Saturday, December 1st - Redmond Lights

Celebrate Redmond's Centennial by Day 
and
Redmond Lights by Night!

If you’re looking for something to do after the library closes at 5 p.m., you won’t be able to miss Redmond Lights across the parking lot at City Hall on Saturday, December 1st!  Traditionally a winter event held in the evening, the City has added Centennial events during the day. This will begin to close out the year-long festivities surrounding Redmond’s 100th birthday, which began at last year’s Lights event.

Things I About Redmond Lights:

- The Blinkers
- The Luminary Walk Celebrating Different Winter Traditions
- The [weather permitting] Hot Air Balloons
- The Northwest Boychoir
- Santa’s Arrival and Tree Lighting

Hope to see you there!

The East Lake Sammamish Trail: Paved and Open

On November 7th, the Redmond portion of the East Lake Sammamish Trail was reopened. This 1.2 mile section of the trail has been paved — previously, it was hardpack gravel. However, the non-Redmond portion of the 11-mile trail is still unpaved.

Parking 
The East Lake Sammamish Trail improvements included the construction of a 77-space parking lot next to the trail on the south side of NE 70th Street (near Whole Foods).

Here’s a map showing the location of the new parking lot:

View Larger Map

For more info on public access, parking, and restrooms along the East Lake Sammamish Trail, click here.

Regional Trail Corridor
The East Lake Sammamish Trail is part of a 44-mile urban regional trail corridor that also includes the Burke-Gilman Trail, the Sammamish River Trail, the Marymoor Connector Trail and the Issaquah-High Point Trail. This corridor links Seattle to the Eastside and the Cascade foothills.


For more info, see the East Lake Sammamish Trail Master Plan.

The Eyes Have It: Artwork Along the East Lake Sammamish Trail

I was being watched while riding my bike along the East Lake Sammamish Trail! The green eyes peered out of a large photo mounted on a fence along the trail. The face looked eerie, as several years of weathering have created fracture patterns on the wood.

Sammamish photographer and digital artist, Jim Wolfe, displays his prints along the fence in front of his house as well as his neighbor’s house. 

Several years ago, Jim figured out a technique to print digital images on non-paper surfaces, such as canvas and wood. One of his earliest artistic themes was faces, and you’ll find plenty of them staring at you. One print peeked out at me from behind blackberry bushes.

Jim’s later artistic themes included nature scenes, such as the following print of two herons.

At one time, Jim tried selling his prints in downtown Seattle. While people appreciated his artwork, most people were more interested in figuring out how to duplicate his process rather than buying his artwork.

East Lake Sammamish Trail 
To view the artwork along the trail, travel about 4 miles south from Marymoor Park along the East Lake Sammamish Trail until you reach 1103 East Lake Sammamish Parkway NE.

For more info on King County regional trails, see Regional Trails System.

movies @ marymoor: Seeing Stars Under the Stars

Wednesday night outdoor movies at Marymoor Park continue through the month of August 2010. Seating opens at 7:00 pm, with the movie starting at dusk. Here’s the lineup for August:

The Blind Side
Wed, August 4th

The Neverending Story
Wed, August 11th

Star Trek (2009)
Wed, August 18th

The Princess Bride
Wed, August 25th

For more info, see movies @ marymoor on the King County Web site.

Movie Screen
The movie screen is a large inflatable outdoor cinema system. The projection surface is 40’ wide by 22.5’ high, which provides a 16:9 aspect ratio.

Padilla Bay Shore Trail: A Path to Nature

The Padilla Bay Shore Trail is a spectacular bicycle and pedestrian pathway along the estuary of the Skagit River. Part of the estuary tidal flats are ringed by dikes, which were built to create farmland out of the mud flats. The 2 mile trail, atop a dike, follows one of the many sloughs that enter into Padilla Bay. The surface of this flat trail is hard pack gravel, which makes bicycling easy, even for youngsters.  

Padilla Bay is a tidal bay that is entirely flooded at high tide — at low tide mudflats are exposed. The bay is very shallow. Near Hat Island the bay is only 12 feet (4 m) deep. These mud flats are habitat for many species of birds and animals. You can often see a great blue heron stalking its prey:

All along the trail you can see spectacular views of the San Juan islands and the Chuckanut Mountains to the north:

Trailhead
Drive north on Interstate 5, and take Exit 230 (state Route 20), and turn left (west) and drive six miles to Bayview-Edison Road (turn right). Follow the road for about a mile until you come to the trailhead parking on the left.

  For more info about Padilla Bay, click here.

The Interurban Trail: A Ride Along the Rails

The Interurban Trail is a paved 14-mile recreational trail linking Tukwila, Kent, Auburn, Algona, and Pacific. When completed, the trail will extend south through Pacific, across the county line into Sumner and Puyallup where it will connect with the Pierce County Foothills Trail and the planned Edgewood/Milton Interurban Trail.

The following map section shows the portion of the Interurban Trail between Kent and Auburn. You can find trail maps on King County's new interactive Bike Map, or the new Mobile Bike Map (updated May 2012). For info on King County trails, see Regional Trails in King County.

The Interurban Trail passes through a variety of industrial landscapes, such as this old cement plant in Tukwila:

The Interurban Trail is popular with bicycling teams, who use this very straight trail for training rides.

The trail occupies an abandoned Puget Sound Electric Railway corridor. However, the BNSF rail line next to it is very much in use, and you’ll pass hundreds of freight cars.

In fact, along certain sections of the Interurban Trail you’ll have to be careful, as railroad tracks cut across the trail. Fortunately, these sections are well marked with warning signs about remote controlled locomotives!

