Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, WA - #SaturdaySnapshots

Called "The Gateway to the San Juans," Friday Harbor is one of those places I've been wanting to visit ever since we moved to Washington State. This past week that finally happened. We traveled with a group from Auburn to Anacortes, Washington, via bus and then walked onto the ferry and sailed to Friday Harbor. Here are a few photos of this charming town.

The town of Friday Harbor, viewed from the ferry dock.
San Juan Island boasts a population of just over 2,000 people.

We had limited time on the island (day trip), so we had to set some priorities. First thing: visit San Juan Vineyards! We hired a taxi and headed for this charming winery out in the countryside, about 10 minutes from the ferry dock.

The tasting room used to be a schoolhouse, built in 1895
and beautifully remodeled. 

The vineyard's previous owners built this chapel,
but it looks like it's always been there.

This small winery offers only four selections (fruity white wines) and they can only be purchased on the island. We tasted them all and brought home four bottles. 

I'm enjoying a glass of Siegerrebe
and a little sunshine.

After our wine tasting, we taxied back to town, had lunch, and ate an ice cream cone before boarding the ferry for our return trip.

Views from the ferry ride. The day started out overcast but slowly cleared and turned into a beautiful afternoon.

I'd like to come back again and spend a few days at a B&B, take a whale watching excursion, explore the town's many museums, and sample its restaurants. One afternoon definitely wasn't enough.

More info:
San Juan Vineyards Website
San Juan Islands / Friday Harbor Info
Rhode Trips Taxi & Tours Website

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What's In a Name? - #Hiking Trails - #SaturdaySnapshots

Since I love words and names, the designations given to hiking trails fascinate me. Some are named after naturalists, historical figures, or landmarks. For others, the source of the names is obscure.  

Cougar Mountain Trails: 
Anti-Aircraft Peak Trailhead at King County's Cougar Mountain Wildland Park was renamed in honor of Harvey Manning, a longtime open space advocate and hiking guidebook author.
FYI: During the Cold War of the 1950s, this area housed anti-aircraft missiles and radar.

Red Town Trail: A mining town by the same name existed here in the late 1800s. It served as a railroad depot where coal was transported from the mines to Lake Washington. Most of the houses were painted red. 
By the way, we walked on the "Wildside" too.

Rattlesnake Mountain Trail: An article in The Seattle Times says:  "The lake and nearby ridge are said to have gotten their inapt name from Seattle pioneer Arthur Denny when the rattle of seed pods on a nearby meadow frightened a road surveyor into thinking he was being attacked by a rattler. The surveyor didn't know there were no poisonous snakes in Western Washington."  

My online research didn't uncover the history of the name Dewey Lake. However, the Naches Peak Loop (pronounced "NAT cheese") is named after a Native American tribe. Anyone who has read Wild by Cheryl Strayed has heard of the Pacific Crest Trail.

The idea behind the name of the High Ridge Trail is obvious.  The pathway snakes across a ridge in Olympic National Park.

Are you as curious about place names as I am?

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Birthday Party at the Little #Gym - #SaturdaySnapshots

When a terrible cold struck my son and daughter-in-law several months ago, I was called in to take my granddaughter to a birthday party at The Little Gym in Covington, WA. Here's a photo of one of the party's activities.

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. 

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Foothills Trail - South Prairie Trailhead - #SaturdaySnapshots

I've been on portions of the Foothills Trail before (blog post here), but this was my first time on the newly-opened section between the South Prairie and the Buckley Trailheads. We walked three miles along a paved surface, then turned around and retraced our steps on this easy hike. 

According to a Pierce County, Washington, website (here), the Foothills Trail sits atop an historic railroad bed. Another great rails-to-trails project.

This daunting sign greeted us as we set out on our hike. I asked myself: How fast can you run? (FYI: If you look closely, you'll see that someone corrected the sign to read "its" instead of "it's" by removing the apostrophe. That makes the grammar nerd inside me smile.)

An elevated portion of the trail overlooks farms and country roads...

... and crosses rivers and creeks.

When I saw the structure pictured below, the word "springhouse" came to mind. The stream ran right through it! After the hike I looked up that term and found this on Wikipedia: 

A spring house, or springhouse, is a small building, usually of a single room, constructed over a spring. While the original purpose of a springhouse was to keep the spring water clean by excluding fallen leaves, animals, etc., the enclosing structure was also used for refrigeration before the advent of ice delivery and, later, electric refrigeration. The water of the spring maintains a constant cool temperature inside the spring house throughout the year. Food that would otherwise spoil, such as meat, fruit, or dairy products, could be kept there, safe from animal depredations as well. Springhouses thus often also served as pumphouses, milkhouses, and root cellars.

In settings where no natural spring is available, another source of natural running water, such as a small creek or diverted portion of a larger creek, might be used. In addition, some people put jars of milk in a bucket suspended by a rope in an "open-mouth" well during hot weather.

Could that be a springhouse?

FYI: Sasee Magazine published my personal essay "Happy When I'm Hiking" in its April edition. You'll find it HERE if you're curious about why I love hiking so much. 

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. 

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Auburn #Art - #SaturdaySnapshots

I took advantage of a brisk sunshiny day to check out some of the public art in downtown Auburn, WA. The city displays sculptures that change annually, most of them along Main Street, along with several permanent installations. (I previously posted photos of some of the permanent sculptures HERE.) More info about these creations (as well as links to the artists) are on the city's website. I've included descriptions of these works beneath each picture. Click on photos for a closer look.

