Walk #17

We did walk #17 on the same day as walk #16.  After the morning walk, I took Davan and Lena home to get a quick bite to eat before they went to Do Jump for their gig.  Afterward, the two of them and Anthony and I met at Veggie Thai for an early dinner before heading out for our next walk.

After our meal, we headed to Vancouver.  Vancouver, WA, that is, not Vancouver B.C.  It was a 5.5 mile walk.  Part of it was one of our favorite walks and part of it we wouldn't bother to do again.

The walk started and ended at Ft. Vancouver and the part that was on base was great.  A reserve unit still has it's headquarters and training there, but originates from pioneer days and was fully functioning military base for a long time.

On the base is Ft Vancouver, which is a reconstruction of what the fort was like in the pioneer times complete with a garden.  We walked around it at the end, though, so the pictures will come later.

First we walked around the rest of the base.  It was lush and shady.

 There were many fine old homes and buildings.

This was a barracks circa WWI.

Some of the old trees were really amazing.  The girls longed to hang various aerial apparatus from this one in particular.

Some of the residences for the officers were quite majestic.  Many of these homes are now rented out as private residences or office space.

We walked across the parade grounds, which is the view from the row of officer's housing.

And, of course, we found the base's park.

Ranger enjoyed scrounging under the picnic table while waiting for the girls.

Davan pursued the park rules.  She and Lena ignored the fact that they are too old for the playground.  Just a couple of rule breakers.

Anthony and I took some time to practice his smile for the camera.  I don't think he was trying to smile every time.

Ranger finally came out from under the picnic table and we were off.

To see more houses.

And read interpretative signs while breaking out a snack.  Yeah, yeah, we'd just eaten, but we needed calories to fuel all this activity, you know.

Then we left base, walked on a bridge over I-5

And entered downtown Vancouver, which was quiet as can be on a Sunday evening.  We did see this car, though, which Anthony was pretty excited about, so I made him pose.

Further into downtown, we saw this bike tire pump attached to this post.  We all thought that was pretty handy.

Walking under an awning covered in ivy.

More quiet downtown streets.

After a while, we came to a main street, turned and walked back a few blocks parallel through a residential area.

The author pointed out that this school was made of brick.  We were glad she did.  We might not have caught it for ourselves.  We dubbed the city part of this walk the brick walk.  There was a brick factory in Vancouver at one point (I don't remember the years, but over a long span), so many buildings are made of brick.  Including this school.

 My grandparents built a house in Vancouver when my mom and her sisters were little.  My mom was born in Vancouver, in fact.  Anyway, guess what they built their house out of?  If you're thinking brick, you wouldn't be wrong.

The girls - having a good time - in spite of getting pretty tired and foot sore.

 Stopping to stretch a bit.

The base is pretty far south in Vancouver, near the Columbia River.  When we were a few blocks from hitting the river to the west of the base, we came to this great town square.  There were businesses and residences all around this block large square that, to Davan and Lena's delight, had a playground.

There was also bell tower, which I feel like there was something interesting about, but can't remember.

At the base was this fountain.  Davan needed to get in a little Ranger love.

After leaving the square, we headed down to the river.

And the I-5 bridge.  Anthony gave us a little history lesson about the bridge.  The bridge used to just be one side and when they needed to expand, they put in a twin bridge next to it.  Each bridge carries traffic one way.

He told us more, but I remember not.

Then we walked along the riverside path back toward the base.  It was such a beautiful night that I couldn't help but take a ton of photographs.

Shortly, we came to the path back up to base.

And another bike rack to play on.

We walked across some fields with great dusk views in all directions.

Until we came to the fort.  We walked (or cartwheeled) along and around it.

As it got darker, the sky changed and I took even more pictures.

In the garden at the front of the fort, we found a cool leafy tunnel.

And saw our third bunny of the evening.  Ranger really wanted to chase them all!

Then it was back to the van, both glad we were done, as we were all very tired and very foot sore, but also a little sad because it was such a pretty evening.

We would definitely do part of this walk again.  Walking around base and then going along the waterfront to the square would be a lovely way to spend some time.  Sadly, I'd be doing it without Lena's camera the next time around.  Sigh.  Don't worry, Lena, I miss you more than your camera.  Mostly.