Port Angeles and Astoria: Great escapes on 10 gallons or less

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES, 2003 If you travel to Astoria, Ore., in a gas-saving Prius, you can visit Fort Clatsop, where Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1805-06.

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Gas prices keeping you close to home this vacation season? Through Labor Day, Northwest Weekend is offering weekly ideas for close-to-Seattle getaways you can get to and back on less than 10 gallons of gas. And just to make it more "real world" — our tips are fine-tuned to whether you own a big honkin' SUV or a gas-sipping hybrid electric.

The fine print: Our "demo" vehicles are a Lincoln Navigator, which can get you 90 miles away and back on 10 gallons, and a Toyota Prius, which can get you 250 miles away and back on 10 gallons.*

The Lincoln Navigator getaway

Secret tip: Ferries let you cheat a little on the miles (though, we have to admit, they don't save you money).

Port Angeles is 84 miles away (including the Edmonds-to-Kingston ferry run), and this weekend, not only can you take the scenic drive up to Hurricane Ridge or a side trip to Dungeness Spit, you can rattle around in a suit of armor and gnaw on a haunch of something roasted to a fine doneness at the Port Angeles Renaissance Faire, this Friday, June 11, through Sunday, June 13, at Clallam County Fairgrounds.

More information: For Port Angeles information, 877-456-8372 or www.portangeles.org; www.northwestsecretplaces.com; Renaissance Faire, www.portangelesfaire.org

The Toyota Prius getaway

With your gas-sipper, you can still make it as far as the Oregon Coast.

Go ahead, plan a three-day weekend and nab some reservations for a bed-and-breakfast in historic Astoria (183 miles from Seattle). Then explore the area where Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific, including nearby Fort Clatsop National Memorial, where the explorers spent the winter.

Starting next week, your $5 entry to the re-created fort also gets you a three-day pass for a summer shuttle that visits all Lewis-and-Clark sites from Long Beach to Cannon Beach during the 200th anniversary commemoration.

More information: For Astoria information, www.oldoregon.com or 800-875-6807; for Fort Clatsop: www.nps.gov/focl

* Based on EPA highway-mileage ratings for 2004 vehicles: Prius = 51 mpg. Navigator 2WD = 18 mpg. Trips measured using MapQuest routes from Fourth Avenue and Pine Street in downtown Seattle.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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