Sammamish River Trail

 

7/31/26 Freeways criss-cross over the Sammamish River in Bothell.

Ten miles of paved trail for bicyclists, runners and walkers, the Sammamish River Trail goes all the way from Marymoor to Bothell. Although I’d sketched the Sammamish from Bothell Landing a few times, Brackett’s Landing a mile or so east was new to me. That was the meetup point with Allan, Roy, Dave and Gabi on a beautiful morning.

Thumbnail for sketch above

When I was invited, I had been promised freeway overpasses – I’m in! When I arrived, though, all I saw was the green, serene river with a few ducks floating by. Huh?

It turned out that was just the parking location. Walking 10 minutes or so on the trail brought us to the spot that Dave called the “spaghetti monster” of vertical and horizontal concrete made further chaotic by new construction. Although I had brought along earplugs, I was surprised that I didn’t need them. Best of all, we had plenty of deep shade from the overpasses to choose whatever composition we wanted.

Daunted by what I saw in every direction, I made a thumbnail of the vertical view I chose to see if everything would fit. Liking the composition, I moved on to the larger color version (top of post).

After tackling the concrete jungle, we all agreed that the serene piece of river where we parked would be a welcome relief. My challenge was to distinguish the water reflections from the trees and foliage all around (below). I joked that I was channeling Monet during his cataract phase.

Whether natural or humanmade, the sights from the Sammamish River Trail are a sketcher’s paradise, especially when it’s cloudless and 74 degrees. Ahhh, summer in Seattle!

A 10-minute walk from the Spaghetti Monster is this stretch of serenity.

A 180-degree turn from the scene I sketched are more more tangles of spaghetti waiting to be connected.

Tina, Allan, Gabi, Roy and Dave take on the Spaghetti Monster!