Skykomish and Grand Coulee Dam: Great escapes on 10 gallons or less

Gas prices keeping you close to home this vacation season? Through Labor Day, we are 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 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 (180 miles round-trip) on 10 gallons, and a Toyota Prius, which can get you 255 miles away and back (510 miles round-trip) on 10 gallons.*

The Navigator getaway

Head up Stevens Pass Highway to the village of Skykomish (67 miles away) for a small-town Fourth of July potluck picnic and fireworks display on the banks of the rushing Skykomish River (festivities are noon to 10:30 p.m.). Head up early and stop along the way for a 7-mile round-trip hike to blueberry-colored Lake Serene, in the shadow of the spires of Mount Index. (From Highway 2 at Milepost 35.2, turn right on Mount Index Road, go a third of a mile and turn right onto Forest Road 6020-109 and look for the trailhead parking lot just ahead; Northwest Forest Pass required.)

More information: See the Forest Service Web site: www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/recreation/activities/trails/skykomish.shtml. To make it an overnight, try a Google search for cabin rentals in the area (we found www.greatcabins.com and www.skycabins.com) or try SkyRiver Inn, www.skyriverinn.com or 800-367-8194.

The Prius getaway

If you like hot summer weather, chances are you'll love Independence Day at Grand Coulee Dam (229 miles away). There's a two-day Festival of America this weekend, plus the free laser light show projected on the face of the huge dam (nightly through Sept. 6) and fireworks at 10:35 p.m. Sunday. Take a free tour of the dam's powerhouse (hourly, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. daily). Head 19 more miles up Highway 155 (grand total: 248 miles) to Nespelem, Okanogan County, for the Colville Confederated Tribes Pow Wow Encampment, Saturday through July 11.

More information: Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce, www.grandcouleedam.org (including info on lodging) or 800-268-5332.

* 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.