Myrtle Edwards Park

One of our frequent urban pleasures is a walk through Myrtle Edwards Park along Seattle’s harbor. Named for former Seattle City Councilperson Myrtle Edwards, the five acre park includes what I think of as an ad hoc collection of Seattle icons. We usually start near the north end, by icon number one, the grain terminal.

 

This giant erector set connects the railroad with grain storage elevators and then with the loading pier and the ships hauling US grain across the Pacific. Many people have wanted it removed; but I think its activities interweave with the park’s activities in a relatively non-intrusive way; and it provides a sculptural experience to your movement along the paths. There are two major paths, one for pedestrians and another for bicycles, as well as a few casual bark paths for joggers. The bike trail runs more directly parallel to the railroad (to the left of the shrubbery) whereas the pedestrian trail meanders more along the water (to the right).

The grain terminal armature frames these paths, as well as views of downtown Seattle.

At the same time, the softer park features frame the grain terminal’s sculptural loading pier.

Partway through the park you come to an early public art icon for Seattle, Michael Heiser’s “Adjacent, Against, Upon”, an artist’s reflection on our relationship to both nature and the built environment.

The work consists of three concrete platforms with three very large granite rocks placed – obviously – on, against, and adjacent to the platforms. Interestingly, another icon, the Seattle Post Intelligencer’s globe and eagle stand on the former P.I. building in the background as if surveying the scene. The P.I. no longer exists as a printed paper, put out of business by the tidal wave of technological change of the last 20 years. There’s talk of moving the globe to the Museum of History and Industry.

Towards the southern end of the park, the Seattle Art Museum has built its Olympic Sculpture park. The park zig-zags its way from its urban administration building across the railroad tracks and down to the waterfront. It includes an iconographic Alexander Calder stabile, “Eagle”, and frames another Seattle icon, the 1962 World’s Fair Space Needle.

At the edge of the park, where it meets the water, the park design incorporated a new beach, allowing Seattleites to get their feet wet in Elliott Bay.

At the same time the design included a more urban connection to the street grid in the form of a nicely detailed boardwalk.

From this perspective you can also get a glimpse of the sculpture park’s most recent acquisition, “Echo” by Spanish artist Jaume Plensa, a large head sculpted in marble-chip-encrusted fiberglas. It’s stirred up the wagosphere; but we liked it.

From the park above – where it crosses the tracks – you can get a better sense of how it fits into the zig-zag of the park and its waterfront setting.

On the way back to the northern end of the park we ducked into the mini rose garden that somehow has been included in this waterfront setting. It seems incongruous; but of course lovely in late May when everything is in bloom.

And finally, we made our way back to icon number one, squinting into the late evening sunset.

 

Traveling to the Isle of Arran

When planning our trip we consciously inserted a ‘mini vacation’ into the middle of all of our palaces, castles, museums and royal sights. We figured (correctly) that we would need a break. So we took a side trip from Edinburgh to the Isle of Arran. One specific reason we picked Arran was its characterization as “Scotland in Miniature”, as it is divided into “Highland” and “Lowland” areas by the Highland Boundary Fault which runs northeast to southwest across Scotland. Arran is a popular destination for geologists, who come to see intrusive igneous land-forms such as sills and dykes as well as sedimentary and meta-sedimentary rocks ranging in age from Precambrian to Mesozoic; so we knew we would also get a representative look at the geography of the larger Scotland. We took the train west from Edinburgh through the comfortably developed landscape.

Along the way we got to practice our Gaelic at each station we passed by.

The train connects directly with a medium-large car ferry in the town of Ardrossan

The connection shows on the map as a red line

 

As a coastal town facing (more or less) out towards the Atlantic, Ardrossan feels and takes advantage of strong winds on a daily basis with this large line of wind turbines.

The area around the harbor has gentrified, with pleasure boats replacing fishing boats and condominiums replacing industrial sheds.

The ferry loads in one direction which means that vehicles have to have access from both the bow and the stern. Driving on to the stern is pretty straightforward; but opening the bow of the ship takes some engineering.

It’s even more impressive when you’re actually on board.

I’m just glad they did this after we were safely in the harbor. Since it was a beautiful day we opted to spend our time (about an hour) on deck with many of the other travelers, much as we would when traveling by ferry at home in Puget Sound.

One of our fellow travelers was kind enough to take our picture enroute.

Although we were too early in the day for lunch, the ferry was well set up for those who needed a meal.

The clouds provided the most dramatic part of the trip. Just above the horizon you can make out southern Scotland.

At the end of the voyage we sailed into Brodick, a small village with heather-coated mountains in the background.

I’ll give you a look at Brodick and other parts of Arran in the next post.

Rattlesnake Ledge

Today we headed out for a hike and picnic with my son Kevin, his wife Kate, their son Aubin and his friend Tyler. We picked the Rattlesnake Lake area because it’s just into the west side of the Cascades and has good facilities along the lake. We arrived to a surprise: a couple thousand of our Puget Sound friends had had the same idea. The parking lot was full and people were parked along the road for half a mile in each direction.

Originally we weren’t sure what sort of hike we would do; but it was obvious that everyone was there to hike up to Rattlesnake Ledge, about a 1.8 mile hike, gaining about 1000+ feet in elevation. Here’s a view from the bottom.

The park provides pretty good maps so you can scope out what you’re getting into.

Seattle Public Utilities manages the park as part of its stewardship of Seattle’s nearby water reservoir. Mountains to Sound Greenway works as a non-profit to promote sustainability and environmental health from Snoqualmie Pass to Seattle / Puget Sound. They also provided some more graphic signage for what you had to watch out for.

Near the bottom there is clear evidence that things have moved around at some time in the past.

These boulders are about 10′ across. The trail climbs back and forth through a series of switchbacks; so it’s not too steep but it keeps you moving up at a steady pace. There were lots of people hiking (estimate 1000+). Lots of them brought their dogs and kids. It made for some occasional chaotic traffic control – not something we’re used to on NW trails.

Some people – mostly younger – ran up the trail just for fun; some of us did not. And every so often we stopped for a water break – L to R Kevin, Kate, Tyler, Aubin.

In something over an hour we got our first glimpse of the vista to the north

Off to the left the trail continues on for another 8-10 miles; and some people were following at least part of that.

But we were going another couple hundred feet in the other direction, towards the point at which the ledge hangs out above Rattlesnake Lake. The approach dramatizes the setting because you can’t see the other side from the trail. The rock just looks like a knob with a view.

But when you get there, the real drama becomes clear.

Rattlesnake Lake lies below; and in the distant mountains on the left-hand side you can just make out a sliver of water that is Seattle’s reservoir. I have to say that it made me very nervous to be there, not because I mind the heights – which I don’t – or felt unsteady – which I didn’t, but because there was so much careless hiking behavior going on. People wearing tennis shoes carried small kids across unsteady footing without any way to balance or catch themselves. Some people let their kids wander around as if this is a neighborhood playground. And a lot of people were too close to edges where the stability of the rock could not be verified. Not a lot of smarts being exhibited. Luckily, we were hiking with people with sense.

So snacks were eaten and views enjoyed. And to finish up the day, we hiked back down and hung out at the lake.

Mother Nature provided the playground equipment.