And here you thought I was going to try to impress with exotic locales. Truly, my trip down to the Pacific Bonsai Museum—part of a round-up of the best destination museums in Washington—counts as some of the best bang for the miles-traveled buck. The forest setting, part of the old Weyerhaeuser campus visible from I-5, is part of the charm. Big trees! Small trees! All the trees!

Once I write about a place, I don't tend to bring it up again unless something major changes. I covered Persian restaurant Delara in 2023 when the Michelin ratings first hit Vancouver, but I returned for a second meal there this year and fell in love all over again. The fesenjoon that married rich roast duck breast with a thick walnut and pomegranate molasses sauce felt like eating rich velvet (in a good way).

Sometimes the fine art of scrambling—off-trail mountain climbing without ropes—gets lost among all the outdoor sports on offer around Seattle. But we live in an environment perfect for challenging, beautiful ascents, ones that take little equipment beyond good map skills. I did several Cascade climbs this year, and I've already forgotten all the loose scree, scary exposure, and exhausting approaches—all I can remember is the adrenaline and the views. It's that pretty.

For a trip that involved a costly Uber ride, some mediocre dining, and a tiny but expensive hotel room with little natural light, my memory of this California getaway is nothing but positive. It's probably the giant sea bass we saw while diving, or the vistas reached via jeep tour and uphill bike ride. Read here about why I fell in love with Catalina—it wasn't just the ice cream.

I was hiking with friends in the gorgeous Teanaway when one mentioned we had to hit up this unassuming little shop on the way back. Though it has been a rural store for decades, the newest owner reshaped it into a destination for niche sodas but no alcohol. The sugar cookies up front are a worthy prize after a long day in the mountains, and the glass bottle Fanta hits just right.

One personal trip to Central Oregon prompted two important stories this year. There's the ode to the last Blockbuster and the forgotten charms of video rental, and I stand by that. But my look at the city's steak scene, specifically restaurant Bos Taurus, makes me ache for wagyu slices served with tweezers.

It's a reservoir formed by a dam, not a natural lake, so it's hardly the most pristine wilderness in Washington. But midsummer, after a personally trying few months, I took my inflatable paddleboard up I-90 to the 10-mile-long lake and tied up to one of the hundreds of stumps that stick out of the water. They were some of the calmest, warmest hours I spent outdoors in Washington this year.

On a trip to Taos to ski, I took a break to pop into the artsy capital city of New Mexico. In between the green chili burgers and desert architecture, we visited the interactive, immersive art experience from Meow Wolf. This, the first installation of many, is called The House of Eternal Return and proved to be hours worth of psychedelic design and unsolvable puzzles. You know what the Pacific Northwest needs? Some immersive weirdo art.

It's not hard to be impressed by heli-skiing, especially in the middle of British Columbia where the mountains spread to the horizon in every direction. I wrote about the sport and its drawbacks, including the fact that a fatal helicopter crash had taken place about a week before I arrived. I'll never become a dedicated heli-skiier, but my one shot at it was memorable.

I covered the town of Hood River for our Destination Dossier series, and found plenty to love (including a funky art shop I must visit again). But my favorite moment was probably seeing the excellent art deco carpet at the newly renovated Hood River Hotel just outside of town. It's a carpet that calls for a cocktail.

Of course I decided to go to Zurich before a nonstop flight launched from Seattle–Tacoma International Airport, which meant my March trip included an interminable layover in Toronto. Worth it for the ski touring through the Urner Alps, where I got to know the excellent European mountain hut system.

I felt torn about the haute cuisine and stunning architecture—civilization, really—deep in the alpine, but then I had a chance to ski tour with North Bend ski guide Martin Volken while he was visiting his home region in Switzerland. As we skied, we talked about the difference between Pacific Northwest wilderness and Europe's wilds steeped with history and infrastructure. Both are amazing and exist their own way for a reason. I'm not sure I'd want to see a large stone hotel on the top of the Cascade peaks, but I'll take that new nonstop flight to Switzerland.