, tell 

your war stories, drink some beer.” 

FEBRUARY | MARCH 2018 1889 WASHINGTON’S MAGAZINE 75

ACCOMMODATIONS 

Guest rooms are arranged in clusters of six to ten 

rooms, each a short walk from the other buildings 

on the property. The rooms feature log furniture 

and cozy robes, with several configurations 

(including alcoves and lofts for little ones), as well 

as pet-friendly options. Two stand-alone cabins 

provide great options for a large group (The 

Rookery’s bunkroom can accommodate up to 

eight) or a romantic getaway (The Eyrie features a 

private whirlpool tub and sleeps two). 

Lodging 

Sleeping Lady 


SLEEPING LADY IS NAMED for the mountain profile just 

above Leavenworth. She looks pretty relaxed, and chances 

are as a guest, you will be, too. The resort is nestled into the 

trees and offers cozy and rustic accommodations suitable for 

families, groups and romantic getaways. Although you’re close 

enough to explore Leavenworth’s city center, the natural beauty 

on all sides might give you the space for a true retreat. 

7375 ICICLE ROAD 

LEAVENWORTH 

sleepinglady.com 

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Sleeping Lady has 

a hot pool outdoors. Some rooms have alcoves for 

kids to tuck into. The Kingfisher Restaurant offers 

a locally sourced breakfast buffet. 

DINING 

Most resort reservations include breakfast, 

dinner or both at the onsite Kingfisher 

Restaurant—be sure to check out the Chihuly 

sculpture on your way in. The chef serves a 

locally sourced buffet sure to tickle everyone’s 

taste buds. At the entrance to the resort, you’ll 

find O’Grady’s serving breakfast, lunch and 

dinner, as well as espresso and snacks. If you’re in 

search of a nightcap, check out The Grotto in the 

evenings for beer and wine around the fire circle. 

AMENITIES 

Also on-site, you’ll find a full-service spa, dry 

sauna, fitness room and play barn featuring 

a pool table, board games and table tennis. 

Venture outdoors and take a dip in the natural 

rock-lined swimming pool and hot pool, wander 

through the organic garden, take a self-guided 

art walk, or challenge your friends to volleyball, 

badminton or horseshoes. 


trip planner 

Tracy Ellen Beard Tracy Ellen Beard 

Tracy Ellen Beard 

Andrew Wiese 

Port Townsend 

Witness the resurgence of a Victorian seaport 

written by Tracy Ellen Beard 

IN THE LATE 1800s, city fathers poured their hopes, dreams, sweat and tears into building Port 

Townsend, once the second-busiest seaport on the West Coast. Constructed at the northeasternmost 

point of the Olympic Peninsula and along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, this city sat poised for growth in 

anticipation of the arrival of the Pacific Coast Railroad. 

Alas, to quote the insightful words of Robert Burns, 

“The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” 

Misfortune came upon the city—railroad planners 

bypassed Port Townsend in favor of a route on the east 

side of Puget Sound, and the city’s economy floundered. 

No longer are the streets filled with a parade of top hats, 

corsets and petticoats. The lingering aroma of fish does 

not permeate the air, nor do people line the docks waiting 

to purchase wares from afar. The harbor that once teemed 

with seafaring traffic is now peppered with an assortment 

of recreational vessels. 

Today, the charming Victorian seaport thrives on 

tourism. The city has outstanding dining options, 

luxurious B&Bs and a booming art scene. Historic 

buildings and unique shops create a delightful ambience 

from days gone by. 

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Port Townsend sits on the Port Townsend Bay. Finistère’s chef’s tasting menu is for adventurous appetites only. The seaport has a Victorian feel. 

Port Townsend Vineyards has a tasting room with locally made wines. 


trip planner 

Day 

PIZZA • BOOKSTORES • ARTS 

On your way to Port Townsend, make a quick stop in the small 

town of Chimacum, where farms supply quality ingredients 

to the local communities and beyond. Visit Finnriver Farm & 

Cidery for a delicious tasting of farm-crafted hard ciders and 

dessert wines. On Friday or Saturday, stay long enough to enjoy 

a woodfired pizza and live music. 

