Sand Point

A Friends of the Library book sale brought me to Magnuson Park today and made me realize that there are streets and housing inside the park so I took a 5.5 mile walk attempting to cover the streets that I had missed when walking in the surrounding neighborhoods. I walked streets I had missed between Sand Point Way NE and Lake Washington from about NE 61st NE 80th Street.

This is a beautiful area inside the park. Housing is clustered along 62nd Ave NE, near the southwestern edge of the park. This area is home to the Solid Ground's Santos Place

and Brettler Family Place.

It looks as if some of the barracks have been renovated and a playground built

but most of the old barracks are boarded up.

It looked as if some of the old officers' housing was in use.







Further north along 62nd, are the Magnuson Community Center

and the Seattle Musical Theater.

Walking east on 65th Street, I passed the Western Fisheries Research Center, federally protected wetlands

and Lake Washington.

I walked north and came to Fin Art and the Off-Leash Area.

North of 74th Street, I passed the Mountaineers native plant garden, practice area and climbing wall,

lots of UW and Harborview storage facilities, Sail Seattle, Magnuson Athletic Club and the Seattle Conservation Corps.

Circling back to 74th, I  passed the Center for Pediatric Dentistry,

the Freedom Tree (honoring POWs and MIAs)

and a sign for Concrete Canoe Car Parking.

This walk may not have been as scenic as a walk along the lake shore would have been but it was interesting.

Fauntleroy and Gatewood Neighborhoods of West Seattle

Sound views dominated today's walk as my husband and I took a 5.5 mile walk in the Fauntleroy and Gatewood neighborhoods of West Seattle. We walked streets from 39th to 44th Avenue SW between SW Austin and Cloverdale Streets.

This is a tidy neighborhood of wide streets and lovely gardens. There are not many tall trees.

We saw quite a few staircases leading from California down to 44th





and climbed 132 steps up from 44th to Northrop Place

where we were rewarded by another spectacular view.

This neighborhood abuts Peace Lutheran Church (pictured in a prior post) and a few ravines but, otherwise, it is strictly residential.


I will be happy to return to West Seattle for more walks.

North Queen Anne

Today's North Queen Anne walk was another hilly one (although not as steep as yesterday's). I walked 5.4 miles along streets I had not already walked from W McGraw to W Bennett between 3rd and 10th Avenues W.

This neighborhood is dominated by Mount Pleasant Cemetery and, like the cemetery, it appeared peaceful and well tended. The streets bordering the cemetery are treelined and quiet. The west side has an interesting fence/hedge combination. It looked as if old laurels had been cut down to within about three feet of the ground and the cut branches inserted between the stumps to form a fence. Inside this fence, a new laurel hedge was growing.

Across the street from the north side of the cemetery, I saw a few industrial sites. One looked like an old stable or garage,

another had a T-Mobile FCC registration sign

the final one had a sign indicating that it was used by the Seattle Pacific University Landscape Department.

In the surrounding neighborhood, I saw an imaginative tree swing,

a chicken,

beautiful gardens, palm trees

and lovely streets and homes.

This neighborhood is home to Coe Elementary School and Play Park,

Seattle Church of Christ

and Queen Anne Lutheran Church.

It borders on Queen Anne Bowl Playfield (pictured in a prior post).

I saw lots people out gardening and families out near the school and play park.

Madrona and Leschi

 

A warm and sunny day called for a walk near the water so my husband and I got a real workout today on our 4.7 mile hike in the hills of Madrona and Leschi. We walked streets from E Terrace to E Olive between 37th Avenue E and Lake Washington. We spotted lots of steep staircases and climbed a few. We saw paths that were designated as streets.

We hiked in Madrona Park where we enjoyed "another future urban forest" and views of Lake Washington and met other hikers who directed us to

the Leschi Natural Area where we found a trail and had even more spectacular views.

Walking down to the lake, we saw the north end of Leschi Marina and Mount Rainier.

Walking north along the lake, we came to the beach side of Madrona Park and spotted bathers, the Madrona Bathhouse (home of the Spectrum Dance Theater), and Avery Smokey Point BBQ.

Along the way, we spotted beautiful homes

tidy streets (many with lake views)










a pole wishing for peace on earth

and writing on the sidewalk that announced the arrival of spring.

Another wonderful walk.