Totem Lake, Kirkland

Description:
Totem Lake is more of a little nature-trail-slash-boardwalk, rather than a walk-walk. We managed to turn it into at least a 2-mile walk, though. In fact, tricky as it was, we managed to circumnavigate it. We were quite determined! It started out as a little trek down the boardwalk and standing against the fence to watch dozens swallows perform their amazing aerobatics. Then we grabbed ourselves a cattail and meandered down a little unused trail, where I fluffed up the cattail and Pete munched on the blackberries. Note to self: go back there in a week or two to gather berries for a yummy pie. We still had time to kill, so we headed the other direction around the lake. The nature trail pretty much ended at the gas station and a street, but we kept following the sidewalk, stopped at a couple interpretive signs, then headed down the railroad track. Our chance of finding our way around the lake seemed unpromising. We kept following the railroad track though, until we finally found a dry spot to cut across through the woods. We ended up in the parking lot of a Nintendo customer service center. Again, it didn't look very promising. It pretty much looked like a little mountain we needed to cut across, and then there was a swampy wetland down below us. Somehow, we managed to find a dry trail, which led us to some apartments and a hotel parking lot. Voila! Back to the beginning. I could proudly say that we circumnavigated Totem Lake, and I relived the type of adventure I used to have all the time in my late teens/young adulthood, when I used to get lost in some woods and try to find my way out. Now that's what I call a Date Night with my wonderful, adventuresome hubby!
          I have one other memory of Totem Lake. That's where Desiree collected a sample of water for the 6th grade science fair project. We discovered Totem Lake water helps grass to grow like crazy, compared to other water sources. Totem Lake is thriving and full of life and full of natural fertilizers!

Location & Parking:
Go to the Totem Lake Shopping Center in Kirkland. Totem Lake is tucked somewhat behind Big 5, by the old movie theater complex. I think the Hotel where the boardwalk starts is called the Carlton Inn. I found the birds at Totem Lake much more fascinating to watch than the ones at nearby Denny's Pet World. Here is a website dedicated to birdwatching at Totem Lake: Birder Central.

Kirkland -- Big Finn Hill Park

Description:
Big Finn Hill is located in the center of the Juanita neighborhood, which lies between Bothell and Kirkland. At the top of the park (i.e., on top of the hill), there is parking, a grassy play area, playground, soccer field, and baseball diamonds. A sign orders to keep dogs on leashes, but we noticed a few dogs running around off-leash with their owners, which didn't appear to be a problem for anyone. Surrounding the grassy park area at the top of the hill are several densely forested areas, each having their own trail system. These trail systems are best described as feeling like a capillary bed (see illustration). We had no clue where we were headed and mostly just let the dog decide which direction we would take whenever we came to a fork in the trail. Eventually, we ended up back at the open area and parking lot. We never felt lost because we were very aware of being surrounded by suburban neighborhoods and street. The trail areas were nicely shaded from the thick foilage, and there was a lot of undergrowth on the ground. The trails were very clearly defined, although they were narrow and required walking single file. There are enough twists and turns and ups and downs to call this hike exercise. I think if I lived in this neighborhood, I would wander into this park all the time and have nice quiet time among the trees. Otherwise, it didn't hold too much interest for me. We still want to check out the section of the park that heads down the hill towards Lake Washington, but we didn't have time for that today. At some point, I would like to get a hold of a decent trail map of this park so I know where I'm going.

Location & Parking:
This park is located in the Juanita neighborhood of Kirkland at NE 138th and Juanita Drive NE. See this webpage provided by King County Parks for a map and more information.