If you missed pizza at Finnriver, pick up a quick slice in 

downtown Port Townsend at Waterfront Pizza. Employees 

constantly refill the pizza rack with a variety of flavored pies. 

Beware, locals love this tiny place and you may have to wait for 

the slice of your choice. 

Walk along Water Street and peruse the art galleries, quaint 

boutiques and Victorian shops while you treat yourself to a 

decadent chocolate or a scoop of ice cream from Elevated Ice 

Cream Co. & Candy Shop. Stroll into one of the city’s four 

bookstores offering readers an opportunity to escape to new 

worlds, live out a fantasy, or even improve their writing skills. 

Step back in time as you gaze upon the historic buildings, or 

enter the Jefferson Museum of Art and History to learn more 

about the seaport’s past. 

Maritime activities continue to influence the city. Poke 

around the Northwest Maritime Center and Wooden Boat 

Foundation near the marina. Here you will learn about the long 

history of the Wooden Boat Festival, and nautical enthusiasts 

can sign up for programs teaching world-class boatbuilding and 

maritime skills. 

Art abounds in Port Townsend, and the city’s calendar is 

filled with music festivals, writers’ workshops, art walks and 

year-round theater featuring plays, poetry and prose. Locals 

and visitors enjoy the Film Festival, which showcases all types 

The Northwest Maritime Center and Wooden 

Boat Foundation celebrate all things nautical. 

of films, including free outdoor movies on the weekends 

during September. 

Admiralty Distillers is open on Saturdays or by appointment. 

Jake Soule, the owner, will share his story while you taste his 

distilled creations. 

Take part in the longtime tradition of afternoon tea at Pippa’s 

Real Tea. Select a flavor you find appealing, then choose one 

of Pippa’s delectable treats as an accompaniment. Try a slice of 

cake or a traditional scone, but be sure to order Pippa’s authentic 

clotted cream—it is simply divine. 

For dinner, try Finistère. Owners Scott Ross and chef Deborah 

Taylor devised a menu with small and large plates. Diners with 

adventurous appetites should order the multi-course chef’s 

tasting menu. The potato leek soup is delicious and soothing, 

and the gnocchi with pork shoulder ragu and shaved Parmesan 

will leave you convinced that you’ve been transported to a 

trattoria in Italy. 

Next up, head to Cellar Door, the city’s subterranean 

cocktail lounge and restaurant, or Sirens Pub for some fun 

after dark. Sirens’ upstairs seating offers views of the water, 

and the main floor features a fireplace to warm you on cold 

nights. Both venues highlight live music from local musicians 

on the weekends. 

Finally, it’s time to sleep in luxury. Snuggle into silky soft 

sheets and lay your head on pillows suited for royalty at the 

Ravenscroft Inn. Hidden in a residential neighborhood, this 

bed and breakfast is the perfect place for a relaxing 

getaway. Read a book in the library, cuddle up with a 

blanket by the fire in the great room or simply unwind 

in the comfort of your lavish guest room. 


Tracy Ellen Beard 

Day 

MARKETS • FERRY RIDES • HISTORIC HOMES 

FROM LEFT Port Townsend’s Saturday Market appeals to all ages. 

The Ravenscroft Inn is tucked into a residential area. 

PORT TOWNSEND, WASHINGTON 

EAT 

Finestère 

restaurantfinistere.com 

Fountain Café 

www.fountaincafept.com 

Silverwater Café 

silverwatercafe.com 

Taps at the Guardhouse 

facebook.com/ 

TapsFortWorden 

STAY 

Ravenscroft Inn 

ravenscroftinn.com 

Bliss Vista Cottage 

at Fort Worden 

fortworden.org 

PLAY 

Jefferson Museum 

of Art and History 

jchsmuseum.org 

Northwest Maritime 

Center and Wooden Boat 

Foundation 

nwmaritime.org 

Port Townsend 

Farmers Market 

jcfmarkets.org/saturday 

Breakfast at the inn changes frequently, 

but guests can always count on locally made 

granola or muesli, fresh fruit, yogurt and a 

pastry. A hot breakfast follows with offerings 

such as frittata or fluffy lemon ricotta 

pancakes with blueberries. 

