Circumambulating Seattle 4: West Seattle to Downtown

“But most of these far walks have been taken just for the joy of walking in the free air.”
— John Finley, “Traveling Afoot,” from The Joys of Walking, ed. Edwin Valentine

“Increasingly, walking itself became a source of happiness, something to be enjoyed in its own right, bringing an intensity of experience and a sensual awareness of surroundings that grew more addictive by the miles.”
— Nick Hunt, Walking the Woods and the Water

View of downtown Seattle skyline from Alki

At this point in my multi-day project of encircling the periphery of Seattle, I no longer questioned why I was walking these segments.  I simply enjoyed the journey.  I was especially looking forward to this day’s walk because I knew I would have Puget Sound in sight almost the entire day.  I was reminded of how beautiful Seattle’s location is, with distant mountains to the west (the Olympics) and to the east (the Cascades) and the gentle waves of Puget Sound lapping its shores.

I started my walk from the Barton Street Pea Patch at the intersection of Barton Street SW and 35th Avenue SW.

Sunflower

Barton Street community garden

I followed Barton Street west and downhill to the sound.  The Fauntleroy ferry was disgorging cars and passengers.  It would have been a lovely day for a ferry ride to Vashon Island, but I stuck with my plan to walk.

Ferry to Vashon Island

Disembarking

I followed Fauntleroy Avenue SW to Lincoln Park, a heavily wooded space with playground, picnic tables, and below the bluff, a beach with paved walking and biking path.  Families, joggers, and dog-watchers enjoyed the beach.

Picnic table under the trees, Lincoln Park

 

Beach at Lincoln Park on Puget Sound

Exercising with beach rocks

The Seattle grunge look — starting early

Seattle is a very literary city.

From Lincoln Park I headed north on Beach Drive where I was separated from the beach by a row of waterfront residences.  As I approached Alki Beach, I discovered a set of 27 constellations embedded the sidewalk, West Seattle’s own “Avenue of the Stars.”

Beach Drive turned into Alki Avenue.  The point here was the original landing spot of the Denny Party, Seattle’s first white settlers, in 1851.  Later they relocated across the Sound to establish Seattle on the shores of Elliott Bay.  Today the beach is one of the city’s favorite recreation spots, especially on summer days.

Blue bottle house

Alki Beach

Alki has its own miniature replica of the Statue of Liberty, which commemorates the 40th anniversary of the Boy Scouts.

Picnic on the beach

Flowered house on Alki Avenue

Alki Avenue turned into Harbor Avenue SW and now the views over the water took in the Seattle skyline.

Recreation and industry on Elliott Bay near downtown Seattle

The next stretch of my walk took me away from the relaxing beachfront and back into the city’s industrial area.  Pedestrians are prohibited on the West Seattle Bridge, but I had access to a nice bike trail across Harbor Island on an older, lower bridge.  I passed over the Duwamish River, and Mount Rainier gleamed hugely and whitely on the horizon.

Bike path along the lower bridge

Under the West Seattle Bridge

Duwamish River with Mount Rainier

Duwamish River looking toward downtown Seattle

My final trek was along East Marginal Way South past the shipping docks.  The Starbucks headquarters punctuated the skyline in the SODO (south of Downtown) neighborhood.  I passed an historical marker near 2225 E marginal Way S on the spot of the world’s very first gasoline service station (1907).  Who knew that Seattle played a role in this part of our country’s driving history!

Loading docks and shipyards

Starbucks headquarters

East Marginal Way South

Bike path into downtown Seattle

Ferry coming into the downtown terminal

I ended my walk at the downtown ferry terminal.

Total walking distance:  about 12 miles

 

 

 

Seeing Picasso at the Seattle Art Museum

Outside the Seattle Art Museum a few minutes before opening

We are very fortunate to have a rare opportunity to see over 100 of Picasso’s works of art without the cost of an expensive airplane ticket.  The Seattle Art Museum is currently exhibiting Picasso’s art from the collection of the Musee National Picasso in Paris, which is undergoing renovation right now.  I went to see it this week.  The ticket price includes an audio tour, which I found helpful in learning about Picasso’s career.

One of my favorite pieces was a painting called The Farm Woman, 1938.  I loved the simple, yet evocative, sketches of a rooster, hen, and chicks on the edges of the painting.  Picasso is a genius at making a few lines so very expressive.

Here is a reproduction of The Farm Woman in the exhibit catalog.

Detail of the rooster from The Farm Woman

Seattle street scene: Picasso mural near Pioneer Square

Vancouver Land Bridge

The Vancouver Land Bridge is one of seven sites in Maya Lin’s Confluence Project that celebrates the 450 miles of Lewis and Clark’s explorations in the Pacific Northwest.  I admire Maya Lin’s works, including the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C., so I had been wanting to see this bridge she designed, along with Johnpaul Jones, in Washington State.

The pedestrian bridge over Highway 14 in Vancouver connects a lovely paved trail along the Columbia River and the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.  We parked at the entrance to Old Apple Tree Park along the pedestrian/bike waterfront trail close to where I-5 crosses the Columbia River into Oregon.  On the bridge is artwork celebrating the history and Native people of the area.  I loved the graceful curves of the walkway, which was lined with a low wall suitable for sitting and enjoying the views.  There were also three kiosks with benches and artwork, native plants, and interpretive panels. 

 I would definitely recommend that travellers to Portland take the time to stop and stroll along this remarkable bridge.

The I-5 bridge over the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon. The Vancouver Land Bridge is very close to this spot.

The welcome gate, by artist Lillian Pitt, is two cedar canoe paddles with a glass sculpture of a Chinook woman's face.

The curving pedestrian and bike path on the Land Bridge

Cutouts and shadows on the metal panels of a kiosk

View from the Land Bridge of one of the buildings at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site

Native fern and shadow

Native fern

Blossom of the salmonberry, another native plant