Seattle is one of those rare cities that succeeds not only in its urban appeal but in its proximity to the great outdoors. Many cities may claim this, but a hearty adventurer might not feel so satiated by a pedal boat ride through a murky puddle or a half-mile "hike" through manicured lawns along a paved trail. Seattle offers beautiful urban parks along with world-class hiking, skiing, climbing, mountaineering --you name it-- only an hour or so away.
After several months in the wilds of Alaska, Fluffy and her friends thought it best to ease back into the busier life of the city. They succeeded in this approach by mixing their hours of strolling through downtown (20% sightseeing, 10% shopping, 70% eating) with spending some leisurely time enjoying the fall sunshine amidst old growth trees and towering sculptures.
Destination #1: Discovery Park
Feeling the need to stretch their airplane-stiffened legs with some physical activity but without much time to leave the city, the group headed to Discovery Park, in Seattle's Magnolia neighborhood. The beautiful forests, meadows and oceanside bluffs of the park's 534 acres would have likely been developed a century ago had the area not been chosen as the location of Fort Lawton. While most of the land is explorable via trails for hikers, runners and dog-walkers, a portion of the fort is still closed to the public and used as a military housing area.
Immediately noticeable on days with a gentle eastward breeze, the King County Wastewater Treatment Facility offers a familiar yet unfavorable scent to the park's western slope. While located gracelessly on the northern shore of the lighthouse point, it's not too difficult to ignore the aroma and humming mechanical sounds of the facility and enjoy the views and relaxing atmosphere of the north and south beaches.
Fluffy and her friends welcomed the autumn sunshine as they sat on beached logs along the south shore and admired the views of West Seattle, Bainbridge Island and the Olympic Range in the distance.
Destination #2: Olympic Sculpture Park
Completed not even two years ago, the park has transformed a formerly industrial waterfront lot into an urban retreat of art, greenery and sparkling Puget Sound views. Conveniently located downtown, it's an easy getaway for Belltown condo dwellers or businesspeople on lunch breaks looking for a good place to sit down with a sandwich.
One of Fluffy's Seattle friends lives only blocks north of the park, so the friends headed over to the park one afternoon to wander through the contrasting forms of steel and concrete. Dwarfed by the monolithic works of Calder, Caro and Oldenburg, Fluffy felt awfully small. But this allowed her to sneak around and see the sculptures as few other visitors ever could.
Destination #3: Rattlesnake Ledge
An easy and scenic trip on I-90 brought Fluffy and her day hike companions to North Bend, a historical logging and farming town framed by the steep face of Mt. Si to the east and the meandering Rattlesnake Ledge to the south. North Bend is a safe bet for any outdoorsy Seattleite desiring a day outside of the city. It was Fluffy's last day in Washington state, and she and her friends had a plane to catch that evening. Their time limitations led them to Rattlesnake Ledge, where just a few-mile hike up leads to a dramatic cliff overlooking Rattlesnake Lake directly below, as well as a Mister Rodger's Neighborhood-esque view of North Bend. Given its name, Fluffy had some concerns about this ledge and lake, but she was consoled upon learning that it was actually named for the sound of fall camas plants blowing in the breeze. The lake, after all, was once a grassy meadow as well as the site of the town of Moncton, before it was accidentally flooded by upvalley reservoir development in 1915.
The popular trail was quite busy, but fewer people dared to jump into the chilly lake upon their return to the base. Not much of a swimmer, Fluffy chose to sun herself on a lakeside boulder where she could see through the surface to the numerous ancient stumps dotting the waters below. Slimy from age and algae, the stumps still manage to hold themselves together in the moderate depths of the lake, and provide no shortage of resting spots for swimmers.
Refreshed from their swim, the group piled into their car, drove into the heart of North Bend for milkshakes, and were back in Seattle an hour later just in time to catch their flight back to Colorado.