On Saturdays, walk a few blocks to the Port 

Townsend Saturday Market. Local farmers 

and purveyors line the blockaded streets with 

fresh produce and tasty morsels for patrons 

to relish. For lunch, assemble a picnic from 

the market, or get a bite at the Silverwater 

Café downtown. 

Outdoor activities abound in the area, so 

explore the local waters by renting a kayak, 

rowboat, or longboat. Ride the ferry or take 

one of the numerous tours available near 

the marina. For land discoveries, enjoy one 

of the local trails on foot or by bike. For 

a diversified city walk, begin by strolling 

through Chetzemoka Park. Make a right at 

the beach and wander alongside the water 

down to the marina. Revel in the water’s 

beauty and appreciate the variety of boats, 

then cross back to the street and meander 

up the hill and admire the historic homes on 

your way back to the park. 

After exploring the outdoors, check into 

one of the newly renovated cottages or a 

historic vacation rental on Officers Row at Fort 

Worden State Park. The Bliss Vista Cottage 

sits on a hill overlooking the water with views 

of passing ships for your entertainment. For 

a drink or appetizer before dinner, stop over 

at Taps at the Guardhouse. If a member of 

your party misbehaves, put them behind bars 

in the old jail cell. 

Dine at a longtime favorite restaurant, 

Fountain Café. Owner Nickolas Yates uses 

locally sourced ingredients in his Northwest 

cuisine. Choose a delicious menu item like 

the chicken and linguini, or branch out and 

order one of the specials—the lamb shank 

is perfect. 

Cellar Door 

cellardoorpt.com 

Sirens 

sirenspub.com 

Day 

SCENIC DRIVES • LAVENDER FARMS • HEARTY BREAKFAST 

Wake before sunrise and make a hot 

beverage in the cottage kitchen, then get 

comfortable on the porch and gaze over 

the water as the sun peeks from beyond 

the horizon. 

Blue Moose Café is an unpretentious 

eatery with delicious, hearty breakfast 

items. Stop at Port Townsend Vineyards and 

sample locally produced wines, or extend 

your trip and delight in a scenic drive along 

the Strait of Juan de Fuca toward Sequim. 

Spend the afternoon visiting fragrant 

lavender farms, then dine at Nourish or 

Alder Wood Bistro where ingredients are 

sourced from nearby farms. 


Explore DELICIOUS Destinations • EnjoyOlympicPeninsula.com • 360-437-0120 

The Heart of the Olympics from Sea-to-Summit & Canal-to-Coast

northwest destination 

The Old Mill District features 

walking trails, fine dining and 

plenty of shopping. 

Bend in Spring 

The smart traveler’s guide 

to Bend in its best season 


MANY PEOPLE IN the Pacific Northwest know Bend as a twoseason 

town in summer and winter. Cue the crusty with the 

cliché, “The only two seasons in Bend are winter and July.” 

Spring, however, makes a fresh and compelling argument all 

its own. 

Let’s face it—summer in Bend has become a mild variation of 

Fools Rush In, a story of momentary attraction leading to cultural 

imbalances. The Deschutes River becomes a floating carnival, 

strewn with medium-rare performers, three dogs to every 

campground up the road, past-prime adults stretching their 

heads with prescribed Stitch Fix beanies to fit in at the breweries. 

Driving takes the amorphous shape of motorized wandering 

without the inconvenience of turn signals. Summer rules. 

Before all of that, truly, spring is Bend at its finest. 

I wouldn’t wager if I were going to be skiing on late corn snow 

or road biking on dry pavement in May or even June in Bend, 

but I’d bet that, either way, the sun would frame it in a golden 

array. Frankly, it doesn’t matter. It turns out that, in the longstanding 

Pole Pedal Paddle, or PPP, you can do both in the spring 

at different elevations. 

No event better sums up the opportunities and the weather in 

Bend in spring than the 42-year-old PPP, in which participants 

start with downhill and Nordic ski legs at Mt. Bachelor above 

6,000 feet and in snow, before jumping on a bike and flying 22 

miles down to 3,400 feet in town to finish with a run, paddle and a 

sprint into the Les Schwab Amphitheater, where craft beer, music 

and war stories meld and top finishers pick up the coveted coffee 

mug trophy. “Did you mug?” is on everyone’s tongue. 

