50 Ways to Celebrate Global Warming

Get Out

Monkey Around

In times of drought, high-profile, heavily used gardens and tourist attractions are the last to be removed from the city's irrigation list. So the Woodland Park Zoo should remain leafy and green throughout the season. It can get pretty crowded in the summer, though, so go early in the day or late—that's when the animals are more active, anyway. Summer hours are 9:30 a.m.–6 p.m. For info, call 206-684-4800 or go to www.zoo.org. The ZooTunes summer concert series gets under way July 20 and runs through the end of August. Details on the Web site or at Metropolitan Markets. LYNN JACOBSON

Cast a Wooly Bugger

Want to catch a fish? According to Seth Taylor, manager of Creekside Angling, all you need is a fly rod, a few fly patterns, and a fishing license (unless you're under 15—when no license is required). "Two words: Green Lake," he says, and he's serious. The murky depths are swimming with rainbow and brown trout, smallmouth bass, and carp (overgrown goldfish). Fish 18 inches long are not uncommon. Simple bait will work, but for fly-fishing purists, Taylor recommends casting in the evening using either a chironomid (that's a midge to you and me) or No. 6 Wooly Bugger. "It's an absolute trip," he says, "catching a trout while looking at the Space Needle." Creekside Angling, 1308 Fourth Ave., 206-405-3474, www.creeksideangling.com. For regulations and fishing licenses, call 360-902-2200 or go to www.wdfw.wa.gov. ANDREW ENGELSON

Head Out to Sea

OK, maybe "sea" is pushing it, but you won't find a cheaper way to head across the water this season than renting a canoe or rowboat from the University of Washington and paddling out into Union Bay and the surrounding area. Even nonoutdoorsy types can enjoy the escape by setting a gentle pace and surveying the natural beauty of the wetlands around Foster Island. You can fit three in a canoe, four in a rowboat, and it'll only cost you from $4 (UW student) to $7.50 (general public) an hour. Waterfront Activities Center, behind Husky Stadium on the southeast corner of the parking lot, 206-543-9433, depts.washington.edu/ima/IMA_wac.php. STEVE WIECKING

Go Be a Kite

Look, Ma (way up in the left-hand corner), I'm parasailing! (Chuck Taylor)

This involves a motorboat, a winch and cable, a harness, and a parasail (half parachute, half glider). It's dry and cool, as you—and a friend, if you like—float as high as 350 feet above Puget Sound, passing cruise ships and ferries. Bring your camera. Pier 57 Parasailing on Elliott Bay gives you about nine airborne minutes plus up to an hour on the boat as others take their turns. $54 solo, $95 tandem; subtract $5 if you pay cash. Starts late May or early June. Pier 57 on Alaskan Way, 206-622-5757. CHUCK TAYLOR

Eat a Wild Huckleberry

One of the region's finest culinary pleasures is found not in the confines of Lampreia or Rover's but on the slopes of the Cascades. Ripening in the August sun, fields of succulent wild huckleberries are an orgasmic taste treat. Where and when to find them? Try mid-August, on the Dickerman Mountain Trail, off the Mountain Loop Highway, 27 miles east of Granite Falls. This is no slouch of a hike—you'll gain 3,800 feet in a little over four miles to the summit, but the berries and eye-popping views are worth the sweat. Dickerman Mountain Trail, 16.5 miles east of Verlot ranger station, Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest (Northwest Forest parking pass required), 360-691-7791, www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs. ANDREW ENGELSON

Bowl 'Em Over

It looks like bocce, it feels like bocce, but don't you dare call it bocce. Lawn bowlers are very particular about the special characteristics, rules, equipment, and joys of their favorite game. Two local parks have lawn bowling clubs open to the public (ages 10 and over). Free lessons are offered at both, and bowls (that's what they call the balls—don't forget!) are provided. Jefferson Park, 4103 Beacon Ave. S., 206-762-2490. Lower Woodland Park, North 63rd Street and Whitman Avenue North, 206-782-1515. www.ci.seattle.wa.us/parks/athletics/lawnbowling.htm. LYNN JACOBSON

Fall Down the Slippery Slab

So, you go out late one night sipping martinis at the Alibi Room, and suddenly it's 11 a.m. Sunday and you want to get out in the mountains. No worries—drive less than an hour up I-90 to Denny Creek Trail and make a beeline for the Slippery Slab. Hike just over a mile, and you'll find nature's own water slide: a series of cool rivulets splashing over pillows of granite. Solitude you won't find—on a weekend, you'll have to share the place with hordes of families—but hey, it beats Wild Waves. Denny Creek Trail, I-90 exit 47, west of Snoqualmie Pass (Northwest Forest parking pass required), 425-888-1421, www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs. ANDREW ENGELSON