No. 273 Cama Beach State Park

Cama Beach State Park
1880 S.W. Camano Dr
Camano Island, WA 98282
Cabin & Group Accommodations
Ph: 360-387-1550
Website: http://wa-washingtonstateparks.civicplus.com/483/Cama-Beach

Cama Beach State Park is located on the west side of Camano Island looking out over Saratoga Passage towards Whidbey Island. It is about a 90 minute drive from the Seattle area. The park property served as a family run fishing village from the 1930s to 1990s when the land was acquired by Washington State Park System. Camano Beach State Park has 433 acres of waterfront access, and depending on the tide levels the beach can extend for 50 yards or more during low tide.
The park is open year round for day use and also offers visitors the option of staying overnight is one of two bungalow or a rustic cabins along the shoreline. The Center for Wooden boats also has an education building and boat house at the north end of the beach.

Saturday, May 10

The Center for Wooden Boats (CWB) offers a free sail on Saratoga Passage on Saturday of Mother's Day weekend. This is the 15th anniversary of this event. 

Date:

May 10

Time:

10:00 AM - 4:00 PM

Time Details:

Sign up starts at 10:00am, first sail is at 11:00am

Location:

View Facility

Cama Beach State Park

Address:

1880 S.W. Camano Drive
Camano Island, WA 98282

Cost:

Free event, Discover Pass required

Links:

CWB.org

1930s Gas Station at Cama Beach by Larry Myhre

Center for Wooden Boats Boathouse at low tide by Eldan Goldenberg

Cama Beach Cabins by Larry Myhre

Cabins by Eldan Goldenberg

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No. 235 Smith Island Trail, Everett

Spencer Island
 4th St SE Everett, WA 98205
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 Smith Island Trail : 2.6 miles
 Terrain: Soft, unstable ground, gravel and bridges




Spencer Island lies in the heart of the Snohomish River Estuary, an ecosystem formed by mixing a freshwater system (the Snohomish River) and a saltwater system (Port Gardner Bay). It is one of the best places in the Snohomish River Estuary to view waterfowl and shorebirds such as ducks, heron, hawks and bald eagles. If you watch your steps you might see some small and larger mammals such as river otters and deer. On clear days the snow capped tops of the cascade mountain range and Mount Baker are visible to the east and to the north. The island is co-owned by Snohomish County and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Snohomish County owns the south half of the island, while WDFW owns the north half. There is limited parking available for Spencer Island visitors and you have two main options. Park underneath to I-5 overpass by the Langus Riverfront trail or continue driving on the gravel road for another 1000 feet and you will see a small parking lot off to the right. Both sites have limited parking and when it is hunting season or a nice day expect them to fill up fast. Continue east along the gravel levy road for a 1/4 mile, cross over Jackknife bridge. Once on the other side depending on the tide and water level you can access a short boardwalk that offers up some nice views of the cascades and the teaming wildlife. The roof of an old abandoned barn is still visible. The barn came crashing down in a 2006 windstorm. There is a sign posted on the bridge that points which areas are county and state owned and where hunting is permitted. To start out on the 2.6 mile Smith Island Trail head south from Jackknife Bridge. The trail runs atop of a levy that surrounds Spencer Island. To make the loop stay to the right and this will take you along the southern end of the island and back north along the Ebey Slough to the Cross Island Trail which is your return. The trail for the most part is unimproved and soft and squishy from the natural vegetation. The Cross Island Trail is better maintained and has more gravel. After recent rainfall expect the trail to be very muddy and slippery.

S 

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No. 199 Washington's largest single-day car show draws tens of thousands of people and hundreds of cars

SATURDAY JUNE 29 8 AM - 4 PM
It's the biggest single-day car show in Washington State. Where hundreds and hundreds of rolling works of art go on display and tens of thousands of enthusiasts and spectators walk and gawk all day long. The Car Show is a Seafair Sanctioned Event, which gives away it proceeds to nonprofits and charities. This event is also a Food Drive for the Greenwood Food Bank. Hope to see you Saturday, June 29th.

Greenwood Car Show Website 
Pre Register your vehicle 

 

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No. 192 Outback Kangaroo Farm takes locals to Austalia

Outback Kangaroo Farm
10030 State Route 530 NE Arlington, WA 98223-8126

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Open March 1st through October 30th
Wednesday through Sunday
Prices:$8.00 Children 2-12 & 9.00 Adults
Group price: 16 or more $6.00 per person
10:00 am, 12:00 pm, 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm are the tour times. 


The Outback Kangaroo Farm about 1 hour north of Seattle is a family run animal park that features a variety of animals from ducks, peacocks that roam the grounds freely to turtles and lemurs and exotic birds that are kept in caged enclosures. For those of you that like to take pictures with smart phones or point and shoot cameras capturing these animals will be a bit tricky with the fencing in the way.
Expect more visitors on the weekends and on nice sunny days. Larger crowds are split into two and head off in opposite directions before meeting back at the gift shop.
During the walking tour you are given bread and food pellets to feed the Wallaroos, Wallabies, Kangaroos, Alpacas, Llamas, and Donkies.
As with the other animal parks and zoo's in the Puget Sound Area such as Point Defiance Zoo, Woodland Park Zoo, and North West Trek, the Outback Kangaroo Farm is a big hit with families.
The reasonable fee of $8 for kids and $9 for adults makes it an affordable family outing.
Pack a good deal of patience and a little more patience when visiting on busy days. Kids love animals and they will run to be first at every enclosure and animal. But they lose interest in a matter of seconds. So if you want to have enjoy your encounter with a kangaroo or wallaby just wait a few minutes and let the crowed of families and kids continue on and you will have a more private session with the animals.






