Tag Archives: Park

Dalco Passage

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12280410435_512a2bf47b_c(1)While others were watching the Superbowl, I went out to give my new camera a spin. It was kind of eerie being out with almost everyone watching the game. Though there were plenty of police and taxis.  I wandered through Five Mile Drive in Pt. Defiance and took a shot of Dalco Passage, thinking that I would find a fascinating history of Dalco, but no such luck. All I can find is that Dalco Passage is a tidal strait in the Puget Sound, located between the southern end of Vashon Island and Tacoma. Below are a couple of more shots including the sweet beggar of a raccoon (which I didn’t feed). And go Seahawks!

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Garfield Nature Trail

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Garfield Nature Trail at 620 Rogers Street NW, Olympia is like a little haven of wilderness right in the middle of a residential neighborhood. It isn’t a typical park with picnic areas and playground equipment. Instead it is a trail through a ravine between Rogers Street NW and West Bay Drive NW. I hiked from Rogers to West Bay and back again. The path has several sets of stairs and boardwalks and I wish I had worn my sneakers because is places it was damp and a tad slippery. The trail was busy with young people, families and folks walking dogs.

City Haven Peace Park

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There is a small, private park named City Haven Peace Park located next to the Quaker Meetinghouse/Hillside Community Church at 2508 39th Street South. This space has an abundance of birds, squirrels and an occasional raccoon. There are also several inuksuk, which are rock formations roughly shaped like humans.

Spanaway Lake, the last day of 2013

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11678596936_a43ee371af_hI wanted some place pretty for the last day in 2013, so I made my dear husband go out to Spanaway Lake in the light Northwest rain. I find it amazing that I had never been there before. During the warmer months it is possible to rent row boats and canoes at the boathouse. The lake encompasses 280 acres and a maximum depth of 28 feet and a mean depth of 16 feet.

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Reef HQ Aquarium

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Photo Jul 14, 2 54 06 PMThe Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville is the world’s largest living coral reef aquarium. It is part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. We visited this aquarium and had a behind the scenes look at a sea turtle hospital as well as all of the wonderful conservation work being done. We spent the night here and I didn’t think that I’d be able to sleep on the air mattress, but really it was no problem!

Rain Forestation Nature Park

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9390501463_0f65e2e86f_cThis begins a 20+ day blog catchup and recap of my time in Australia. No doubt the recap will have more photos than words. 🙂

The first day we went to the Rain Forestation Nature Park in Kuranda. Link is here. There were kangaroos and koalas (I got to hold one!) and crocodiles (oh my!). There was a WWII amphibious duck  (DUKW) boat which toured the tropical rainforest and the plunged into a lake.  It seems like everything the guides pointed out could kill you, including the plants!

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China Lake Park

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9195094891_21de209d51_bIt was very hot the other day and dear daughter, our two pups and I decided to visit the 373 acre Swan Creek Park. The creek itself was delightfully cool and the dogs walked right into it. There is also a pond at one end that had a couple of kids floating around. The link for the park is here.

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Veteran’s for Peace, Memorial Day

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On Memorial Day I stopped in the park area next to the Lobster Shop that was displaying a traveling memorial by the Veteran’s for Peace dedicated to the men and women who have died in Iraq since March 2003. Despite the rainy weather people were respectful wandering through the display of headstones, considering the very real cost of war.

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The Earth laughs in flowers, Bellevue Botantical Garden

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23131f99-ba63-456c-98af-815f782b4820wallpaperThe Bellevue Botanical Garden (1200 Main Street, Bellevue) is really lovely and has the added bonus of being free. I explored some of the gardens today and it was tranquil and smelled good. I strolled through various gardens with my favorites being the kitchen garden and the border garden. I also wanted to see the ravine and suspension bridge, but I turned right instead of left. Oh well, next time! There is some significant construction going on and new delights are promised for next year. I’m already looking forward to visiting again! There website is here.

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USS Triton Submarine Memorial Park

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8696250766_7d6fb2dec9_b(1)(1)In 1960 my dad was part of the crew of the USS Triton, a Navy nuclear-powered submarine that was the first vessel to circumnavigate the world submerged. The trip, which followed the first circumnavigation of Ferdinand Magellan, began on February 25, 1960 under the command of Captain Edward Beach. The voyage covered 26,723 nautical miles and took 60 days with an average speed of 21 mph).

On Sunday dear daughter and I stopped at the USS Triton Submarine Park in Richland, Washington. The purpose of the park is “to establish a permanent park in north Richland in recognition of all the decommissioned reactor cores off-loaded at the Port’s barge slip, transported and stored at the Hanford Site”. The park, which was dedicated November 10, 2011, features the conning tower of the Triton.

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