The State Parks and Recreation Commission just announced that the campgrounds at Fort Flagler will remain closed until May 13 while scheduled capital improvement projects are completed.

Here is the rest of the news release:

Due to the construction, there are no full-service restroom or shower facilities available in the day-use area. Vault toilets are available in the day-use area for visitor convenience. All other facilities at Fort Flagler will remain open during construction, including the retreat center, watercraft launch sites, moorage, trails and the day-use areas. Camping is available at nearby Fort Worden, Old Fort Townsend and Sequim Bay state parks. Click here for more information on those park.

The capital improvement projects include the construction of a new state-of-the-art membrane bioreactor sewage treatment facility. Visitors should be prepared for the continued use of large, heavy equipment on the roadways of the park during construction. Additionally, extensive hydro-seeding in the lower campground area is underway at this time. The hydro-seeding, which will re-vegetate the areas affected by the construction, was delayed due to cold, inclement weather.

The commission also reminds visitors to prepare to take alternate routes to Fort Flagler and other state parks serviced by the Hood Canal Bridge beginning May 1. The bridge will be closed for six weeks while the State Department of Transportation replaces the entire east half of the bridge along with the east and west trusses.

Fort Flagler State Park is a 784-acre marine camping park surrounded on three sides by 19,100 feet of saltwater shoreline. The park rests on a high bluff overlooking Puget Sound, with views of the Olympic and Cascade Mountains. Many historic buildings remain at this 19th-century-established military fort.

Whistler Blackcomb’s stranglehold on the title as the Northwest’s best ski resort might be slipping.

At least in the 10-and-younger demographic.

My daughter, who has long considered Whistler to be the coolest place on earth, turned 10 last week so, as I gift, I took her with me on an assignment that included a stop at Silver Mountain in Northern Idaho.

“Dad,” she said during a ride on the resort’s 3.1-mile gondola, “this place is cooler than Whistler. When can we come back?”

Keep in mind this is coming from the perspective of a 10-year-old who probably wouldn’t place skiing in her top 10 required amenities for a ski resort.

The skiing at Silver Mountain above Kellogg, Idaho, is good, but hardly on par with Crystal Mountain let alone Whistler Blackcomb.

But what Silver Mountain does have is something no other Northwest ski area can boast – the ability to ski and surf before lunch.

In May, Silver Mountain celebrated its 40th anniversary by unveiling an indoor water park.

John Williams, marketing director for Silver Mountain, said the Silver Rapids Water Park has turned a ski area longer considered a “hidden gem” into a year-round resort.

“We get people coming here just to use the water park,” Williams said.

The park has three large water slides that require climbing 81 steps for a ride through the darkened tubes. It has three hot tubs, including two next to the bar where I was able to hang out while watching the NCAA Tournament regional finals last weekend.

It has tame slides for kids, a glass roof designed for year-round sun tanning and a 315-foot river you can float on an innertube.

Then there’s the FlowRider, a 60,000-gallon constant wave that’s kind of a treadmill for surfers.

Needless to say, all this waterpark fun made it hard to keep my daughter on the slopes.

“We get a lot of that,” said Neal Scholey, the resorts’ real estate director. “It’s like parents are having to make their kids eat their vegetables before they have their dessert.”