Around the Sound
ARS 2022 Return to the Northwest offers the opportunity to take an optional two-day excursion, prior to the convention start, to some exceptional gardens and nurseries that are too far, otherwise, to be included on the Portland-area tours. “Around the Sound” will depart by motor coach from the Heathman Lodge at 8:30am on Monday, May 2nd, and return by 9:30pm the evening of Tuesday, May 3rd. One overnight accommodation will be included along with two lunches, one breakfast, and two dinners. Your tour package will be itemized as a paid option when you register. A “Single Supplement” will be required for those not sharing a room.
Please note: There will be a minimum number of registrations for the tour to be implemented. The same will apply to a second motor coach if there is enough interest. We will keep you apprised of the progress in bookings.
As described in the Fall 2019 edition of JARS (Journal American Rhododendron Society), the itinerary will follow breakfast at the Heathman Lodge. Note the substitution from the original itinerary for Washington Park Arboretum in lieu of Far Reaches Farm. So the tour will include the following locations:
Monday, May 2, 2022
Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls
Our first stop following the early departure from the Heathman. Owned by the Olympia Tumwater Foundation, Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls is open to the public and is free of charge. It houses a one-half (0.8 km) mile scenic loop trail along the Deschutes River which has three cascading waterfalls, with interpretive signs featuring pictures that illustrate the history of the area. You can glimpse the old Olympic Brewery from the lower falls, which was built in 1906, using artesian wells to make a beer of unparalleled quality, and hence its motto “It’s the water!”
In the spring, rhododendrons and many native plants in the park provide beauty to the area. Visitors enjoy the Washington Salish Native Plant Garden there year-round with its large variety of native flora. The park receives an average of 250,000 visitors per year. In late February, 2019, Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife launched a $9 million effort to revamp its salmon facilities at the park, including building larger adult holding and juvenile rearing ponds and an extended fish ladder with observation windows for the public.
The most ambitious project undertaken by the Olympia Tumwater Foundation (OTF) was construction in 1962 of a 15-acre park along the falls of the Deschutes River. Still owned and maintained by OTF, Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls continues to attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.
In the small, historic city of Tumwater, Washington, the Deschutes River ends its journey from the shoulders of the Cascade range and tumbles a final 82 feet into Capitol Lake, once the final reach of Puget Sound. Here, bordering the banks of the river, is Brewery Park at Tumwater Falls, providing the visitor with 15 acres filled with natural, picturesque beauty and year-round atmosphere of enjoyment for all ages.
A wide variety of native trees and shrubs line both sides of the river as it pitches and eddies through a gorge of boulder rapids and deep pools, its course culminating in a mist-filled plunge over Tumwater Falls. One-half mile of walking trails are highlighted by cascading waterfalls, reflective pools, and massive rocks. Spanning the river at both ends of the gorge and connecting the network of trails are footbridges designed for compatibility with the surroundings and historic accuracy.
At the upper reaches and entrance to the Park, visitors will find wide expanses of beautifully maintained lawns, picnic facilities, a sand-filled area for children featuring uniquely designed play items, immaculate restrooms, and ample parking. The state-built fish ladders were added in the early 1950s to help spawning salmon climb past the falls on the Deschutes River. In late February 2019, the Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife launched a $9 million effort to revamp its salmon facilities at the park, including building larger adult holding and juvenile rearing ponds and an extended fish ladder with underwater observation windows for the public.
Anthony’s Homeport Restaurant, Olympia
The itinerary for the 2020 pre-tour included The Falls Terrace Restaurant, overlooking the Falls, for our lunch, following the stroll through the park. The facility, however, closed down for Covid and there is no announced re-opening date at this point. So, we are pleased to provide an excellent alternative for our lunch stop. It’s a short drive to Anthony’s Homeport from Tumwater Falls. We’ll have four choices of lunch platters to choose from and a view of the marine activities on Budd Bay Inlet to enjoy during our visit there. Anthony’s are family-owned local restaurants fiercely dedicated to providing the highest quality food, premier seafood, and exceptional service with waterfront views that are unmatched anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. Well satisfied, we’ll resume our journey up the Hood Canal to Whitney Gardens.
