 |
| Just a Normal 12 |
 |
| When you have a 45 minute wait you jump out and start clicking, that's A Seattle fire Boat on the right. |
 |
| Stationed just a few minutes from all the Elliot Bay Port of Seattle docks, they might be able to put the fire out from here with these canons. |
 |
| Riding this commuters water Taxi is on the list, just under $5.00 one way to West Seattle or to Vashion Island. |
 |
| The Ferry waiting lot is just next door to the Port of Seattle's Container ship docks. |
 |
| Looks like spring loaded fenders for the huge ships. |
 |
| Just over a 24 hour turnaround. |
 |
| This 700' ship has been here several weeks getting some kind of work done on it, I would hate to see that yard Bill!, The State Ferries are huge but look small compared to the Bulk Carrier ship. |
 |
| This is the pedestrian walk over to the ferry. |
 |
| The lot holds all the cars waiting to go to either Bremerton or Baiinbridge Island |
 |
| Wonder what the crown looks like at night? |
 |
| A fur Seal? |
 |
| This gull fest on a crab. |
 |
| Ok ready to go. |
 |
| There are two fuel barges that work the Port of Seattle filling up all the ships including all the cruise ships. This one is empty heading to a Fuel Depot just North of Seattle. |
 |
| This guy is loaded heading into the port to top off a ships fuel tanks. These are the harde3st working tugs in the fleet here, they are 24/7. |
 |
| A nice clear day to visit the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. |
 |
| The Brothers Peaks in the Olympics, notice almost all the snow has melted. |
 |
| A super clear dayfor Mount Rainer, it snows in the higher elevation year round. |
 |
| Looking back at Seattle with the Cascades in the backdrop, The emerald City poised between the Volcanoes of the Olympics and the Plate Tectonics shifting in the Olympics that Will provide the region with it's next Earthquake. Can you pronounce Tsunami? |
 |
| This rock is near the entrance to Eagle Harbor, I was surprised to see a group of divers there. |
 |
| Everyone needs a Tender up here. |
 |
| The Bue Dot is near the Great House at the 150 acre Bloedel Reserve |
 |
| It's obvious Bainbridge is a special Island and the Bloedel Reserve is their gem. |
 |
| A huge root system from a fallen tree, I thin k there is a Marmot in there! |
 |
| The first time we visited the reserve this Reflection pond was pmostly covered with leaves and vegetation debris |
 |
| Our second visit the reflection pond was clear so Now We Get It! |
 |
| Once we figured it out we tried to take several creative reflection pics. If you notice the brance right over our heads and then find the opposite side of the branches reflection in the pond. |
 |
| Gotta have a Japanese Garden for the guest house! |
 |
| Suggested to my daughter that they might want to build a small version of this as a guest house on their Orcas Island property |
 |
| The Meditation Garden had little kids foot prints scattered about. |
 |
| We left them alone since we did not know if they were edible, lots of people forage in the forest up here, not sure if the Reserve would appreciate it though. |
 |
| Looks Psychedelic to me. |
 |
| Add caption |
 |
| The Christmas Pond The Residence in the background was built in 1931 and the Blodels lived in it from 1951 (a great year) till 1986. |
 |
| Drew loves Canada Geese. |
 |
| Yo uhad to get really close to see the thousands of small blue dragon flys all over the pond. |
 |
| Wow aq water front back yard. |
 |
| The back yard overlooks Port Madison Bay that is a popular Day sail destination. |
 |
| This tree used an old stump to get a root up. |
 |
| As you walk down the trail you come to this board walk and there just happend to be some people there checking out some Venus fly traps planted there. |
 |
| A Spotted Towhee |
 |
| Could not Identify the duck? |
 |
| The Deciduous Trees tell you Fall is here |
 |
| After our first trip to the Reserve I took the Admiral over to see Suquamish where I sailed to a free dock with Phil, a fellow volunteer sail instructor. This is Chief Seattle's Memorial and burial ground. |
 |
| On our second trip over we brought along a picnic lunch and the Admiral found this cool little playgeround for a late lunch spot and a place for Drew to Swing and play. |
 |
| But these Bainbridge kids prefer Rock Climbing. |
 |
| We had a long ferry line to wait in on our return to Seattle on the first trip. |
 |
| We were going to miss the 6:30 ferry so I took the only sunset shot I could get through the trees. |
 |
| But the lingering light on the ferry ride over was pretty cool. |
 |
| That is the dome in the center so fot to see it lite up. |
 |
| A great view of the waterfront at night all the way to the space needle. |
 |
| But we got the early ferry on the second trip to Blodel Reserve and so we were treated to a long sunset on the way back to Seattle |
The Bloedel Reserve X 2
We re-upped for another 6 months on our grand-parent tour so since we have the time to actually plan a few more things to see and do before departing the PNW is seems almost urgent to check more stuff off the list. The Admiral is much more proactive about this than I am as she looks for cool day trips and off season prices.
