A Walk in the Park

Sandi and I have chosen to take walks together on a regular basis to allow us time to spend one on one time away from familiar distractions. Our life strategies are frequently discussed and laid out while walking in the park. Gene Coulon Park is located about a mile south of our home and is about a mile and a half long. The park width varies from less than a hundred feet wide to only a few hundred feet wide at the widest place. The west boundary is Lake Washington and the east side is a seldom used railroad. The south end has apartment buildings with a waterfront path to the Boeing Plant where airplanes are assembled. The north end of the walking path opens onto a driveway that allows owner access to a row of private waterfront houses. We sometimes walk down the driveway to get to the park. The photo below is a view of the walking path at the north end. In nice weather we share the path with other pedestrians. There are quite a few joggers but no bikes or dogs are allowed on the path.

If you go early in the day you only see a few others and often have the path to yourself.

Goal oriented people who walk only to get the miles in, may only see the path ahead. I usually carry my camera because there is so much to see each time we are there. I have hundreds of photos of people, events, playground activities, wildlife, blossoms, boats, etc. but for today I am focused on "The Path".

On fair weather days, if you wait until afternoon you will find lots of other park lovers to share space with. Picnic tables and sheltered picnic areas are in short supply. If you come down here on a rainy winter day you can choose whichever one you like.

The path has several interesting portions, so you don't just walk through trees and grass. After you pass under the tree arch you enter onto the longest bridge in the park.

We call it the zig-zag bridge for obvious reasons. It crosses over a little slough where the railroad and the waterfront are very close together.

Frequently we share the bridge with fishermen. Sometimes they appear to be by themselves and sometimes there are families fishing together. Many of the people who use this park seem to be immigrants or children of immigrants. I sometimes try to have a conversation with folks I meet, and find that many people in the park do not speak English. I believe I have overheard conversations in various Asian, Eastern European, Indian, and African languages. Lots of park goers speak Spanish or Canadian. (Is Canadian a language or an accent?)

The path is paved the entire way for baby strollers and wheel chairs.

If the park is wide enough there are places to choose which way you want to go.

More choices

One of the choices is to walk on a large horse shoe shaped floating bridge that creates a sheltered little bay. The ramped walkway gives clearance for small boats passage.

Inside the walkway are two floating pods with picnic tables. they are a favorite place of children and model boat sailors use them for launching and retrieving.

Fishing, boat moorage, picnics, strolling, and hanging out, occur on the floating walkway.

There are cafes in the park and many people arrive by boat for a snack.

The boat launch area has room for 4 at a time. Sometimes it is a long wait for your turn.

Another floating walkway surrounds the swimming area with a large playground at the end of the walk.

A small bridge takes you to an island. A gate on the bridge is closed to protect bird habitat during critical parts of the year. Boeing is at the end of the walkway.

The fence at Boeing is the half way point where we ceremonially kick the dog and turn around.

There is so much to see in this park. We go there because of the path, but we enjoy it because of the beauty and changing nature of the place.