"Walk a Stairway and Get to Know a Neighborhood"

Solstice Park, West Seattle: Ellen M. Banner / The Seattle Times

This post borrows its title from the latest weekly "Fit & Fun" column by The Seattle Times' Richard Seven, which details the 2nd annual Stairway Walks Day coming up Saturday, February 8th. On that morning as many as 450 people will set out to walk the stairs, choosing from one of 18 neighborhood stairway routes in the book. Each walk will be led by trained volunteers from walking advocacy nonprofit - and Stairway Walks Day sponsor - Feet First.

Stairway Walks Day II is a terrific way to experience our historic, world-class stairway network while you get a little outdoor exercise and do some neighborhood exploring. There's still time to sign up for an open walk near you (sign up here). See you on the stairs Saturday!

A Stairway Walk Through Washington Park Arboretum

Yesterday, we decide to take advantage of the remnants of cold sunshine preceding the upcoming week of showers by making a visit to Washington Park Arboretum. Chapter 14, titled "The Olmsted Vision: The Arboretum, Interlaken Park, and Volunteer Park," guides stairway walkers briefly through the western side of the Arboretum, but readers might want to take a detour along the Wilcox Footbridge to explore more.

There are lots of stairways along the Arboretum's paths. But the real reason to visit, at any time of year, is for the stupendous flora: more than 10,000 plants and at least 4,400 different species!

We were surprised to see so much budding going on in late January, so we took lots of pictures. We wonder if we are truly seeing unusually early blooming, and if so, whether it has something to do with global warming.