Featured image: A close-up of downtown Seattle at dusk from Kerry Park on Queen Anne hill. (photo by Cheryl Landes) Take advantage of the clear, dry summer days in Seattle by savoring the vistas from five of the city’s prime viewpoints. Even on days less clear, the fog and cloud formations create some beautiful effects. … Continue reading Five spots for super Seattle views
Don’t miss one of the most star-studded shows in the Northern Hemisphere, when the annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak. From 10:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. on August 11 and 12, you can see a steady stream of shooting stars (meteors) without binoculars. This year’s show will be even more spectacular, because the meteor … Continue reading Perseid meteor shower a star-studded event
Featured image: Sea lions sleep on the rocks at Cape Arago, south of Charleston, Oregon. (photo by Cheryl Landes) The rushing and crashing sounds of the waves on the beach and rocks and gull calls aren’t the only sounds you can hear from Shore Acres State Park, south of Charleston, Oregon. Even in the sheltered … Continue reading Watch the sea lions at Simpson Reef and Cape Arago
In the 1930s, the Great Depression hit the nation hard, and Coos County, Oregon, wasn’t immune to the effects. During that decade, the State Highway Department used state and federal funds to build bridges over the Oregon Coast’s major rivers and bays. The Conde B. McCullough Memorial Bridge was completed over Coos Bay in 1936 … Continue reading Conde B. McCullough Memorial Bridge: Engineering as art
Few Americans knew about George Washington Carmack’s rich gold strike near Dawson City in the Yukon on August 16, 1896, until 11 months later, when the SS Portland arrived in Seattle. The two tons of raw metal on board soon provoked an epidemic of gold fever. Starting in 1897, the Klondike Gold Rush brought tens … Continue reading Rediscover the Klondike Gold Rush in Seattle
When the now abandoned businesses and streets below Seattle’s Pioneer Square were at ground level more than a century ago, backed-up sewage and muddy, often impassable streets were constant problems, because most of the area was at or below sea level. From 1889 to 1905, the streets were raised eight to 35 feet on wood, … Continue reading Walking tour burrows into Seattle’s past
Featured image: Rafters put in for a bald eagle float tour at the Skagit River Bald Eagle Natural Area in Rockport, Washington. (photo by Cheryl Landes) The morning fog hangs like a partially lowered curtain over the Skagit River, revealing only the water and the trees below. Standing on the edge of a sandbar in … Continue reading Watch eagles along the Skagit River
Featured image: The Bluff Trail at Lincoln Park (photo by Cheryl Landes) Before boarding the ferry from West Seattle to Vashon Island or the Olympic Peninsula, stretch your legs at Lincoln Park, near the Fauntleroy terminal. This 135-acre park at 8603 Fauntleroy Avenue SW has a sweeping view of Puget Sound and the Olympic Peninsula, … Continue reading Stroll the beach and forest at Lincoln Park
Featured image: A buck elk munches on freshly delivered alfalfa hay at the Oak Creek Wildlife Area. (photo by Cheryl Landes) Some winters, as many as 5,000 Rocky Mountain elk head for the Oak Creek Wildlife Area near Naches to take advantage of a welfare program—free alfalfa hay from the Washington Department of Fish and … Continue reading Watch elk and bighorn sheep dine in southcentral Washington
Featured image: West Point Lighthouse at Discovery Park (photo by Cheryl Landes) Unlike many major urban areas, Seattle hasn’t lost touch with its wild side. Hundreds of species of wildlife—from bald eagles to killer whales to chum salmon—thrive inside the city limits. Here are five places to see them. Camp Long A half-mile nature loop … Continue reading Five places to experience Seattle’s wild side
Tabby Cat's Pawprints 