She learned about The Bloedel Reserve from an acquaintance she met volunteering for the Seattle Symphony. We took an awesome almost Fall day for our first tip over. Our Maps app on our Iphone got us lost for about 20 minutes as we took a incorrect route but a little patience and we found our way. Getting lost is not all bad on an island like this, I discovered the road to Hidden Cove where I had sailed into on three occasions so that was pretty cool. We found our turn and entered the Reserve. The person in the admittance building suggested a route around the trails that would allow us to see the best parts on the 150 acres in the almost 4 hours we had till they closed. She told us to start by going to the end of the parking lot and take the trial to the left.
You walk down a mulched trail across a open field and soon you walk down a pathe parrell to the forest, take a little turn to the left and you are under the canopy and the bright sunlight is gone. The Blodel's had several men tending this forest full time, currently I think there are 11 who work full time maintaining the reserve. Unlike the protected rainforest where over the years it will eventually return to it's natural beauty( including making access to it's beauty an increasing challenge to the hikers who visit), this reserve is constantly groomed to allow access to the natural and man managed beauty.
"A Brief History
Unique among public gardens in the United States, The Bloedel Reserve was created by Prentice Bloedel and his wife, Virginia, who resided on the property from 1951 until 1986. The son of a prominent lumber company owner, Prentice was educated at the Thatcher School in Ojai, California and at Yale University. While continuing his association with the Thatcher School as a teacher in the late 1920s, he was called upon by his father to take the helm of the family timber business. He took an early retirement from the MacMillan Bloedel Timber Company in 1950 to devote the balance of his life to the creation of the gardens of what is now The Bloedel Reserve. Although he was advised by and worked with noted landscape architects, including Thomas Church, Richard Haag, Fujitaro Kubota, and Iain Robertson, the overall vision for The Reserve’s gardens was his alone.
Prentice Bloedel was a pioneer in renewable resources and sustainability. He was the first to use sawdust as a fuel to power his company’s mills. He replanted clear cut areas, and started a company that marketed fireplace logs made from sawdust. He also was deeply interested in the relationship between people and the natural world, and the power of landscape to evoke emotions ranging from tranquility to exhilaration. Indeed, some believe that due to his early school experiences and his bout with polio as a young man, Prentice Bloedel may have been ahead of his time in his understanding of the therapeutic power of gardens and landscape.
To view a video about Bloedel Reserve and its founder, Prentice Bloedel, in the words of his family and associates, click here"
The Admiral decided to just buy a 1 year membership since she knew we would return with our daughters family and the cost of admission two times was the same as the membership which allowed the member to bring in 4 friends free. They also have holiday and other special events here so you never know when you might want to re-visit. Lots of things are the same way, if your going to be around a while it is way cheaper to just get a annual pass or membership, especially the State and national parks,
In fact we returned the very next weekend with Lia and Drew for another fantastic clear fall day, you don't move as fast with a 1 year old but you have just as much fun sharing the experience especially with this little tree lover. I am really glad he likes hiking down the trails so much as his dads favorite getawy is hiking the area mountains at the higher altitudes. If you go up there you get to see Marmots!
No comments:
Post a Comment