Gas Works Park

Gas Works Park, located on the North end of Lake Union, was originally used as a site to make gas from coal between the years 1906 to 1965. The city of Seattle purchased it during the mid 60's and opened a public park in1975. With great views of Lake Union and the Seattle’s skyline this is definitely on my list of top 5 best parks in the city.

It was at one time touted as one of the”strangest parks in the world.” Strange or not, this park is worth the visit! Where else can children climb on old machinery from the plant? There’s a children’s barn (inside the former exhauster-compressor building) where they so kindly painted the old parts bright colors to make them appealing for children(see picture to the right).

In addition to the children’s play area, there’s a great hill for flying kites and lots of green space. The sundial atop the hill is another unique feature to the park.

Here are the views we captured from atop the hill

Here's the best one for last!

Why cartwheels?

Why not? Everyone's blogging these days and we wanted to jump on the bandwagon too!

Truthfully, the idea is not all mine. I had a friend who started a website entitled "Cartwheels Around the World." While this website isn't around anymore, I've enjoyed taking cartwheel pictures wherever I travel. That was the inspiration for this blog. Now as a group of friends we'll be cartwheeling around to Seattle to show you all the budget friendly, off the beaten track, cool places to visit around the area. We can promise you'll be entertained by our cartwheeling skills. However, read this blog at your own risk...you might just decide that Seattle is the place you should be living!


Here's a little sneak peak of what you'll be seeing...

This was taken on a recent bike ride along the Burke-Gilman Trail
(Just for the record this was taken with our camera timer. We guarantee better pictures in the future!)

Biking the Burke-Gilman Trail

A sunny day in November is a special treat to anyone who lives in the Northwest! We couldn't pass up a morning bike ride along the Burke-Gilman trail. We hopped on close to Magnuson Park and rode to Lake Forrest Park. We enjoyed gorgeous views of Lake Washington and colorful leaves (still on the trees) along the way! Of course, we couldn't pass up a few cartwheeling photos. This picture to the right doesn't do justice to the views of Lake Washington we passed(it was just the best place for us to prop the camera to take photos on the timer). I guess you'll either have to take my word for it or get out there and experience it for yourself.


The Burke Gilman trail starts near Golden Gardens Park in Ballard, hugs the Lake Washington Ship Canal, then heads north along Lake Washington. It eventually connects with the Lake Sammamish River trail around the Kenmore/Bothell area. We only rode along a small portion of the lengthy trail, but it's said to span some 27 miles. It's a popular trail used by joggers, cyclists, skaters and commuters of any kind. It's conveniently flat, which is hard to find while biking or running in Seattle, but it sure makes it nice for leisurely bike rides or long runs. The only downfall for serious cyclists might be the the tree root speed bumps we encountered along the stretch by Lake Washington.
This scenic trail is a must for any visitor or resident of the Seattle area. Pull out those running shoes, get those bikes tuned up, and dust off those rollerblades because this is one activity that you won't want to pass up on your next visit to Seattle!