Category: Seattle and Beyond

Riding the Snoqualmie Valley Trail

Carl Setzer

Friends texted us Friday evening. We’d discussed riding the Snoqualmie Valley Trail, part of my want-to-ride list for ages.

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We parked and set out from Loutsis Park in Carnation. One side note: Apple’s map/Siri got us near Loutsis, but to a different park .3 miles away. Google Maps was able to get us the rest of the way. The ride was, well, mostly half uphill, with the ride back being down. MapMyFitness does a create job of mapping out the ride, providing all the great geeky details like splits and elevation gain. Here are these details from this ride.

It’s really a nice trail for this kind of ride. Well packed gravel, and, though solidly up-hill, a gentle grade (to be expected from converted train tracks). For us, this was perfect: our group had a significant range of age and skill: ages 6 to early 50s. My son, with one of his friends, rode ahead with me while the rest of our crew adopted a more leisurely pace. I felt proud of my son’s pace and endurance. More good rides ahead for us!

Not much wildlife to be seen, but I’m certain that was mostly a function of the time of day. There are placards warning you how to react to bear and cougar sightings. I kept my eyes open as I’ve never seen either in the wild and would actually like to do so. As there weren’t too many other users, the likelihood of seeing something was a lot higher. Yet we didn’t see much. A hawk or turkey vulture, Stellar’s Jays, and not much else. I thought I saw a coyote, but it was far enough away that it might well have been a dog. Who knows?

My favorite “thing”. This quirky thing: a tsunami evacuation sign in the mountains?

Not what I was expecting to see.
Not what I was expecting to see.

If you look closely at the top of the sign, you’ll see the world “Tolt River Dam Failure”. This is the dam that had folks worried a few years back. The incongruity caught my attention, though.

Summing up: this is a trail I want to ride again.

Fun Event In Darrington Tonight

Carl Setzer

Friends of mine run the Whiskey Ridge Brewery in Darrington, who will be hosting an open house this evening starting at 6:00 pm. More details here. If you’re in the area, or love the region and can spare the time, I highly recommend making the trek. We’re going to do our best to be there.

Friends Facing Challenges

Carl Setzer

Friends, Todd is good friend of mine. The grace he’s shown while facing this challenge has been amazing. We’re trying to raise funds to bring him home, which is frightfully expensive. If you have it in your heart to help, it would be graciously appreciated and help a great local family. Here’s where you can find the details, and stay up-to-date on Todd’s progress.



Fireworks!

Carl Setzer

Well, the Fourth of July is almost upon us. If you’re not inclined to stay at your house and blow stuff up, here’s a basic list of fireworks displays throughout the region.

Lake Union 4th of July
10:15 p.m.
Lake Union

Bellevue
10:05 p.m.
Bellevue Downtown Park

Newcastle
10:00 p.m.
Lake Boren Park

Kirkland
10:15 p.m.
Marina Park

Renton
10:00 p.m.
Gene Coulon Park

Bothell
10:00 p.m.
Downtown Bothell

Edmonds
10:00 p.m.
Civic Stadium

Kent
10:00 p.m.
Lake Meridian Park

Federal Way
10:15 p.m.
Celebration Park

Des Moines
10:15 p.m.
Des Moines Marina

Everett
10:20 p.m.
Legion Memorial Park

Tacoma
10:10 p.m.
Ruston Way Waterfront

Steilacoom
10:30 p.m.
Steilacoom Town Hall

Sammamish
10:00 p.m.
Lower Commons

Tukwila
10:00 p.m.
Fort Dent Park

Mount Vernon
Dusk
Edgewater park

*I was hoping to gather links and such, but the time has slipped away. I’ll aim for better next year. 

Everett’s Jetty Island Opens to Public Saturday

Carl Setzer

Just saw on My Everett News that Jetty Island will be open for the 2014 summer season starting this coming Saturday, July 5th. If you haven’t been there, it’s a great Seattle area day-trip. Come enjoy a fun day with the kids and explore one of the more unique elements to this region.

More information about Jetty Island here.