Whitney Gardens
About an hour’s drive from Tumwater, following a scenic drive up the west side of the Hood Canal, we will arrive at Whitney Gardens, the famous destination rhododendron nursery and majestic seven acre (2.8 ha) garden at the foot of the Olympic Mountains. Among rare trees and ponds, you will see a beautiful array of rhododendron hybrids and species. Whitney Gardens features an abundance of azaleas, magnolias, maples, conifers, kalmias, camellias, perennials, trees, shrubs and ground covers.
Over 15,000 people visit this garden each year. Whitney Gardens is adjacent to the Dosewallips River estuary, where it fans out into the glacially-formed Hood Canal. Visitors can dig for world famous clams and oysters or hike through the Brothers Wilderness and enjoy seeing its eagles, great blue herons and seals. You may even catch a glimpse of the local elk herd as it passes by. Following our tour with host Ellie Sather, the coach takes a 45-minute drive to the northernmost destination on our tour:
Heronswood
The process of making a garden called Heronswood began on September 1st, 1987. That evening the co-founders, Daniel Hinkley and Robert Jones, taking possession of the house and property, pulled open the gate while startling a great blue heron from the nearby pond. Over the course of two decades, Heronswood Nursery and Garden showcased a vast inventory of rare and unusual trees, shrubs, vines and perennials, mostly plants Hinkley had collected in his lengthy bi-annual botanical adventures throughout Eastern Europe, Asia, Central and South America, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.
In 2012, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe purchased Heronswood at auction, and have been committed ever since to making a new Heronswood with a greater polish and botanical wonderment than its original forebearer. Your tour of Heronswood will be introduced by Dan Hinkley
The Point Hotel
A short drive from Far Reaches, we arrive for our dinner and overnight stay at The Point Hotel & Casino, owned and operated by the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe. The hotel was completed in 2016 and is located on the Kitsap Peninsula in Kingston, a 30-minute ferry ride across Puget Sound towards the Seattle area.
The Point Hotel’s design is rooted in a style known as Coast Modern. The Hotel has adapted key architectural ideas from the longhouse and other traditional tribal architecture with the all-cedar plank construction that is historically known to the Port Gamble S’Klallam. A buffet dinner will be offered in the Event Center, which adjoins the Spindle Whorl Courtyard, with its fire pit and tribal art, just outside of the Hotel lobby. Both the hotel accommodations and conference areas are separate from the casino itself and are smoke-free.
Tuesday morning, you will experience a full buffet breakfast in the same banquet room before boarding the coach for the brief ride to:
Tuesday, May 3, 2022
Bloedel Reserve
Following a short journey south to Bainbridge Island, we will visit the Bloedel Reserve, a wonder of nature created by the imagination, vision, and a passionate love of the natural world by founders Prentice and Virginia Bloedel. Working with the rugged geography of the land, they artfully transformed a rough-hewn Northwest forest into a harmonious series of curated gardens, structural features, and distinctive landscapes, with nature as canvas and paint.
Internationally recognized for the inspirational beauty of its refined gardens, natural landscapes, and preserved forests, Bloedel excels in the environmental stewardship of its 150 acres (60.7 ha). Open year-round, there’s something new to discover in every season: ever-changing landscapes, guided walks, expert lectures, summer concerts, special seasonal events, and more.
Sail on the M/V Wenatchee from Bainbridge Island to the Port of Seattle
Arriving from our short trip after touring Bloedel Reserve, our motor coaches will wait to board at the ferry terminal in Winslow at the south end of Bainbridge Island. There you can enjoy the box lunches that were loaded on board as we were leaving The Point Hotel for our journey to the Bloedel Reserve. We’ll arrive comfortably ahead of the departure time of 12:20pm, which will give you the chance to depart from the bus, stretch your legs, and view the terminal from the ground. You’ll need to board the bus again well ahead of the departure time. And you’re welcome to wait for lunch and bring it with you to consume on the ferry ride, which is a spare 35 minutes.