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No. 186 A different angle on Seattle Skyline from below Interstate I-5

North Passage Point Park
600 NE Northlake Way
Seattle, WA 98105

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North Passage Point Park is a small 0.8 green space on the north shore of Lake Union directly under the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge that spans the Portage Bay Canal. For it being tucked away and its small size it makes up for with views of Queen Anne, Space Needle and the Eastlake Ave Draw Bride to the east. Dedicated in 1977 after the construction of the I-5 Ship Canal Bridge project its the sister park to the South Passage Point Park on the opposite shoreline.

Looking up at Ship Canal Bridge I-5

Shallow Draft Propeller from Tugboat "Artic Bear"

Eastlake Ave Draw Bridge

Sailboat passing through the Eastlake Ave Draw Bridge

Downtown Seattle view

Zoom View of Seattle Space Needle

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No. 179 Visit National State Parks for free ALL WEEK

National Park Week April 20th through the 28th 2013

http://www.nationalparks.org/national-park-week

From now until Friday, entrance to all national parks is waived as part of National Parks week. Around here, the biggies are Mount Rainier National Park and Olympic National Park. (North Cascades does not charge an entrance fee.)

The weather forecast is looking promising for both parks, especially for the next few days.

 Ebey's Landing Whidbey Island 

 Fort Casey Military Fort
Admiralty Head Lighthouse 
Fort Ebey Armory 
Fort Ebey State Park

North Cascade National Park Area

Artist Point
Picture Lake, Vista Point

Olympic National Park

Hurricane Ridge
Sul Duc Falls
Neah Bay
Ruby Beach
Rialto Beach

Click here to see what other national parks are in Washington. And click here for a list of hikes in North Cascades, Mount Rainier and Olympic national parks from the Washington Trails Association.

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No. 173 2013 Spring has Sprung

Mount Vernon, Wa
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Distance from Seattle: 62miles 1hr 10min
Rating: 4 out 5
Reason to go: Short drive from Seattle to see hundreds of acres of wildflowers, daffodils and tulips in all sizes and colors. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is one of the most fantastic events in the state of Washington.  It runs from April 1 to April 30 every single year. Its worth it to start your day really early or go during the week. The word is out and weekends the tulip route will be packed with young kids and families. If your into Landscape or Flower photography this festival will give you great subjects to photograph.

TIPS: Although the Tulip Festival runs from April 1st through April 30th the actual blooming of the tulips varies with weather conditions. Short or long winter weather can cause tulips to bloom earlr or be delayed a few weeks. Check http://www.tulipfestival.orgTulip Festival / for current field conditions.

 If you do plan on going to the Tulip Festival. LEAVE EARLY in the morning to avoid the traffic mess, easier to find parking, setup your camera in a field looking east for a nice sunrise shot. Shoot by yourself and not have many people will be walking through your shot. The best light is in the morning and towards the evening.
It can be cloudy in Seattle but bright and sunny in Mount Vernon. Once the sun gets up over the cascade mountains the sky becomes a huge baby blue light box and it will be harder to find the right exposure for the flowers.
Tulips grow on raised mounds of dirt. Depending on previous days weather you could be walking on soft dirt or trekking through mud puddles, so bring shoes and pants that you don't mind getting dirty.

Every year the layout of fields change, to find out where things are  you can download a field map from Tulip Festival. Some of the growers charge a parking fee of $3-$5 to visit their grounds. Most of the streets that run between Mount Vernon and La Conner are 2 lane rural roads with NO SHOULDER PARKING.  There are ropes and signs all over the place telling people not to park on the side of the road, but as the day goes on and the mass of weekenders start to roll in you will see backups building up because people will stop in the middle of the road to admire the fields.

Postcards, Art Prints and Canvas Prints are available for sale here

Setting Fire to the Rain

Flooded Field at first light

Behind the scenes at the farm

Postcards, Art Prints and Canvas Prints are available for sale here

 

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No. 170 The Fin Project

THE FIN PROJECT: FROM SWORDS INTO PLOWSHARES
by Artist John T. Young 1998

Magnuson Park
Seattle, WA

This work is an environmentally scaled sculpture created using the actual diving-plane fins from decommissioned United States Navy attack submarines built in the 1960s. The fins are arranged to simulate the dorsal fins of a large Orca whale pod or a school of salmon. This artwork represents the ultimate in recycling...."From Swords into Plowshares".
The fins are composed of high tensile steel and are used intact. Since they are virtually indestructible (they were designed to withstand depth charge attacks!), they are maintenance free. They are completely safe and inert; in other words, they are completely devoid of radioactivity or toxic substances. All the fins are structurally supported by hidden, reinforced concrete footings buried below grade. These footings were designed by the late John Skilling, Seattle's most renowned structural engineer, to ensure the safety of the work and the public.  


 


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