Walks, Hikes and Wanders #5: Art In My Own Back Yard

You may have been wondering what has happened to my walks lately, as the last one happened on February 3. We have had a lot of rain lately, and when it rains, it means a trip to the gym. In addition, when the weather has been better, some of my walking has occurred on my regular power walk circuit in my neighborhood. I'll post about the scenes on that circuit sometime soon, I promise.

On February 28, Mr. D and I did go on a walk on the Burke-Gilman Trail. The "Burke" as it is commonly known, is a bicycle/pedestrian trail that extends 18 miles from Shilshole Bay on Puget Sound in the Seattle neighborhood of Ballard, all the way to Bothell, just beyond the northern shore of Lake Washington. We decided to start our walk in our hometown, Lake Forest Park, and walk north along the lakeshore, through Kenmore and at least as far as the Bothell city limits.

The Lake Forest Park segment of the Burke was closed for upgrading for eight months, and had only reopened about two weeks earlier, so we were curious to see the improvements. The very first thing we noticed was the wider, smoother surface, including soft gravel shoulders (great for runners or walkers). Here is the view from where we started our walk:

We then came upon this colorful mural, painted on the back wall of a building located next to the trail.

The train in the mural harkens back to the Burke's earlier incarnation as a railroad bed. The mural also includes bikers, runners, Lake Washington, the Cascade Mountains, and the heart of our community, the Lake Forest Park Town Center. 

The mural was only the beginning of a walk filled with art. We soon came upon this whimsical drinking fountain:

Next up, in the city of Kenmore's Log Boom Park, there was this wonderful mosaic:

Lake Washington also looked like an impressionistic painting as I stood on the shore and gazed into the water.

It wasn't all art, as Kenmore has a busy industrial area that straddles the trail. Here is one of the many businesses that that we passed along the way:

But it was back to art, as I spied this cool railing on the overpass above the trail:

This was the last photo of the day, as my camera battery ran out of juice almost immediately after I took this photo. I saw several other places that I want to return to in future walks to explore and photograph, and when I do, I'll take you along with me.