Highland Park Neighborhood of West Seattle

Autumn colors were the highlight of today's 10.4 mile walk in the Highland Park neighborhood of West Seattle.

It was a beautiful day with great visibility and I could see both the Olympics and the Cascades (even Mount Baker) from this quiet, mostly residential neighborhood. I walked streets between 4th and 16th Avenues SW from SW Holden to Trenton Street.

The eastern portion of the walk abuts the West Seattle Reservoir (which was recently lidded - the park is open but upgrades are scheduled to start soon)

and Westcrest Park with its busy off-leash area. Signs indicate that the towers in this photo are used by the FAA for air traffic control.

North of the reservoir park, I was surprised to find Falcon Ridge Farm

where I spotted two horses.

There were streets of newer, single family homes near the farm and a good-siezed apartment/condo complex.

16th and 9th Avenues are busy but the rest of the streets are quiet. There are a few businesses (grocery/deli, auto repair, hair salon) and an apartment house at 9th and Kenyon. There is also a daycare/preschool a few blocks south on 9th. Except for Highland Park Elementary

and two churches, Community of Hope Church of the Nazarene

and the Community of Christ Highland Park Congregation, the neighborhood is mostly residential with a mix of newer and older homes.

Most, but not all, streets have sidewalks and curbs and the area has a tidy look.

Along the way, I passed Highland Park Playground, a staircase and footpaths at the ends of dead-end streets,

houses and a mailbox decorated for Halloween,

sidewalk art

and an apple tree loaded with apples.

Another Seattle neighborhood loaded with surprises!

South Delridge Neighborhood of West Seattle

Today's 8.6 mile walk filled in streets I had missed in the South Delridge neighborhood and I noticed a difference between the streets east of Delridge / 21st and those west of these streets.

Streets on the east had sidewalks, curbs, cement streets and many single family homes.

Streets on the west mostly lacked sidewalks, had black topped streets and a mix of condos/apartments and single family homes. Not all streets had potholes and not all potholes were this bad but it's not winter yet.

The area is relatively flat but there are a few staircases, especially where streets don't go through. Delridge and Roxbury are commercial streets (where I noted the mural on the Lee's Produce building and the fashions in the windows of Kiki's Corona) but the rest is residential. The area abuts Chief Sealth High School with its ball fields, an adjacent P-Patch and Westwood Village.

This neighborhood houses a large Salvation Army Facility across the street from a New Traditions facility,

the Westwood Christian Assembly (across the street from God's Body Shop Thrift and Gifts),

a Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall that serves a few congregations,

Mount of Transfiguration Church,

and the Community School of West Seattle (preschool and messy day play)

where I saw a goat and quite a few chickens.

Along the way, I spotted a small corner grocery store,

a mural on a fence,

sculptures at the intersection of Delridge and Roxbury

and a Little Free Library (that's one on each of my last three walks).

In spite of the foggy day, this was an enjoyable walk.

Rainier Beach and Rainier View

It was pretty foggy when a friend and I started our 7.1 mile walk in the Rainier Beach and Rainier View neighborhoods today.

I'm really happy that the fog burned off before we finished our walk because this area has some great views. Most of the streets have sidewalks and curbs and houses are well-kept. This hilly neighborhood seemed quiet and desirable. Near the tops of the hills, we noted large older homes which probably have really good views.

I did not notice any shops or services but hope that future walks nearby will reveal what's available. We did pass Emerson Elementary School

and noted what was probably the original facade in front of a newer addition.

Hutchinson Playground is adjacent to the school.

This area is home to Amazing Grace Christian School.




We saw a few houses already decorated for Halloween; one featured a headless scarecrow and another a Monster Express.

We passed the colorful Jack's Library (a Little Free Library),

a poetry box (featuring the Ballad of the Morning Streets by Leroi Jones, a.k.a. Amiri Baraka) near a lovely garden seating area,

an interesting fence,

a tailored garden,






garden art

and loads of spider webs.

This was another pleasant walk through another nice Seattle neighborhood.