Ski Fat

by Yvette Cardozo

Just in time for your early gift list, Lynn Rosen puts together a sampling of innovative gear and travel gifts for any stocking or holiday package. From miracle first aid remedies to state-of-the-art bicycle gloves complete with lighted turn signals, this list offers new and creative suggestions for everyone on that list.

My ski wear consisted of men’s very large sizes which I had to have tailored to fit. Eventually someone came out with ski wear for “fat ladies.” The coat was neon pink and, well, looked like something the Michelin XXX Man would have worn. Be real guys. Nobody that size is gonna wear something that makes them look like Lake Superior. And it had hardly any pockets.

Years ago, while traveling on a ferry in the San Juan Islands, I heard the captain make an announcement that a pod of orcas, better known as killer whales, were alongside the ferry. My family and I scurried to watch. Fascinating. I promised then and there that I'd return another time for a longer look.

Oregon's Mt. Hood Ski Saga

by Vicki Hoefling Andersen

The Adventures of Train Travel in America!
by Sylvia and Ted Blishak

Gear Reviews for Travelers

by Yvette Cardozo

Another short-lived dream to access Timberline came in the form of the Skiway, America’s second aerial tram. Based on the sky-hook system used by loggers to move huge timber, it utilized city buses on a cable supported by a three-mile swath of towers from lower Government Camp to Timberline. Operating from 1951-53, it proved slow, unprofitable and unpopular.

In 1830, the first locomotive built in the USA, named "The Best Friend of Charleston," was considered one of the fastest modes of transport available, taking its passengers "on the wings of wind at the speed of fifteen to twenty-five miles per hour." Thanks to the astonishing progress made by the American railroad industry in the last century and a half, Amtrak can now whisk you Coast to Coast, in 71 hours, at an average speed of 48 mph!

I have to admit, I am a pocket freak. The more the better. I once owned a ski jacket with 21 pockets and, honestly, I did tend to lose things in it. I once found a 7-year-old trail map from Switzerland tucked far, far away in one of those elusive pockets.

Who we are: For brief bios on the writers who form this Pacific Northwest collective, please click here.