In mid-May, the PPP marks the shedding of a layer of fleece for 

Bendites, a local Groundhog Day. 

While many locals are pulling on Spandex and saddling up 

mountain and road bikes, anglers are gearing up for the most 

spectacular events of the year—the mayfly and salmonfly hatches. 

Drift-boat rodeos float past the wader-clad anglers in one of 

Central Oregon’s high rituals. In late March and the beginning 

of April, rainbow trout surface for the brown mayflies. Flyfishermen 

and women trim their lines ahead of the first nibbles. 

Then in May, salmonflies, or stoneflies, drip from the banks and 

trees of the Lower Deschutes in a decadent affair of redsides castand-catch 

fishing. If you need new gear, local beta and flies that 

match the hatch, head to Fly & Field Outfitters in Bend. 

Random and remote encounters can put events like this in new 

perspective. Almost fifteen years ago, while I was in a small tavern 

in rural Vermont, a surgeon from Boston on the next stool asked 

me if I had ever heard of the salmonfly hatch on the Deschutes 

River, while he studied the surface of his beer, perhaps for riffles. 

“One day,” he said, pitifully. “One day.” 

Spring matters when it comes to golf, tee times and greens fees. 

Among its other charms, Bend is a place where serious golfers 

can keep busy for months without doubling back on the same 

course. Tee times and greens fees are more reasonable at the top 

spots. Resort courses at Tetherow, Brasada and Pronghorn are 

masterpieces of architecture and beauty. The David McLay Kidddesigned 

Tetherow course brings challenging Scottish links-style 

play to Bend, finishing at the resort bar and restaurant, both 

destinations in themselves. A little farther flung in the eastern 

flanks of Bend are the Brasada and Pronghorn resorts. 

Pronghorn brings together two titans of the sport in 

Jack Nicklaus and Tom Fazio courses. Brasada’s comely 

features lead with a Peter Jacobsen-designed golf 


northwest destination 

BEND, OREGON 

EAT 

Newport Market 

newportavemarket.com 

Greg’s Grill 

gregsgrill.com 

Strictly Organic 

strictlyorganic.com 

Worthy Brewing 

worthybrewing.com 

STAY 

Tetherow 

tetherow.com 

Pronghorn 

pronghornresort.com 

Kathleen Nyberg 

CLOCKWISE 

FROM LEFT 

High Desert 

Museum will 

keep kids (and 

adults) occupied 

for hours. 

Brasada Ranch 

is one of several 

top-notch 

golfing spots 

in the region. 

Take a dip in the 

soaking pools at 

McMenamins. 

Brasada 

brasada.com 

McMenamins Old St. Francis 

School 

mcmenamins.com 

Oxford Hotel 

oxfordhotelbend.com 

Riverhouse on the Deschutes 

riverhouse.com 

PLAY 

Pole Pedal Paddle 

pppbend.com 

Mt. Bachelor 

mtbachelor.com 

Les Schwab Amphitheater 

bendconcerts.com 

Fly & Field Outfitters 

flyandfield.com 

High Desert Museum 

highdesertmuseum.org 

Old Mill District 

oldmilldistrict.com 

Athletic Club of Bend 

athleticclubofbend.com 

Dudley’s Bookshop Café 

dudleysbookshopcafe.com 

Volcanic Theatre Pub 

volcanictheatrepub.com 

Crater Lake Spirits 

craterlakespirits.com 

Oregon Spirit Distillers 

oregonspiritdistillers.com 

course and comfort food at one of its restaurants, 

the Ranch House. All of these resorts broaden their 

appeal with full day spas. 

For hikers and trail runners, there is no better 

time to be in Bend. The benefits of spring are on 

display along trails at lower elevations. The scent of 

desert juniper infuses a canvas of sensuous violet 

lupine, garish orange of Indian Paintbrush and 

inconspicuous pink bells of blossoming manzanita. 

What’s missing from this picture is the crowd. 

Hikers head east of town to Oregon’s Badlands 

Wilderness, where centuries-old juniper trees 

twist in an artful display. Bring water as you head 

into 30,000 acres of well-marked trails. 

