lodging/expenses

From our Yellowstone trip:

$0 - meals and booze, assume we'd eat and drink like we would at home

$2200 - air, $550 x 4 tickets

$100- extra bags

$350 - rental car

$956 total for accommodations/family included 1 condo 2 nights, 1 house 4 nights, 1 hotel for 1 night

$25 - 7 day park pass

___________

$3631 Total (this didn't include restaurant meals and zoo entrance fees)

Seattle Trip:
$300 -meals out
$1996 air $499 x 4 tickets
$100 extra bags
$338 rental car
$306 hotel 1st two nights
$763 - $1526/2 families
$181 hotel last night
$300 segway tour of Seattle for ages 12 and up $75/person
$4284 TOTAL

Kayak says Hertz Full Size car is $338/week at airport.

Seattle airfare looks roughly the same price as Yellowstone

No VRBO in the Cascades get us any closer to Maple or Cascade Pass.  The motels in the Cascades look like I'd rather camp than stay in them.  I'd vote for 1-2 nights in Seattle while doing Seattle things, then 4-5 nights VRBO an hour and a half north of Seattle, then the last night back in Seattle to make the flight home easier.  

Seattle hotel: My favorite is the all-suite Larkspur, 5 min from the airport, 20 min from Pike Place Market.  The real downtown hotels are $300 per night.  Larkspur is $160/night with free breakfast and airport shuttle.  

$306 for Sat & Sun (17 and 18), $181 for Friday night Jun 24

Chloe and I are in love with this house and the area: $2147 for beautiful house on Anacortes right on the water, avg $209/night if we do all 7 nights there.  6/19-6/23 4 nights $1526.16.  $1852-1952 for 5 nights.  https://www.vrbo.com/745576#

THis one is SE of Seattle, near the Olympic Forest (the wrong way for the Cascades) $733 for 2 nights 4 brm 3 bath on puget Sound waterfront with a hot tub.  ($250-275/night, 2 night minimum).

https://www.vrbo.com/391685#

This one is just North of the city, 3 hours to hiking instead of the 2.5 that the Anacortes house is.  $829.50 for 2 nights, 4 brm, 2 bath,  20 min to pike place market ($214-275/night, 2 night minimum) $1465 for 4 nights jun 19-23, $1921 for 6 nights jun 17-23 (get the airport hotel for only the last night) https://www.vrbo.com/344506#

$807.50 for 2 nights, 4 brm, 2.5 bath huge house in Tacoma, ($171 - $250/ngith) https://www.vrbo.com/609293#

$1750 for 7 nights (7 night minimum stay), 4 brm 3 bath house with waterview of Puget Sound. house 37 min north of Pike Place market, further East, so still 3 hours to Cascade hiking trails. House interior looks old, including ancient stove in the kitchen, but the views are pretty and the price is cheap  https://www.vrbo.com/446240#

seattle stuff to do with kids

Segway tour for ages 12 and up, $75/person for 1.5 hours: http://seattlebysegway.com/tours.php

Chocolate tour of Pike Place Market, 2 hours $54/person: https://www.savorseattletours.com/our-tours/food-tours/chocolate-indulgence-tour  I don't think I"d really want to pay $216 for 4 of us to taste chocolate, but it is interesting to think of creating our own chocolate tour around the market.

Beneath the streets tour $15/person: http://www.beneath-the-streets.com/  Rob and Tina did a tour like this one and it sounded interesting.

The fish ladder: http://www.nws.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Locks-and-Dams/Chittenden-Locks/Fish-Ladder/ This is how the fish get upstream (or downstream, I guess) past the locks.

Tide pools at low tide: http://www.wta.org/hiking-info/children/how-to/tidepooling-with-kids

Chihuly Gardens and Glass: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g60878-d3184389-Reviews-Chihuly_Garden_and_Glass-Seattle_Washington.html

Klondike Gold Rush Museum: https://www.nps.gov/klse/index.htm My kids have always seemed interested in panning for gold.

School of Acrobatics and New Circus Art performances: http://sancaseattle.org/category/shows/  Chloe is still into watching acrobats, trapeze artists and contortionists.  I am to, actually.

cascades

Blue Lake trail, 5.7 mi round trip out and back: https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/blue-lake

cascade pass, 7.4 mi moderate out and back: http://alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/cascade-pass-trail
At Cascade Pass, the wow factor far exceeds the “ow” factor – perhaps no other trail in the state delivers as much reward for the effort. From the high peaks on either side of the pass, verdant meadows curve down to a saddle that offers sweeping views of nearby valleys, glaciers, mountains, and passing wildlife. Sedately climbing a little less than 1,800 feet in 3.6 miles, it is the perfect hike to show new hikers the extraordinary places their feet can take them. 

The epic scenery begins before you even hit the trail. The unpaved section of Cascade River Road skirts massive old growth trees on the way to the circular parking lot tucked underneath Johannesburg Mountain, towering more than 4,000 feet overhead. - http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/cascade-pass

the trailhead for cascade pass trail is right next to johannesburg campground, which is 2.5 hours from Anacortes, WA

Driving Directions

Drive Hwy 20 to the little town of Marblemount. Keep going straight when 20 turns left and you will be on Cascade River Road. Drive the 23 miles to the end. You will follow the Cascade River the whole way; it takes nearly an hour on Cascade River Road.

Thornton Lake Trail, 5.2 mi one way moderately strenuous: http://www.nps.gov/noca/planyourvisit/thornton-lake-trail.htm

Maple Pass Loop 7 miles loop, 2000 ft elevation gain (and loss). 

 9. Maple Pass Loop (North Cascades) Start: Rainy Pass trailhead on North Cascades Highway (map) Length: 7.2 miles Difficulty: Moderate Perhaps the most stunning day hike in the North Cascades, and even all of Washington, is the Maple Pass Loop off the North Cascades Highway. We should start by mentioning that with driving, this hike makes for a very long day. It’s approximately three hours (of incredibly beautiful scenery) to the trailhead, and the hike itself is another 7.2 miles. But this is all attainable in a day and we think it’s well worth it. If you’re up for more of an adventure, you can camp in one of the public campgrounds in the Methow Valley before or after, which makes for a great one-night trip from Seattle. - See more at: http://www.switchbacktravel.com/great-day-hikes-near-seattle#sthash.dIO447fj.dpuf "Not to be missed is the Maple Pass Loop, a seven-mile roundtrip hike that leads to forests, wildflowers, lakes, ridgetops, a huge waterfall and spectacular views. Families can walk just a portion of the loop to enjoy this delightful trail." http://www.minitime.com/Maple_Pass_Loop-North_Cascades_National_Park-Washington-attraction

Second Burroughs Mountain, 5.5 miles round trip, 1,400-foot elevation gain; Easy Mt. Rainer http://www.seattletimes.com/life/travel/5-great-day-hikes-around-mount-rainier/ The mountain views from any point on this trail are superb and Burroughs Mountain offers possibly the finest, most accessible tundra in the Cascades. http://alltrails.com/trail/us/washington/burroughs-mountain-loop-trail

Hoh River Trail in Olympic National Forest.  Is 17 mi if you do the whole thing, but if you only go 3.1 mi in and 3.1 mi back you get to One Square Inch of Silence.  Is a rain forest, gets up to 14 feet of rain per year.

Hidden Lake Lookout Trail, 8.0 mi out and back, 3500 ft elevation change