Are you ready for some more Green River Trail?
I walked another few miles of the trail a couple of days ago. I thought this next piece would be rather boring but I was in for lots of surprises including another childhood memory.
I parked just south of the Briscoe Park that I talked about at length in my last Green River Trail post. http://wp.me/p1d1cX-18U It is a nice new parking lot built recently along with the flood control barriers that are going up along the trail. Several years ago the dam upstream was in danger of breaking so everyone put up temporary flood barriers. The City of Kent is now constructing permanent barriers.
The river winds through the valley with warehouses where there used to be farms. However, there is a lot of nature alive and well in this river corridor. See the log in the center of the last picture above? That is a Blue Heron on the end. Check out what he looks like with my zoom on him.
I then neared the newer 200th Street Bridge. This bridge was built to help the increased truck traffic that all the warehouses have created. When they did this they cut off some of the old roads that followed on both sides of the river bank. They are Frager (west side) and Russell (east side) Roads. They still exist in shorter sections. When I learned to drive they were unpaved gravel roads that went for miles along the river. My boyfriend taught me to drive on Frager. It was get it right or end up in the drink.
Back to the adventure – as I rounded the bend before the bridge, I noticed some snags in the river. One must have been an old growth tree.
Here is a little montage of the 200th street bridge and an area to the north of it that is being reclaimed. Canadian Geese were grazing there with their babies. Yes more nature alongside the development by man.
On the other side of the bridge is a Kent Park called Three Friends Fishing Hole. It is a very nice little park with a covered picnic area, bathrooms, a ramp to the river and art. If you stop by there off of 200th you can read about the three guys that the park is in memory of.
On my way back that water fountain was a hit. I filled my hat full of water and dumped it over my head. Plus filled up my water bottle to stay hydrated on a very hot Seattle day. (for some this wasn’t hot but 85 is more than my little body likes). Oh and I ate blackberries down by the river here. It isn’t barely July and some were ripe. Never seen that before, since they usually are an August or September fruit.
On my left or to the east of the trail was warehouse after warehouse. At first on the west side of the river it was land that was flattened for more buildings. Growth in this valley is marching on for sure. However, I did come upon a small farm still in existence next to the river.
Moving along to the South I came upon the 212th Street Bridge or what I call the Orillia Road bridge. This version isn’t too old but it has had a crossing there for a long time.
As a little girl riding my bicycle I would come down Orillia Road to cross the river there. One adventure I turned down Russell Road going back north on the east side of the river. There was a very old house that looked deserted due to the Boeing Kent Center development. The front windows had tattered curtains and old furniture lay in a heap. Reminded me of an old ghost town house.
Being curious about the house I walked around to the back thinking I might find an open door. In that day and age there weren’t any homeless people to speak of and we youngsters roamed freely with no fear. However, this day I got the fright of my life. In the window of the back kitchen area were tomatoes ripening. Yikes, that meant someone still lived in this old house. I skidattled and pedaled as fast as I could out of there. Here are some pictures of what is there now.
Here are a few photos of what is left of Russell Road here to the north of 212th which are behind me in the above picture.
Under the 212th Bridge I went and found even more treasures. I actually walked further than I should have because I had to go see a few more things. This included a tower in the Green River Natural Resources Area and an amphibian highway. Before I went back north, I filled my water bottle and my hat at the fountain in Anderson Park. That is a trick I learned riding motorcycles many years ago. Wet your scarf under your helmet for relief from the heat. So hot that day that my hat was almost dry by the time I got back to Three Friends Fishing Hole Park.
On the way back I saw this little chipmunk. Very odd to see him here in Western Washington. Usually just squirrels running around this side of the Cascade Mountains. He reminded me of my pet golden mantle squirrel Charlie.
Right after I saw the chipmunk I had my eagle moment. Check out the video of him in this post.
It was so hot that once I got back over the 200th street bridge, I diverted to the streets that wind around the warehouses. They were shaded so it was cooler than up on the hot asphalt trail in the glaring sun. I leave you with this giant gear on display by Robbins Corp outside their building.
Crows of Arroyos 
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Interesting to bump into your site. We were raised on the river below the Tukwila Hill and walked to the 180th bridge to be picked up by the school buss and taken across the highway to the Orillia school. Feel free to contact me. Started in Orillia in 59, then went to South Central schools.
Wow – you were even closer to the valley than myself. Living on the hill it was an all day adventure to go cycle around. Still can’t get the image and bad feeling of the Brisco School but other than that it was always a good adventure. Thanx for visting – glad you could go down memory lane with me.