Southeast of Carkeek Park

Today, my friend and I went to look at the Street Edge Alternatives (SEA) project and walked the nearby neighborhood around Carkeek Park. We walked most of the streets from NW 115th to 120th between 2nd and 10th Avenues NW.

The SEA project runs from NW 117th to 120th Streets along 2nd Avenue NW. Here is a link to the project's website. This street is lovely to look at and is environmentally friendly to Piper Creek because the surfaces and plantings minimize toxic runoff.

The neighborhood just west of this street is quiet, well kept and beautifully situated around Carkeek Park with views of Puget Sound. Houses are expensive and even the streets which were not in the SEA project are appealing.

Our 4 mile walk took us into Carkeek Park via a footpath off NW 116th just above the Carkeek Park Environmental Learning Center.

The streets around the SEA project are level; those close to the park are hilly. Territorial and sound views and great native plants made this a truly enjoyable walk.

North Matthew's Beach

Today, my husband and I filled in all the streets we'd missed from NE 105th to 115th between Sand Point Way and Lake Washington and we were rewarded with beautiful views.

This is a hilly, environmentally sensitive area above the Burke Gilman Trail and many of the homes have been rebuilt to take advantage of the views.

Some of the homes are built near ravines, some are quite large and some of the streets have a crowded feel but it is still a quiet, well-tended neighborhood.

We had thought that seeing a house built on a stilt-like foundation, another with a swimming pool in a front yard and yet another with a tennis court was impressive but then we had an eagle sighting!

As we walked along Exeter between 107th and 110th, one of the neighbors asked if we'd heard the eagle. We hadn't but he was able to point out the eagle sitting in a tree in the back yard of one of the houses on the east side of the street.

This was an eventful 4.2 mile walk.

Meadowbrook Pond

Yesterday, my husband and I walked all the streets between NE 105th and 110th Streets from 35th Avenue NE to Sand Point Way NE plus a few streets east of Sand Point Way (mostly Durland Avenue). This pleasant walk was 5.8 miles, had us again intersecting Thornton Creek and took us through Meadowbrook Pond. The Pond area was thoughtfully created and is a sanctuary within this neighborhood. Here, we viewed wildlife, public art and neighbors enjoying the environment.

John Rogers Elementary school is within the area we walked and Nathan Hale High School and the Meadowbrook Pool and Community Center abut it. We noted quite a few potholes on Sand Point Way and a passing truck blew my hat off as we tried to navigate this sidewalk-less stretch. Many of the streets west of Sand Point Way dead-ended and a ravine seemed to wind its way through back yards giving the area a country-ish feel.

Durland Avenue, on the east side of Sand Point Way, had less vegetation, probably to take advantage of the great views of Lake Washington (especially from the northern part of Durland).

This walk was a nice way to start the day.