Green River Trail Intersection
When you cross the Green River bridge at South 260th Street in Kent, you’ll find that the Interurban Trail intersects with the Green River Trail — another great trail to ride.

Other Blog Postings on Trails
Here’s a list of other Redmond Library blog postings on regional trails:

Marymoor Connector Trail Partly Open

The Tolt Pipeline Trail

Snohomish County Bike Trails: Centennial Trail

King County Bike Trails: Sammamish River Trail

King County Bike Trail Maps

Tron: A Classic Movie from the Redmond Outdoor Movie Series

On Saturday, August 29th the classic 1982 movie, Tron, will be shown at Idylwood Beach as part of Redmond’s free Summer 2009 Outdoor Movie Series. Other movies being shown are Hook and Kung Fu Panda. Hook will be shown at Idylwood Beach on Saturday, August 1st. Kung Fu Panda will be shown at City Hall on Friday, August 14. All movies start at dusk—around 9:30 pm. These movies are presented by the City of Redmond Teen Programs. For more info, contact rypac@redmond.gov, or call 425-556-2358.

Tron
Tron is a 1982 science fiction film by Disney. It has a distinctive visual style, as it was one of the first films from a major studio to use computer graphics exclusively.

You might recall that the Master Control Program (MCP) is the main villain of the movie. It was a rogue artificial intelligence that ruled over the world inside ENCOM's mainframe computer.  During the rule of the MCP, many programs were enslaved and forced to play games against its henchmen, led by Sark. Memorably, the MCP would end most of its conversations with Dillinger and Sark with the phrase "End of line".

Enjoy this blast from the past!

Derby Days Just Around the Corner

Mark your calendars for Redmond's 69th annual community celebration and criterium - Derby Days Summer Festival! This year's festivities will be held on Friday, July 10th and Saturday, July 11th.


(The carnival at the Old Redmond Schoolhouse will be operating Thursday - Sunday.)

Redmond's Bicycle Criterium is America's longest running bicycle race - if you haven't yet witnessed the awesome speed and bike handling that is showcased in a closed course event such as this one, you'll be in for a treat!

The Kids Parade and Grand Parade on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. is one of the few sanctioned Seafair events on the Eastside. Look for the Redmond Regional Library entry in the parade! Arrive early for the parade and enjoy breakfast at the Firefighers Pancake Breakfast to benefit the Redmond Firefighters Benevolent Fund. You are never too old to try on the turnout gear!

New this year is Friday Night Live featuring the Beatniks. Enjoy live music, a beer and wine garden with food, followed by a movie - all conveniently located on the City Hall campus.

Hope to see you there!

Microsoft Lincoln Square: A Lunchroom with a View

The next time your Microsoft friends talk about getting together for lunch, beg them to take you to the Microsoft Café on the 28th floor of Lincoln Square in Bellevue. The views are fantastic! Here’s the view looking west towards the Seattle skyline. 

Looking towards the southwest are spectacular views of Meydenbauer Bay.

The Bellevue Hyatt Regency, built in 1989, looks considerably smaller from the 28th floor of Lincoln Square.

Looking eastward, you can see the changing downtown Bellevue skyline, framed by the Cascades in the background.

Bon appétit!

Other Blog Postings on Microsoft
Here’s a list of other Redmond Library blog postings on Microsoft:

Microsoft Commons: It’s a Mall World After All

The Microsoft Visitor Center: An Interactive Experience

A New Bridge for Redmond: The NE 36th Street Overpass

Redmond Town Center: A View from Virtual Earth 3D

Exploring the Skies with the WorldWide Telescope

Microsoft Building 83 under Construction

Woodland Park Zoo: The New Penguin Exhibit

The penguins at the Woodland Park Zoo have a new home. The Humboldt penguin's new 17,000 square-foot exhibit re-creates the penguins' native habitat in Peru, and includes shoreline cliffs, waves, and rocky pools. A 30-foot-long glass barrier allows zoo visitors to watch the penguins swim and play underwater, or waddle around on land. 

The following video from the Woodland Park Zoo introduces you to the penguin's new home:

For more info on the new penguin exhibit, see more colorful than ever.

A Whimsical Online Zoo
If you can’t visit the Woodland Park Zoo, you may want to visit the online Switcheroo Zoo. Design your own animals in Switcheroo Zoo by selecting heads, bodies, and tails from 142 creatures. There are also plenty of fun facts about the creatures in the collection. Here’s my version of a “donkey”:

 

and my version of a “cat”:

The Eastside: A New Comedy Haven?

If you are a fan of live comedy - the Eastside has quite a few laughs in store for you!  These local shows offer an alternative to the trek to Giggles or Comedy Underground in Seattle.

 

Laughs Comedy Spot, Kirkland: We were surprised to find that this venue is in Totem Lake, not downtown Kirkland like one might expect.  This ends up a blessing in disguise, as the parking is free, easy, and fairly plentiful.  We spent a great New Year's Eve here a couple of years ago.

 

Parlor Live, Bellevue: As swanky as you would expect from the Parlor Collection's latest offering.  Enjoy fantastic deals at the Happy Hour in the Billiards area before the early show - I'd highly recommend the Parmesan Waffle Fries! A very nice touch at the end of the show we saw was the comedians exuberantly thanking the owners for establishing such a nice live venue (heckling will see you removed) and then shaking the crowd's hands as we left the show.

Split 2nd Improv, Redmond: A partnership between SecondStory Repertory and Unexpected Productions brings comedic improv on select Friday and Saturday nights throughout the year. While I haven't seen Unexpected Productions' version of Theatresports, I've seen a similar style show in Portland on a couple of occasions and it was hilarious! 

For specific show times and tickets - check the calendars on each venue's website.