A weekend of rocket fun

Carl Setzer

Last weekend, my son and I decided to build a model rocket, an Estes Taser. To fly the thing, we went to Edmonds Elementary’s play-field. I flew many, many rockets over the course of my youth. One challenge with rockets in this region, though: trees. Well, tress and wind. I estimate I lost a few hundred dollars worth of rockets over the years, making this a particularly spendy hobby. But, the boy wanted to and I really do have fond memories, so, what the heck!

Anyway, after the first launch cooked the parachute a little bit, preventing it from deploying properly, we did manage to get two more launches in. The last launch, though, ended with the thing crashing, cone first, into the earth, bending the tube significantly. And that pretty much ended the excursion.

So, the boy really wanted me to create a video, so here we go. I thought, afterwards, it would’ve been nice to add some music. Maybe at sometime in the future.

Below is the creation. Enjoy!

 

 

Father’s Day Weekend Fun Around Seattle, Edmonds

Carl Setzer

Well, it looks like a lovely, rainy Father’s Day weekend in Greater Seattle land. Which may be a bit of a bummer, but we Northwesterners know how to cope.

So, looking for some reason to brave the rain and depart the abode? I have a few suggestions. Oh, and let me clear, this isn’t even close to all inclusive.

  1. The Edmonds Arts Festival: this is currently in process (started this morning) and runs the entire weekend. Many events and performances on top of a ton of booths. Tomorrow you can leverage the Edmonds Farmers Market and build a full day of it.
  2. Looking for a unique gift for Dad? Just need to find something for the house? In Lynnwood, Trinity Lutheran Church has their Junktique on the 13th and 14th.
  3. Want to stay indoors? Well, you can head to the Seattle Center. Tons of stuff going on. And there’s a wide array of food choices in the Armory to make things interesting.
  4. Another indoor opportunity without heading into the City: the Hibulb Cultural Center is free for dads on Sunday.
  5. Here’s a fun and unique idea from the Historic Flight Foundation at Paine Field: “In honor of all fathers, Historical Flight will offer member rides to fathers at one-half price with the purchase of a regular membership by an appreciative relative.”
  6. Everett’s Imagine Children’s Museum has free admission for dads
  7. Don’t forget Puget Sound area staples:
    1. Take a walk-on ferry trip
    2. Hit the Everett or Fremont Farmer’s markets

There isn’t any reason to stay home (well, unless you want to). Don your rain garb and get out!

Full Moon & Friday the 13th Got You Superstitious?

Carl Setzer

…then here you go! Rock this last work day of the week and launch into a great weekend.

 

 

Summer’s Coming: What To Do?

Carl Setzer

School breaks close upon me, causing me to wonder: what shall we do with this gift? Trails to bike and hike, beaches to gaze out from, museums, festivals…so very much to consider.

This year I plan to, well, plan better. Instead of, in September, wondering about all the stuff undone. I’m starting a list, but am not sure what shall end up on it just yet. Here’s where my brain is now:

The basics of a start. We’ll have fun enriching this list. Let me know your ideas.

Random Friday Thoughts

Carl Setzer

I adore this region and community. Perhaps I’m biased. My parents grew up here, so even while we lived all over the globe, Seattle was always titled “home”. Its funny, though, that my father’s greater family left Seattle in the 50s and my mom’s family lived in Yakima. So it was Seattle, in a greater sense. Pretty much the airport, I guess.

This area, though, has always felt like home. Laden with the positive and negative feelings of ” home”, its been complex. Both feeling smothering and liberating, if not at the same time, often one on the heels of the other. And there’s the financial challenges of this area’s expensive cost of living. Both delight and discomfort; yay!

Much of the positive feeling stems from the environment. Surrounded by mountains, right against Puget Sound, this area is unique geographically. Much of what I love is interconnected with that.

This region has tough problems to work through: affordability, maintaining the attractive lifestyle, transportation, just to mention the big ones. Yet the people here care. We have some human warmth issues, and a passive-aggressive core, but the central culture here really makes this region innovative and interesting. Together, we work through these challenges. And that’s what I love most.

So, go and do great things!