Pike Place Market Seattle

Seattle's Chinatown-International District

Oregon Coast

Where did summer go

Artis the Spoonman, Seattle's best kept secret"

Artis the Spoonman,

Taken outside the original Starbucks at the Pike Place Market in Seattle.

Fall pictures in Sultan,Wa

I made a little friend On Vashon Island

I had gone out to Vashon Island for the day to take some pictures, when I made a new friend. As I walked out to the beach there was this little bird sitting on a log as if he was in charge and I had to get permission to cross. Most birds would be scared and fly away, but it just sat there. I walked back by ten minutes later and it was still sitting there as if it were waiting for me to take it home.

Juanita Bay Park Kirkland

It was absolutely beautiful out today so it gave me a chance to drive down to Olympia and visit Nisqually Reach and end the day at the City of Kirkland's Juanita Bay Park.The nice weather also gave me a chance to try out a new Nikon lens I bought. (Nikon AF-S 70-300 mm VR lens) It works great!

The Nisqually Reach Nature Center

The Nisqually Reach Nature Center provides estuarine environmental education on the Nisqually River delta in view of the river’s headwaters on Mount Rainier.



At this magical place overlooking the shore of Puget Sound at the mouth of McAllister Creek ... or as the local Nisqually Indians called it, She-Nah-Nam ("place where they get a form of spirit power") ... we offer a hands-on experience for local school kids, research opportunities for local college students, internship opportunities for budding naturalists and educators, and volunteer opportunities for concerned citizens, maybe just like you, who want to help others appreciate and understand their sense of place in this part of the world.



The Nisqually Reach Nature Center is open to the public 12-4pm on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Deception Falls at Stevens Pass

I Took a drive up to Deception Falls(At the base of the west side of Stevens Pass) for a hike and to see if I could get a few nice pictures, the weather turned out pretty nice. This is a very nice area for a hike if you ever get up this way but it's easy to miss the turn if you don't pay attention.

Mt. Baker and San Juan Islands

Sammamish River Trail

I found these wild flowers growing in a field off of the Sammamish River Trail in Woodinville the other day and I will have to be sure and go back as there were others that had yet to bloom.

Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area

The Columbia River Gorge is a spectacular river canyon cutting the only sea-level route through the Cascade Mountain Range.

It's 80 miles long and up to 4,000 feet deep with the north canyon walls in Washington State and the south canyon walls in Oregon State.




Recreation
Hiking, mountain biking, windsurfing, camping, fishing, boating, wildlife watching, birding, wildflower viewing, photography, picnicking, rock climbing. You can do all this and more in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.


WATERFALLS
Through millenniums of geologic events, waterfalls have found their home in the Columbia River Gorge. A visit to the area is not complete without a visit to its breathtaking waterfalls.
Multnomah Falls is the second highest year-round waterfall in the United States. Though Multnomah Falls is grand and popular, all of the falls in the Gorge are special and breathtaking.

Pike Place Market & Washington State Ferries

We got a late start on the day today, and decided to take the bus downtown Seattle about 2:00 this afternoon. Once we got downtown and got off the bus at Westlake Center, we decided to run through the Pike Place Market and then run over and see if we could make a ferry run out to Bremerton. as luck would have it, there was a Bremerton ferry loading as we walked up and was leaving in ten minutes. usually we have to wait for the next ferry to arrive(30-60 minutes) when we try and do the walk on ferry. We ended up getting home about 7:30 this evening and were a bit tired from all the walking, but it was worth it to get some pretty good pictures and a visit to the Pike Place Market.

Kubota Garden Seattle

For years I have heard people talk about the Kubota Japanese Garden in south Seattle, and how beautiful it was. This afternoon,I decided to make my way over there and take a walk. I grabbed my camera since it was a pretty nice day out and from the moment I got there we were just blown away at how beautiful this garden was. I have been to Japan before with a high school group in 1980 and this place is as close as you are going to get to being in Japan in the heart of Seattle. As I was leaving it started to rain as I got into the car, soon after it turned to a steady drizzle.(got lucky I did not get rained on) then I got caught in the Mariners post-game traffic on the freeway as I missed getting on the I-90 on-ramp. I can only say I am sorry I can't post all of the pictures I took there. It really was hard to choose.

Seattle Mariners

Made it to my first Mariners baseball game of the year yesterday, the weather could not have been better. Seattle made it to 78 and Olympia even hit 82. Thats summer time weather around here and it is only april. The Mariners beat the L.A. Angels 8-3.

Sammamish River Trail

Went over this afternoon and did a pretty good walk at the Sammamish River Trail in Woodinville and got what I think are some pretty good pictures. I found the ornamental heritage garden and Trapper O'Brien's cabin very interesting and a funny place for a cabin. O'brien lived in the cabin and spent the fall and winter on the Skagit River in the Cascade Mountains trapping. This was around the 1800's.

Willows Lodge

Willows Lodge in nearby Woodinville, is a beautiful setting for one of the best rated hotels in the country. Chateau Ste Michelle winery is right across the street and the Sammamish River Trail borders the hotel.

Washington Park Arboretum

At last, spring is finally here...So after work today I drove over to the arboretum in Seattle, near the University of Washington.http://www.washington.edu/ Had a nice walk and took some pictures. Saw my first bald eagle in some time land in it's nest. I always love the cherry blossoms in the spring, but they don't last very long.

Rattlesnake Lake and Rattlesnake Ledge near North Bend

It turned out to be a beautiful day so, I packed up my camera and headed out for a new hike at Rattlesnake Lake and Rattlesnake Ledge near North Bend. Wow, it was a great hike with awesome views. It is about a 2,000 ft elevation and about a two mile hike to the top so it is a bit of a trek to reach. But well worth it. Spectacular views all around you of the mountains and Rattlesnake Lake. There was still some snow and ice on the trail and I am happy to report that I only fell once. The camera made it through just fine in the fall. The trail was very busy today, with many languages heard from countries such as Germany, France, China, India, Australia, England and Japan.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/getaways/145995_hike30.html