Walks, Hikes and Wanders #10: Greenery and Gardens Along the Burke

 Well, we didn't get anywhere close to Kenmore, but Mr. D and I had a wonderful seven-mile walk one morning last week on the Burke-Gilman Trail. It was a gorgeous day, predicted to get into the high 70s by late afternoon. We drove down Sand Point Way in Seattle, accessed the trail just off  Northeast 65th Street, and headed north.

I could immediately tell that this was going to be different than our last walk on the Burke five weeks earlier. The most noticeable difference was how green everything has gotten since early April. Our recent spell of warm weather has really accelerated spring growth and blooming.

There were Thimbleberry plants already in bloom. The berries will be forming soon.

Buttercups and Forget-Me-Nots and Dandelions grew in large patches right next to the trail.

We saw a Mallard couple enjoying the rain-filled ditch that runs along the trail near our turn-around spot at Northeast 125th Street, Could this be the same pair we saw just a bit north of here in April?

There was new growth on the trees and the blooming beauty in the hidden gardens that we saw along the way. I'm sharing just a sampling—enjoy!

 

Walks, Hikes and Wanders #8: Heading Down the Burke

Last month, I wrote about walking north on the Burke-Gilman trail from my hometown. Two weeks ago, Mr. D and I started from the same point and walked south. As we noticed before, the newly remodeled trail was wider, and the surface smoother.

The recent rains meant that McAleer Creek was rushing, as we looked down on it from the bridge.

It was a chilly, blustery day, but spring was in full swing, as you can see from this wonderful blossoming magnolia tree that we saw along the trail:

We crossed over the Seattle city limits after about a mile-and-a-half, and continued on for another mile. Along the way we came across some ducks enjoying an overgrown puddle, and later, some blooming daffodils.

We turned around at 125th Street and power walked back to our starting point, so the focus in this part of the walk was exercise, not photography. Before we headed for home, we made one last stop for a reward: Great Harvest Bread Company, where one of the free slices being offered that day was Italian Easter Bread, sweet and delicious, filled with marzipan. YUM! (I hope it didn't reverse all of that good exercise...)

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.