Once across 24th Avenue East (we crossed at the light at Boyer Avenue East) just on more block of our hike on Interlaken Boulevard was shared with cars before we entered Interlaken Park. I simply love this beautiful pacific Northwest forest preserve! It is easy to forget that this park is in the middle of a large, bustling city when wandering its lush green trails. Sadly, this Interlaken Park is notorious for illegally unleashed dogs so I rarely visit it. And even though we saw very little urban trash on our hike, we saw a disturbing amount of left behind dog poop. What a shame that all that bacteria was left to seep into the soil above a restored stream.

We turned off the main paved trail of Interlaken Park onto the dirt trail of Louisa Boren Park. This trail was surprisingly muddy and unkempt. Towards the top I felt like perhaps we had taken a wrong turn. Well, we sort of did. Apparently we hiked up a closed trail! There was no notice or blockage of the trails condition at the bottom where we started. There was, however, a very official "Trail Is Closed" sign at the top! That post was, of course, too late to save the dogs and I from the strenuous hike we had through deep mud, downed trees and narrow, overgrown with prickly bushes trail but as I laughed about it I was also very proud of us for making it up! So we rested and enjoyed the view. And what a view! The Louisa Boren Park lookout has a stunning view of Lake Washington. I was glad, despite the unkempt (er, closed) trail, that we had visited this park on our Capitol Hill urban hike.

At Louisa Boren Park lookout, we were just one block from the last park on our urban hike, Volunteer Park. We were treated to another assortment of scenery. This park is very manicured and was carefully designed for the heavy use of the dense Capitol Hill neighborhood surrounding it. Maybe it is because of the lawns, the reservoir, the stage, the conservatory and the art museum in Volunteer Park, but I consider it the Seattle equivalent of New York's Central Park. While Volunteer Park is much smaller than Manhattan's massive green space, Seattle's version has a similar mixed use and historic feel. The dogs and I circled the park, stopped for water and pictures and enjoyed the breeze and the scenery. I highly recommend visitors to Seattle (and even residents of the city) take some time to visit leashed dog friendly Volunteer Park without dogs (there are lots of doggy day care options in the Capitol Hill neighborhood) so you can tour the indoor parts of the park that dogs are not allowed: the Asian Art Museum, water tower and conservatory.

For Wilhelm, Brychwyn, Huxley and I, yesterdays Volunteer Park visit was all about enjoying a dog friendly urban hike in the unexpected Seattle sunshine. We left Volunteer Park and followed East Galer Street back to Interlaken Park. This trail back down into the ravine was definitely open and well kept yet it was still as if we had dove off of a city sidewalk into a mossy wonderland. The dogs loved sniffing the unfurling ferns, old growth trees blooming bleeding hearts and salmon berries bushes throughout Interlaken Park. I loved the smell of the fresh, forest air.

Typist: Bethany
Unfortunately, I ended half a lifetime as a vegetarian when some health issues forced me to resume including meat in my diet. Unlike cats and dogs I am not an obligate carnivore. I know from the many healthy years I did not eat meat (as well as my back teeth that are made for grinding vegetables) that I don't have to have meat to live. Now that I have had to go back to eating animals, I work hard to eat sustainable fish and cage free meat. I have also always worked to have my pets to eat the similar healthy meats.

Typist: Bethany
Sunshine and rain, the Admiral Viewpoint at Belvedere Park in West Seattle is a popular destination for tourists and locals to enjoy a view of Elliot Bay and the downtown skyline. My favorite part of this park is the story totem standing at tall above the lookout (pictured right on "web," below on "mobile.") Coast Salish tribes carved story totems as opposed to totem poles. Story totems were left unpainted and served structural and artistic purposes in longhouses. The Duwamish tribe were the first inhabitants of what is now metropolitan Seattle and a first generation descendant of the tribes great Chief Sealth, Michael Haladay, carved the story totem that stands at the park today. The 25 foot, free standing cedar pole was carved from an approximately 500 year old Western red cedar cut down by poachers on the Olympic Peninsula.

The story totem tells the tale of when the Duwamish people met the first settlers of what would become Seattle, the Denny Party. From the bottom up, the five panels of the story begin with the "welcoming spirit" figure. This figure, in the form of a house post, symbolizes the hospitality the Denny party received from the friendly Duwamish people. The next panel is a carving of the ship that brought the Denny party pioneers to Alki beach, the schooner "Exact." The three faces above the ship represent the Duwamish tribes' men, women and children. Seated above the faces is the figure of Chief Sealth and the wide wingspan of the thunderbird at the top of the story pole represents the great power of Chief Sealth, who once led the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes.