No. 187 Redmond Washington Historic Yellowstone Trail / Red Brick Road

Yellowstone Trail
Redmond, WA

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This historic 1 mile long portion of 196th Ave NE just east of Redmond, WA still has the original 1913 hand laid red brick pavers that were once part of the Yellowstone Trail that connected Seattle to Yellowstone and continued on to Boston, Massachusetts on the east coast.
Built during the horse drawn carriage era and the beginnings of the automobile revolution the brick roadway is one of the few sections along this interstate roadway in original condition. This portion of 196th Ave NE runs between some famous horse farms and sheep farms and various private estates. Towards the north it opens up to a marshland area where hawks, falcons and bald eagles can be scene if you know what time of day and year to look for them.
The posted speed limit is 25mph and for its time a brick road did offer a speedy alternative to deep rutted and muddy dirt roads. Even with today's modern automobile capable of much faster speeds the bumpy road will test your car seat cushioning and shock absorbers as you rumble across the road way.

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No. 08 1954 Hat & Boots Oxbow Park Georgetown (Seattle)

Hat and Boots Park 
Oxbow Park 
6430 Corson Ave S, 98108

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 This is a famous landmark south of Seattle, originally part of a cowboy-themed gas station built in 1954 named "Premium Tex." The orange hat, 19 feet tall and 44 feet wide, sheltered the station office; the boots were Cowboys and Cowgirls bathrooms (the slightly smaller one was for the ladies). Its owners hoped to expand the gas station into a Western-themed shopping center named "Frontier Village," but the effort proved unsuccessful. The gas station closed in 1988, and Hat 'n' Boots sank into a period of decay and vandalism. Skateboarders cracked the brim of the Hat.
A local community council raised funds to help save Hat 'n' Boots, which in 2003 were moved to Oxbow Park in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood, a half-residential, half-industrial section of the city. The Boots were restored to their original state in 2005. But the Hat remained a wire skeleton for years until its restoration was finally completed in 2010. There are plans in the works to have it house an interpretive exhibit on the history and meaning of the Hat 'n' Boots.


By the late `80`s it looked like trail`s end for the Hat n` Boots gas station. Then Georgetown residents saddled up to save the 'soul' of their community.

Hat and Boots Restoration Project 2002

This is a famous landmark south of Seattle, originally part of a cowboy-themed gas station built in 1954 named "Premium Tex." The orange hat, 19 feet tall and 44 feet wide, sheltered the station office; the boots were Cowboys and Cowgirls bathrooms (the slightly smaller one was for the ladies).

Its owners hoped to expand the gas station into a Western-themed shopping center named "Frontier Village," but the effort proved unsuccessful. The gas station closed in 1988, and Hat 'n' Boots sank into a period of decay and vandalism. Skateboarders cracked the brim of the Hat.
A local community council raised funds to help save Hat 'n' Boots, which in 2003 were moved to Oxbow Park in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood, a half-residential, half-industrial section of the city. The Boots were restored to their original state in 2005. But the Hat remained a wire skeleton for years until its restoration was finally completed in 2010. There are plans in the works to have it house an interpretive exhibit on the history and meaning of the Hat 'n' Boots.

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