Picturing the perfect vacation

I was thrilled to receive your March/April issue just a week before my vacation to Seattle. Your cover story on "Olympic National Park" inspired me to work a visit into our itinerary—and I’m glad I did. The park was amazing! If I hadn’t gotten my VIA in time, I would have missed the rain forests, beaches, lakes, and the world’s largest spruce tree, not to mention some really great photos. Like this one (above).

HAYLEY MEARS
Santa Cruz, California

Mosses and lichens and life

In your March cover story, "Lush Life," you make reference to the abundant moss of the Olympic Peninsula. But you can also find lots of lichens, gray-green organisms formed by a symbiotic relationship between algae and fungi that grow on rocks and trees. Some of them can only grow in clean air, so their presence may indicate a low level of pollution.

MARI BRANDON
Ukiah, California

Lost at sea

My grandfather’s nephew, Frank Lester Woolley, was one of the crew of the USS Cyclops ("In Ship Shape," March/April), which disappeared 90 years ago this summer. No debris was ever found. It remains one of the great mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle.

SHERWOOD GRAY
Sparks, Nevada

Bigfoot: Can you hear me now?

I loved your story on the "San Lorenzo Valley" (March/April). I’ve been to the famous Fremont tree, gazed in awe at the redwoods, and heard all the Bigfoot stories. In case you wanted to know how to summon him, it’s easy: Bang two pieces of wood together and wait for a wood-on-wood response. That is how Sasquatch communicates.

SHANNON McCABE
Sacramento, California

Seafood alarm

I was surprised by your feature story "Hooked!" (March/April). Encouraging readers to gorge on seafood while on vacation in Hawaii seems incredibly environmentally insensitive. It is no secret that our oceans are being overfished. Many fish species are in severe danger of being depleted, and your article was an affront to their plight.

PETER CHALICH
Soledad, California

Fast track

Unless you’re attempting a new land speed record, it’d be pretty tough to drive from Salt Lake City to Logan’s Bluebird restaurant in half an hour, as your article "A Sweet Slice of History in Utah" suggests. The two cities are more than 80 miles apart.

ROBERT CALLET
Las Vegas, Nevada

You are absolutely correct. The driving time is closer to 90 minutes. But if you want to take a stab at the land speed record, head due west until you hit the Bonneville Salt Flats. The current record is 763 mph, which would get you from Salt Lake City to the Bluebird in roughly 6.3 minutes. We don’t suggest you try it. —Editor