Washington State Ferries began operations on Puget Sound in 1951, after taking control from the Puget Sound Navigation Company (Black Ball Line), which had been operating the ferries for decades. The Puget Sound Dredge and Bridge Company was commissioned by the State in 1953, to build the first Evergreen State-class vessel that could carry 100 vehicles and 1000 passengers. … Subsequently, the Jumbo-class Spokane and Walla Walla ferries were built in 1973, with a capacity of 2000 passengers and 206 vehicles.
From the Yakama language comes the word wenatchi for “river flowing from canyon.” When Lewis and Clark traveled through the Columbia River valley in 1803-1805, they mentioned the word Wenatchee in their journal, hearing of the river and the tribe living along its banks. A city, lake, river, and national forest are also named after the tribe.
Amenities include restrooms, WIFI access, food service, lounge chairs and booths with tables at the windows. Outdoor decks provide the opportunity to feel the breeze in your hair, hear the rush of the water in the ferry wake, and enjoy views of Bainbridge Island and the Seattle waterfront.
Please note: Face masks are required in indoor areas of terminals and vessels for all riders and employees in compliance with the latest CDC guidelines. All customers inside terminals or vessels should continue to wear face coverings. However, passengers can remove their masks while outdoors on the sun deck, car deck areas of the vessel, outside waiting areas at terminals and other outdoor locations. Please remember to mask up upon reentering interior areas of boats and terminals.
ADA Notes: The MV Wenatchee has elevator access from both auto deck levels to all of the passenger cabin areas. Accessible restrooms, vending and newspaper machines and a galley are located on the main passenger deck. Accessible restrooms are also on the sun deck. This vessel is equipped with a visual paging system.
Washington Park Arboretum
The Washington Park Arboretum is the Pacific Northwest’s largest public garden and features an amazing array of temperate woody plants. Part of the University of Washington Botanic Gardens, and managed in partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation, the Washington Park Arboretum was established in 1934 and laid out following an Olmsted Brothers design. An iconic feature of the Arboretum is Azalea Way, which leads through the heart of the Arboretum and is framed by thousands of azaleas set against a backdrop of ornamental spring flowering trees and native conifers. The Arboretum holds National Collections of maples, oaks, hollies and magnolias, and features excellent collections of mountain ash, conifers and rhododendron. Specialty gardens within feature displays of plants from around the world.
Featured on the tour are Rhododendron Glen, first planted in the 1930s as part of the Ericaceous plant collections, and the Puget Sound Rhododendron Hybrid Garden, which celebrates the long history of rhododendron hybridizing in the region. Rhododendron Glen has been undergoing renovations in recent years, with refreshed gardens featuring new species and companion plantings among its historic rockeries and spring-fed stream. The Puget Sound Rhododendron Hybrid Garden showcases some of the best rhododendron hybrids from the over 2,000 that have been developed locally in the last 80 years.
As we conclude our tour of the Arboretum, we’ll load the coaches for our final event of the series — a tour of the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden and Farewell Banquet in Federal Way.
Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden
“Around the Sound” will culminate with a tour and banquet at the Rhododendron Species Foundation & Botanical Garden (RSBG). The RSBG is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the conservation, public display, and distribution of Rhododendron species. Home to the largest collection of species rhododendrons in the world, the garden displays over 700 of the more than 1000 species found in the wilds of North America, Europe, and Asia, as well as the tropical regions of southeast Asia and northern Australia. Conservation has come to be of primary importance in recent years with the destruction of rhododendron habitat in many areas of the world. Steve Hootman, well-known and respected Executive Director and Curator of the RSBG, will introduce you to the garden, and there will be a banquet in the pavilion at the main entrance. Then we’ll head to the Heathman Lodge for a restful night ahead of the convention start on Wednesday morning.
Estimated schedule:
