DANIEL MICKELSEN
If traffic is on your side, 20 minutes gets you to Marymoor Park's inspiring climbing spires.
Related Content
More About
In a perfect world, one without traffic and other such concerns, 20 minutes from the Seattle city limits opens up quite a bit of interesting real estate. But as Voltaire tells us, this is only the best possible world, and therefore we should plan on not ranging too far afield. Why, on some days, at certain times, 20 minutes doesn't even get you from the Market to the Dome. So let's proceed with the following, which should all be reasonably accessible within about 20 minutes, starting from some nebulous central-downtown point, which is probably just beyond the traffic jam you are in.
1. Slippery Solitude. Perkins Lane, historic haunt of the wealthy and reclusive, and focal point for a number of nature's more destructive forces, is something to be seen. In this one small stretch of land, we may all believe that there is more to natural selection than social status. A healthy chunk of the southern end of Perkins Lane, you see, has been sliding into the Sound with little regard for those who had settled there. Large homes and small, lifetimes of memories and living rooms of furniture, have all flowed with the mud to be smashed into the sea. It is truly a tragedy. But you can drive your car to the cement barriers, ignore the "Road Closed" signs, and walk out to a singularly hushed display of a number of things: the fury of nature, the tireless procession of geologic evolution, and the arrogant presumptions of man. Oh, and it's probably not safe. Nature at work, you know.
2. Olympic Dreams At Marymoor. Bolt east at the right time of day and 20 minutes will get you far enough down 520 to reach Marymoor Park, monument to the eclectic dreams of the suburbanite. If you own a dog, you owe it a trip to the off-leash mecca, which dominates one corner of the park. Otherwise, head for the more removed, covered-in-cobwebs, lesser-used areas and break out your self-propelled wheeled vehicle on the Marymoor Velodrome. It's cool, slanty, and sexy, and the gristly nature of the track's cement guarantees a prominent road rash for any tumbles. But go there enough and you may just become the next, you know, Famous Biking Guy. Or try your hands on the very impressive, free-to-the-public, climbing spires a few feet away. But remember the first rule of outdoor climbing: Slippery when wet!
3. It Ain't New England, But . . . Lighthouses are cool; water-treatment plants generally aren't. You can view both, however, at Discovery Park's West Point. At the water's edge the Coast Guard operates a stubby but attractive lighthouse, which, not coincidentally, sits in a spot blessed with a sweeping view of the Puget Sound. Nice days and low tides offer great beachcombing, though the piles of driftwood scattered about the lighthouse speak of the frequency of wicked weather. Shipping traffic and ferry boats move by in seemingly no hurry, and various sea creatures make good viewing from here. When bored by natural beauty, you may have a peek at the massive, though surprisingly unobtrusive, West Point water treatment plant. Here, zillions upon zillions of gallons of smelly, befouled water are pumped into Elliott Bay. But it's cleaned it first.
4. Sisyphus, Where Are You Now? Pick a cold, rainy day when you won't be mauled by gawking tourists. Drive to Commodore Park on the oft-ignored south side of the Chittenden Locks. Walk to the locks and enter the gloomy sanctuary of the fish ladder viewing room. Pick a greenish thick window and sit in front of it. Watch the pathetic struggles of salmon driven maddeningly by instinct through a pounding man-made upstream struggle to what is a certain death. Reflect on how much better your life is in comparison. On a recent visit, I watched a smolt going the wrong way. Fish viewing is open from 7am until 9pm. And if you haven't seen the working of the locks, it is just like a very exciting action movie played in super-slo-mo. Quite a feat of engineering, however. Boats come in. Water goes up. Water goes down. Presto-change-o, you're in Lake Washington!
5. The Road Less Traveled. Ever feel like you just aren't getting anywhere with your life? Well, now you can drive there! Yes, just take the Off-ramp to Nowhere from I-520 and you'll never get farther than 20 minutes from Seattle! Standing as an inexplicable monument to the strategic prowess of the Washington State Department of Transportation, there is actually an off ramp from 520 that leads to Nothing. Rather, it just ends—before you've actually gotten anywhere. Unfortunately, they don't allow you to drive on this piece of roadway (where would you be going, anyway?), but you can walk to it and admire the planning that went into it. Park at a small lot off Lake Washington Boulevard E, distinguished by its "high car prowl area" signs, and walk until you find the cement that leads only to swamp. It's a good place for a chuckle, or just to ponder Big Things that don't go anywhere or do anything. Or you can do some improv role-playing: OK, I'll be the construction foreman, you be the highway engineer. Now, I say, "Hey, uh, buddy. Where did you say you wanted this road to go again?"