Shevlin Park on Bend’s southwest side is another 

charmer. Out Shevlin Drive to the trailhead 

parking on the left begins a serene stroll along 

Tumalo Creek. Hikers and trail runners can pick 

off 5-mile or 7-mile loops, even easy out and backs 

of varying lengths. Footbridges and a covered 

bridge cross the creek at different points. Bring a 

picnic lunch from Newport Market and set up at 

one of the riverside picnic tables. The farther out 

you go, the better the experience. 

If you have little ones with you who desperately 

need stimulation without epic hikes, hit the High 

Desert Museum, where live interactions with 

wildlife are a child’s storybook thrill. Bobcats, 

otters and birds of prey will keep the kids engaged 

until they get pulled into chores on the museum’s 

Miller Family Ranch. It’s a parent’s wonder to 

witness the specter of honest pioneer-era work on 

their offspring’s young modern faces. 

For one of the most beautiful and navigable 

strolls, head over to the Old Mill District and 

loop a paved section of the ambling Deschutes 

River. This is particularly good for families with 

small children, infants in strollers and people who 

prefer flat, even ground underfoot. On this hike, 

you are never far from creature comfort. Strictly 

Organic Coffee makes a compelling cup. REI’s 

signature store in the old mill brick building is 

a must. Greg’s Grill offers a full dinner menu, a 

hopping happy hour and al fresco dining next to 

an outdoor fire pit. 

Not long ago, a Belgian ale was considered 

culture. Led by innovative programming at 

downtown’s Tower Theatre, the culture scene is 

vastly improving. From intimate concerts such 

as Jethro Tull and Madeleine Peyroux to film 

festivals and visiting speakers, Tower Theatre is the 

intellectual campus of Bend. The local music scene 

plays out across town at places like the Athletic 

Club of Bend, Volcanic Theatre, McMenamins 

Old St. Francis School, Worthy Brewing and the 

Domino Room. First-rate jazz can be found at 

the Oxford Hotel, Joe’s Music and now at the 

Riverhouse on North Highway 97. 

Perhaps because of an increasing feeling that 

global forces are beyond our control, coziness is 

making a huge comeback. This time it’s happening 

in places like the new Crater Lake Spirits tasting 

room for vodka, gin and whiskey; and Oregon 

Spirit Distillers; as well as over in the Old Mill at Va 

Piano and Naked Winery tasting rooms. 

No place better epitomizes coziness as Dudley’s 

Bookshop Café on Minnesota Avenue downtown. 

I have seen people wearing their own slippers 

while curled on an upstairs couch engrossed in a 

book. Did she bring her own afghan? Culture, any 

facet of it, begins on page one and is limited only by 

the number of pages turned. 


NEW EXHIBIT 

Open April 28 through September 3 

59800 South Highway 97, Bend, Oregon 97702 

541-382-4754 | www.highdesertmuseum.org 

Smithsonian Affiliate 

Made possible by 

Shopping at our locally and employee owned store is a 

one-of-a-kind, delicious experience, has been since 1991! 

Our expert employees are ready to help with everything, 

from tonight’s dinner to tomorrow’s picnic. So, before 

heading to the trails or a back-deck soiree, pick up specially 

curated artisan cheese along with the finest touches 

like jams, various nuts and olives, fantastic produce, crackers 

and crostini, savory salami, and cured meats. Cheers! 

Real food, real fun, real Bend. 

541.382.3940 • newportavemarket.com

1889 MAPPED 

The points of interest below are culled from 

stories and events in this edition of 1889. 

