12-29-25
Gary
invited me to come along on a waterfront walk. We each have done walks
along the new waterfront during the years of construction but have only
done a couple together. After lots of rain, we were looking at a dry
afternoon. Gary picked me up and we drove to Highland Drive on Queen
Anne Hill. Gary had a nice loop planned. We started out about 4:00 pm.
Sunset was at 4:26. We would start in daylight and end long after dark.
Gary navigated us down to Elliott Avenue and the bridge across the road
and train tracks. The park along the water is undergoing a
complete rebuild. New beaches are going in and all the grass near the
bridge is gone for now. It did not take long from the bridge to Pier 70
where we reached Alaskan Way. It was still light though sunset was
nearing. Mt. Rainier was in the clear with an orange and yellow sky
behind. We saw people all the way. It was not crowded but folks were
out and about at dusk. At Pier 66 we crossed the road to check out the
new bike and pedestrian route. It was still closed.
We continued down the waterfront to the new pier opposite the Overlook Walk. It provided a great view back to the Overlook and a last look out to the Olympics. It was still a little short of darkness. This was the first time I have been at the Overlook Walk at dusk. It is very well lit up. Lots of people were on it. Behind the lights of the city shone brightly. We stopped at the spot where you can look up into the aquarium tank. We were able to see a shark and a ray. We continued south along the waterfront. Gary had not seen the other new pier so we detoured through it. I had not seen the fountain with its lights on. It is much different than in daylight and in some ways even better. We also detoured to the wooden walk way on the east side near Alaskan Way. To my surprise many flower were blooming. That's quite a trick at the end of December.
We reached the swings to find all eight of them in use. Even after dark they are busy. We went past the ferry dock and took then over to the foot ferry terminal. We climbed up the stairs to the walkway back to the main ferry dock. I always stop for photos of downtown. It is a perfect spot to get in most of the downtown skyscrapers. It looked even better after dark. The sky was dark but all the lights made it plenty light enough. It was quite cold now and we headed indoors to the ferry terminal. It was the perfect spot with heat, water, and bathrooms. It was almost 5:30 pm and time for dinner. We had packs and brought our own. After that we headed back north along the waterfront. There were still quite a few people out and about. The walkway is well lit up after dark. I brought a headlamp but at no point on our route was it at all needed.
When we reached the Overlook Walk we headed up. My knee has been sore for four or five weeks and I have been using a brace while hiking. This trip I did not use it and did fine. All the steps were challenging but not too bad. There is an elevator but I did not need it. At the top Gary led us over to Victor Steinbrueck Park. From there we headed into the Pike Place Market. It was closing down but we went part way indoors. We popped out onto Pike Place. We had hoped for lots of Christmas lights to still be up but that was not the case. We saw some lights on the waterfront and a well lit tree was just outside the Market. We headed east to Westlake Park which was partly under construction. Across the street we headed for the Monorail. I think it had been at least 25 years since I had been on it. We took the Monorail to the Seattle Center. There was a Kraken game that evening and there were lots of people on board heading for the game.
The Armory, or Center House in my memory, was busy. With the game it was pretty crowded. Gary showed me the scale model Christmas town with a trail running through it. It was much larger than I was expecting. We spent some time checking out what was left of Christmas decorations. All that was left was to walk back to and part way up Queen Anne Hill. We passed one more big live tree covered with lights. At Kerry Park there were a lot of people at 7:20 pm. I have lots of photos of Seattle from the park but not evening ones. It was just a short walk from there back to the car.
This turned out to be a great in city hike. I have been to the waterfront many times during the reconstruction. I have seen sunset from the park on the waterfront and had a short walk back to my car. I have not done a late afternoon hike when sunset hits while still heading out. The weather was great. It was cold but dry. We were far from alone after dark. Throw in my first time on the Monorail in decades and it was great trip. We even had some Christmas lights to enjoy. I hope to do some more afternoon/evening walks on the waterfront.
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We continued down the waterfront to the new pier opposite the Overlook Walk. It provided a great view back to the Overlook and a last look out to the Olympics. It was still a little short of darkness. This was the first time I have been at the Overlook Walk at dusk. It is very well lit up. Lots of people were on it. Behind the lights of the city shone brightly. We stopped at the spot where you can look up into the aquarium tank. We were able to see a shark and a ray. We continued south along the waterfront. Gary had not seen the other new pier so we detoured through it. I had not seen the fountain with its lights on. It is much different than in daylight and in some ways even better. We also detoured to the wooden walk way on the east side near Alaskan Way. To my surprise many flower were blooming. That's quite a trick at the end of December.
We reached the swings to find all eight of them in use. Even after dark they are busy. We went past the ferry dock and took then over to the foot ferry terminal. We climbed up the stairs to the walkway back to the main ferry dock. I always stop for photos of downtown. It is a perfect spot to get in most of the downtown skyscrapers. It looked even better after dark. The sky was dark but all the lights made it plenty light enough. It was quite cold now and we headed indoors to the ferry terminal. It was the perfect spot with heat, water, and bathrooms. It was almost 5:30 pm and time for dinner. We had packs and brought our own. After that we headed back north along the waterfront. There were still quite a few people out and about. The walkway is well lit up after dark. I brought a headlamp but at no point on our route was it at all needed.
When we reached the Overlook Walk we headed up. My knee has been sore for four or five weeks and I have been using a brace while hiking. This trip I did not use it and did fine. All the steps were challenging but not too bad. There is an elevator but I did not need it. At the top Gary led us over to Victor Steinbrueck Park. From there we headed into the Pike Place Market. It was closing down but we went part way indoors. We popped out onto Pike Place. We had hoped for lots of Christmas lights to still be up but that was not the case. We saw some lights on the waterfront and a well lit tree was just outside the Market. We headed east to Westlake Park which was partly under construction. Across the street we headed for the Monorail. I think it had been at least 25 years since I had been on it. We took the Monorail to the Seattle Center. There was a Kraken game that evening and there were lots of people on board heading for the game.
The Armory, or Center House in my memory, was busy. With the game it was pretty crowded. Gary showed me the scale model Christmas town with a trail running through it. It was much larger than I was expecting. We spent some time checking out what was left of Christmas decorations. All that was left was to walk back to and part way up Queen Anne Hill. We passed one more big live tree covered with lights. At Kerry Park there were a lot of people at 7:20 pm. I have lots of photos of Seattle from the park but not evening ones. It was just a short walk from there back to the car.
This turned out to be a great in city hike. I have been to the waterfront many times during the reconstruction. I have seen sunset from the park on the waterfront and had a short walk back to my car. I have not done a late afternoon hike when sunset hits while still heading out. The weather was great. It was cold but dry. We were far from alone after dark. Throw in my first time on the Monorail in decades and it was great trip. We even had some Christmas lights to enjoy. I hope to do some more afternoon/evening walks on the waterfront.
 Olympic Mountains |
 Mt. Rainier |
 Park Under Construction |
 Lit Up Statue |
 Pier 66 |
 Dusk On Pier 62 |
 Lights Of The City |
 Overlook Walk |
 Inside The Aquarium |
 The Great Wheel |
 Lighted Boardwalk |
 Native Art |
 View From Ferry Terminal |
 Pier 56 |
 New Fountain |
 Market Christmas Tree |
 Westlake Tree |
 Star & Tree |
 Monorail View |
 Train & Winter Village |
 Another View |
 Lit Up TV Tower |
 Queen Anne Tree |
 Kerry Park View |
 Different Lighting |
 Last Kerry Park Shot |
Trips - 2025
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