Artist: Jenny Ellsworth
Title: Hoppy
Medium: Old metal shovels

Finding nature's form in recycled material is Jenny Ellsworth's passion. "Hoppy" was created with over 80 shovels. The piece also lights up at night!  

(FYI: Hops were a major crop in the Auburn/Kent area of Washington in the past.)

Artist: Sharon Agnor
Title: Living Water
Medium: Cast glass and stainless steel

This sculpture is a contemplation of our dependence on water for life. It is also a celebration of water’s life giving properties, abundance, and the spiritual renewal it can bring.  Subjecting glass and steel to extreme heat brings changes to the materials that enhance their beauty. Agnor enjoys the undeniable parallel between this process, and the effects life has on us as we move forward.

Artist: Ben Dye
Title: Icarus
Medium: Stainless and steel

"Icarus" is another step in the artist Ben Dye’s exploration of "form". The biggest challenge in working with flat plate is to give it shape. Dye’s approach to this challenge is to quilt the exterior of the sculpture.

I couldn't find anything about this specific "story pole," but I believe the artist is Garth Edwards. 

Because this artwork was located on street corners, I found it difficult to separate the sculptures from the busy backgrounds. I need to do more experimenting with my camera to learn how to blur the background and focus only on the subject. Regardless, taking these pictures was a fun excuse to get out of the house on a beautiful day.

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Plants and Flowers - #Kauai, #Hawaii - #SaturdaySnapshots

Continuing with our recent trip to Kauai, today I'm posting pictures of plants and flowers from that beautiful island. Even though a few springtime bulbs are beginning to emerge at home in the Pacific Northwest, it was such a pleasure to see so many things in bloom during our vacation. I'll do my best to identify the flora I photographed.
(Click on photos for an even closer look.)

I think this could be Pandanus tectorius, AKA "screw pine" although it
looks nothing like a pine or a screw! Several of these small trees were planted on the grounds of the resort where we stayed. The fruit is about eight inches in diameter.

Hibiscus everywhere in every color imaginable.

Clusia rosea AKA "signature tree" or "autograph tree." People scratch love notes, messages, etc., on the tree's rubbery leaves where they stay for months. We had some of these rugged trees in our yard when we lived in Miami. The autographs don't seem to harm them.

Codiaeum variegatum AKA "croton" - The sap from these plants can be toxic,
but they sure are striking. They formed a hedge along one side of our home in Miami. It was fun to see familiar (and unfamiliar) tropical plants.

I haven't been able to identify this plant. Some kind of lily?

It's obvious where the Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae) got its name.
This is the only one I saw in bloom during our trip.

I started to include photos of palm trees, but there are too many varieties. Maybe next week...

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Kilauea #Lighthouse, #Kauai, Hawaii - #SaturdaySnapshots

One of the most interesting places we visited on Kauai was also about the windiest place I've ever been. A docent who volunteered on the grounds offered to take our picture, which was nice, but we both felt as if our hair was standing on end and our clothes were about to be ripped from our bodies. Everyone said the strong winds were very unusual. They were definitely unusual for me! The views from the point were dramatic, however, and well worth the windy buffeting. 
[Click on photos to enlarge.]

The lighthouse became operational in 1913. It was decommissioned in 1976 and a three-year restoration was completed in 2013.

The lighthouse is located within the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge.

I zoomed in a little to capture waves crashing against the cliffs.
The seas all around us roared and churned. Those white spots on the hillside are birds.

Even the birds were having a hard time with the wind.

Until I saw this picture, I didn't realize how dorky I looked
in my black sneakers and socks. Oh, well. What the heck.
I did a lot of walking that day, and my feet were comfortable.
The lighthouse interior was not accessible.

We were told that whales were probably in the area. It was the right time of year. However, with the white-capped waves, we couldn't distinguish a whale spout from spray from the breakers! Our resort was in Princeville, and the lighthouse was only about seven miles down Highway 56.

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Beaches - #Kauai, #Hawaii - #SaturdaySnapshots

Recently my husband and I spent six days and five nights in beautiful Kauai, Hawaii. For the next several weeks I'll feature photos from our vacation.

Today's subject is Kauai's beaches. Having spent many childhood vacations at Padre Island and Port Aransas on the Texas Gulf Coast, I'm accustomed to those gentle waves and warm shallow waters.  Kauai's breakers are much more dramatic. They roar, smash into rocks, surge toward the shore, and send clouds of spray skyward. I love that! 

The photos below were taken on the eastern half of the island. We stayed in Princeville on the northern shore of Kauai and explored up and down the coast.
(Click on photos to enlarge.)

Anahola Beach Park

Nice paved walking trail overlooking 
this section of beach.

Spouting Horn Park, near Koloa

View from the grounds of our resort.
I believe that's Kalihiwai Bay.

We had hoped for sunny skies, an escape from the rainy Pacific Northwest. That's not the way things worked out. However, even though rain fell almost every day during our vacation, we ignored the weather and had a great time.

Click on the + or - to enlarge or shrink the map.

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Snowy Photos - #SaturdaySnapshots

Even though the Seattle area is located in the far northwest corner of the United States, our weather isn't as frigid as one would expect. However, we have had several snowfalls this winter. Here are a few photos from February 22nd. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

This snowfall was especially light and fluffy.
Flakes floated like feathers from the sky.

Lilacs outside my dining room window.
I'm looking forward to their blooms in spring.

I love the look of morning sunshine
on freshly fallen snow.

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads. 

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