Dash Point State Park: From the Beach to the Forest

A beautiful, sunny day in February is a great opportunity to do some exploring. On such a Saturday we decided to travel down to Federal Way and explore Dash Point State Park. Washington state has over 100 state parks so there are a number of locations to see, and we have only visited a few of them. It was time to explore more. Dash Point is on Puget Sound in Federal Way. We took the 320th St. exit off I-5…

Exploring the Rhododendron Garden in Washington

Spring flowers brighten our day after the gloomy days of winter. In the Pacific Northwest one of the star garden plants is the rhododendron. Gardeners have planted these bushes with their bright and colorful flowers throughout the gardens of the Northwest. However, there is one place specifically one can go to get a look at these plants, the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in Federal Way. This garden was created specifically to focus on rhododendrons. The founders brought plants from various…

Enjoying a Garden, a Lighthouse, and Hanalei Beach

Thursday we were ready to travel north again to Hanalei. After being thwarted on Tuesday, we now knew when the highway would be open. We had everything timed out, and we were ready to go. Our first stop of the day was the Na ‘Aina Kai Botanical Gardens (Lands by the Sea). Like many gardens, this one began as a private garden. Joyce and Ed Doty moved to Kauai in the late 1970’s and began to create a garden. As…

Bloedel Reserve: Following the Trail

If you are in need of a quiet place in the midst of our chaotic world today, visit a garden. In a previous post I suggested three gardens to visit. Today I am suggesting just one, The Bloedel Reserve which USA Today recently named one of the 10 best botanical gardens in the U.S. The Bloedel Reserve is located at the northern end of Bainbridge Island in Puget Sound. This 150 acre garden and forest area was originally the home…