Four more sleeps; Snowflake Land Holiday Parade in Bellevue

The household is in countdown mode to Christmas. School is done for the year, wrapping is happening behind the scenes, the ham is bought, menu planning underway, and we joined the thousands of happy families in the heart of downtown Bellevue to be part of the 20th Snowflake Parade.

Navigating the traffic, the parking and the crowds, worth it for the music, 'snow', lights the festive spirit and the fun floats.

Winter walks along Lake Washington, Seattle

Almost our backyard, a quick drive down to Lake Washington to walk and bird.

Fresh air and endless vistas.

"Bench with a view"
Magnuson Park, an all year round destination for sport and leisure.
Cascade Mountains framing the view.

Tundra Swans on the Lake

Gregarious Cedar Waxwings feeding happily on the red berries.

Dungeness Spit, longest sand spit in North America

A moody day, light rain and we almost gave this a miss, so pleased we persevered. 

The 7 mile spit which juts north into the Strait of Juan de Fuca is a marvel of nature and reminded me of another spit which seems a lifetime ago, Farewell Spit on the South Island of New Zealand. The difference though was we could walk that sandy spit but Dungeness is too difficult to navigate, pebbles and a menacing tide.

Dungeness Spit, Olympic Peninsula, Washington 

The fascinating culmination of natural forces!

Natural sculptures.

A wild and beautiful place to experience..

The impressive Olympic Mountains making a brief appearance.

Sequim Historic Railroad Bridge all lit up for the season

Historic Railroad Bridge in Sequim ablaze with lovely lights

 

Such a unique evening stroll.

The sun is setting by 4.30pm so the holiday lights make such a difference to our experience of the dark. Some decorations are subtle and others gaudy in the extreme but mostly they are a pleasure to see.

We popped out from our Eagles Nest room to walk the bridge at the Dungeness River Nature Centre which is a festive season attraction. The enormous wooden beams of the old bridge seemed to float above us, lit up by the full moon and the myriad of colourful lights. 

Strait of Juan de Fuca and Surfbirds

I have been deeply curious about the 'other' side of the Puget Sound, the Olympic Peninsula. The eastern slopes of the snow-covered Olympic Mountain range seem to rise straight out of the Sound and they are a beautiful part of the Seattle scenery on a clear day. To the west of the Peninsula is the Pacific Ocean and some of the wettest places in the lower 48 states!

Interestingly though, Sequim and surrounds along the Strait of Juan de Fuca, lie in the rainshadow of the Olympic Mountains and get about 18 inches of rain a year as opposed to a high of 100 inches per year along the west coast. 

Luckily for Fred and me it was dry as we ventured out along the Bluff Trail at Salt Creek to bird. 

Wild beauty of the coastline along the Olympic Peninsula 

Salt Creek, walking the Bluff Trail.

Focusing on a bird we did not recognise, stout, short yellow legs, white belly, dark spots along the sides, orange on the bill and hugging the rocky outer coastline which is being being pounded by surf.

Some research and we realised we were watching aptly named Surfbirds in their winter haunt having come down from high in the mountains of Alaska!

Completely wonderful and my world list is now 2021.

Surfbird! 

Not to be confused with the dapper Black Turnstones also wintering here along the rocky Pacific shores.

Fleurs de Villes, Noel: Pacific Place, Seattle

 

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"
Floral celebrations and wonderful creativity.

Another opportunity to get into the magical Seattle holiday spirit. Enormous floral installations at Palace Place in Downtown Seattle. Roses, orchids, proteas, hydrangeas, amaryllis, chrysanthemums, mosses and trees, all shaped onto mannequin, wreaths, reindeer and Christmas trees.

Inspired by this gorgeous gifting style, well beyond my capability though - my theme is brown craft paper and red ribbons.

Ferry ride to Bainbridge Island, Seattle

There is something magical about walking onto a ferry and sailing away from solid land. A quick google search suggested a good spot for fish and chips was on Bainbridge Island. So we hustled and made the ferry just before it left. 

A winter perfect afternoon in Seattle, blues skies, a calm sea, Mount Rainier showing its looming size and the Olympic Mountain Range the backdrop to our trip. Loved it all and the return was just as special, seeing Seattle all lit up at dusk.

Our first venture onto the Puget Sound, ferry trip to Bainbridge Island.

About the fish and chips, a foot long piece of fish but not worth the hype.

Extravaganza of bears and gingerbread creations, Downtown Seattle on a Sunday afternoon

Remarkable creativity of the Gingerbread Village

Gingerbread Village has been a Seattle tradition at the Sheraton for more than 30 years and a support for Type 1 Diabetes, which made me think of my Nan who died of this debilitating disease.

We joined the tradition on Sunday afternoon. 

The 1 Line Train took us to downtown Seattle, we headed for Ivan's clam chowder at the wharf and watched the crazy gulls and ferries on the Puget Sound, then ambled around town enjoying the holiday season lights. 

After some time queueing, we were in awe of these fabulously intricate gingerbread creations at the Sheraton. They are not houses but feats of confectionary engineering, with light effects and movable parts too. 

The theme this year was iconic destinations - London, Paris, Taj Mahal and Sydney and we all voted for the London scene with Sydney a close second.

The Fairmont Hotel was also on our afternoon agenda for gorgeous Xmas trees and the Teddy Bear Suite. We all instinctively hugged and cuddled bears!

The Fairmont Hotel itself was a joy to experience, it is a landmark in the vibrant heart of Seattle and has great charm and style.

Festive spirit is building, next on my agenda is some floral displays.

Sumptuous Teddy Bear Suite at the Fairmpnt Hotel

An evening of lights: Downtown Denver

Mile High Tree, Denver Downtown

Our weekend in Denver started with an evening exploring the downtown holiday and Christmas lights. 

How easy it is to step out and walk without the iciness of snow and the evening temperature was a manageable 3 degrees C. 

We started at the 110 foot tall Mile High Tree at the Civic Centre Park which is claimed to be the tallest ever Christmas tree. The LED lights created a wonderful spectacle with loads of people milling around and going into the evening market. 

The real eye-opening experience was the technical wizardry of 400 drones lighting up Denver skyline. 

The Mile High Drone Show creates holiday themed animations using drones. We watched from the Sculpture Park and had a perfect view.

Ambling along 16th Street Mall down to the illuminated Union Station we watched people strolling, ice-skating, dining and felt the start of the festive season.

Mile High Drone Show, Downtown Denver

Two eye-catching 60 foot high Mile High City icons.
Giant Blue Bear curiously peeking into the Colorado Convention Centre is called "I See What You Mean"
"Dancers" sculpture by Jonathan Borofsky

Icicles and Hot Tubs: Granby, Colorado

There is nothing quite like combining outdoor swimming and freezing temperatures, which is just what Kirstie and I did one day in Granby. The pool is heated to 84 degrees F which is just doable.

Even more heady is the steamy outdoor hot tub. At 104 degrees F the rising steam kept our heads warm too. 

So beautiful to watch the sun setting pink on the snowy mountains.