Oroville 

Forks 

Friday Harbor 

Port Angeles Coupeville 

Port 

Townsend 

Bellingham 

Mount Vernon 

Lakewood 

Marysville 

Everett 

Okanogan 

Republic 

Colville 

Newport 

Aberdeen 

South 

Bend 

Shelton 

Montesano 

Port Orchard 

Cathlamet 

Longview 

Olympia 

Chehalis 

Kelso 

Seattle 

Bellevue 

Renton 

Kent 

Federal Way 

Tacoma 

Ellensburg 

Yakima 

Waterville 

Wenatchee 

Ephrata 

Prosser 

Richland 

Wilbur 

Pasco 

Kennewick 

Ritzville 

Dayton 

Walla 

Walla 

Davenport 

Spokane 

Colfax 

Pomeroy 

Asotin 

Vancouver 

Stevenson 

Goldendale 

Live 

Think 

Explore 

18 

Super Deli Mart 

40 

Appliance Depot 

72 

Ohme Gardens 

20 

White House 

42 

The Penrose 

74 

Mt. Baker Ski Area 

22 

Nash’s Organic Produce 

44 

WSU School of Design 

76 

Sleeping Lady 

33 

Girl Meets Dirt 

46 

CoMotion Labs 

78 

Northwest Maritime Center 

34 

Western Washington University 

48 

Monte Cook Games 

82 

Bend, Oregon 


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Welcome to the 

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New Gift Shop Featuring 

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setting anywhere on the Washington . Coast 

at historic Ocean Crest Resort 

1943 Columbia Park Trail 

Richland, WA 99352 

509.943.4100 

www.visitthereach.org 

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Direct Beach Access 

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Cozy Fireplace Rooms 

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OCEAN CREST RESORT • 360-276-4465 

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OceanCrestResort • info@OceanCrestResort.com 

Offsite Tours 

Ice Age Floods 

Agriculture 

Foodie 

History 

Hiking 

I N S U R R E C T I O N 

RAREAYRE.COM | AVAILABLE AT PARFUMERIE NASREEN IN SEATTLE

Until Next Time 

Waiting for the Rebirth 

written by Kate Hudson | illustrated by Allison Bye 

I REMEMBER the moment I first laid eyes on Spokane. 

The city was a stranger and I was just a kid in Converse. 

A freshly minted 18-year-old, I was heading to Gonzaga 

University for my freshman year. It was 1993, Kurt 

Cobain was an icon, and I felt like I was on the brink of 

an awakening. 

I chose Gonzaga and Spokane sight unseen. I never 

made the trek to check out the campus or the city before I 

arrived. I simply liked the way it looked in photos. I loved 

the idea of a Jesuit education far enough away from my 

strict upbringing in Alaska, yet close enough to still feel 

safe. Something about Spokane beckoned. I could feel it. 

Descending out of the clouds on that unusually hot 

August day, I saw before me prodigious basalt thrusting 

out of prairies scrubbed by eons of wind. The sky was 

blue, the sun blistering the concrete of the runway. 

Apprehension and expectation churned, but I had a 

feeling about this place. It wasn’t until we drove east on 

I-90 that the city unfurled before me in the late afternoon 

light. My breath caught. 

Old brick buildings, mixed with new, filled the 

downtown landscape. An air of neglect hung thick, but 

I was still smitten, still intrigued. This city had a story to 

tell, it had been something once, it had an energy as strong 

and thundering as the falls roaring through Riverfront 

Park. I could hear the whispers of history in the old 

buildings, many boarded up, as I walked the downtown 

streets looking around. I liked seeing what it had been and 

imagining what it could be. I liked the bones of this place. 

It was an old beauty showing signs of age, underrated and 

continually dismissed by bigger Pacific Northwest cities, 

but this place had potential. 

I made a point of sticking around Spokane once I 

graduated. I liked that feeling of being a part of something 

on the brink of greatness, and I wanted to see how the story 

played out. I wanted to be part of the story. This city had 

long felt on the verge of breaking through, experiencing an 

awakening of its own. 

Unlike the cataclysmic glacial floods that shaped the 

natural landscape, Spokane’s rebirth has taken a slower 

pace, and I’ve stuck it out. It was well worth the wait. You 

can feel the hum of energy as forward-thinking visionaries 

have stepped up and saved historic buildings. People have 

been willing to take a risk and invest in Spokane. Inspired, 

adventurous menus are now a mainstay in restaurants. 

Gone are the boarded-up windows. Sun glints off shiny 

glass where wineries, craft breweries and bustling shops do 

business. The arts and music scene thrive. Residents and 

visitors alike share in the dividends of all the investment. 

Twenty-five years later, Spokane’s story is part of my 

story. I’m proud to call this place home and I invite you to 

come experience it for yourself. 

This city is wide awake. 


Where extraordinary 

IS THE NORM 

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BOOK YOUR ADVENTURE TODAY

1889 April | May 2018

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