Mountaineers

WHITE WONDERLAND: The MPA student body is in day two of their excursion to Mt. Rainier. They're staying at the Mount Rainier Institute, a cooperative of the University of Washington and the National Parks Service. 

I honestly don't know much about the following photos, except that the kids are in them, and they're on Mt. Rainier somewhere.

If I'm not mistaken, below is near where they went snowshoeing today.

And the subject line accompanying the photo that I was emailed (below) read "Unicorn Peak." 
Sure, Annabelle has a unicorn shirt on, but that's not atypical. ;)

I Googled "Unicorn Peak Rainier" and the Washington Trails Association website tells me "Unicorn peak is the tallest in the Tatoosh Mountain Range and offers spectacular views of Mount Rainier. It's top is somewhat jagged which looks like a Unicorn's horn, hence the name."

Hmm. So maybe they weren't on Rainier, but were near Rainier at this point.

They'll be home tomorrow, so I can expect a full report then.

In the meantime, you can listen to other kids talking about outdoor education in National Parks.

https://youtu.be/vbMcHPsn2ns

MEANWHILE, ON MARS: A super cool photo came across my social media feeds today. 

NASA has Mars covered on land and in the "air," as shown in this remarkable photo. ... (click on it so it enlarges and you get a better look). You're trying to spot a little something different in the landscape.

                               Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Univ. of Arizona

See that tiny bluish dot in the center of the frame? That's Mars Science Laboratory (a/k/a Curiosity), chugging away up Mount Sharp on the surface of Mars!

The photos was taken by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. 

Curiosity is headed toward "Vera Rubin Ridge," a destination uphill where the rover team intends to examine outcrops where hematite has been identified from Mars orbit. 

MSL's location on the day of the photo above can be seen here, as the point labeled 1717: https://mars.nasa.gov/multimedia/images/2017/curiositys-traverse-map-through-sol-1717 as the point labeled 1717.

If you want a closeup look at images MSL took via its mast camera (Mastcam) while at the location in the photo, follow this link: https://mars.nasa.gov/msl/multimedia/raw/?s=1717&camera=MAST%5F.

Here's one awesome example of that Curiosity is seeing. ...

                                          Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Per NASA's press release today, "Lower Mount Sharp was chosen as a destination for the Curiosity mission because the layers of the mountain offer exposures of rocks that record environmental conditions from different times in the early history of the Red Planet. Curiosity has found evidence for ancient wet environments that offered conditions favorable for microbial life, if Mars has ever hosted life."

Summer's Start

CAMPFIRE TIME: For the next two nights, the student body of MPA is at a camp on Mt. Rainier. 

Specifically, they're at Mount Rainier Institute. A cooperative effort of  theUniversity of Washington and Mount Rainier National Park, the camp program provides nature-based education rooted in science during an immersive experience.

I'm looking forward to their reports upon their return. For today, I settled for a photo a friend texted me. :)

DISCO PARK: Yesterday afternoon, we took a short walk through parts of Discovery Park. 

We mostly wound our way around the former military housing (which is now expensive/exclusive private housing in the midst of the public park). 

The picturesque park never fails to disappoint. Below, we caught peaks of Puget Sound and the Olympic mountains through the branches of a spindly, spiky evergreen. 

SHARK ATTACK: I keep forgetting to post the photos of the fruity shark the kids made for a pool party last Friday.

First, we had to cut a slice off one end of the watermelon. Then we cut an opening where the shark's mouth would be.

 The watermelon was emptied of its fruit. It made for some delicious shark guts!

 The kids carefully carved teeth.

 Below, sharky's smile is about halfway done. 

I stupidly forgot to take photos of the finished project (doh!), but here's one we made before.

Picture it with lots of little gummy fish in the 'water' and in its mouth, because that's what we did this go round.

Purple Reign

JIMI'S PLACE: For what seems like forever now, I've been reading about a to-be park in Seattle dedicated to guitar guru Jimi Hendrix. 

Finally, what was long promised happened, and this Saturday, we were fortunate to attend the dedication of the park to the Seattle-born musician. 

The park is just east of the African American Museum on Massachusetts and 23rd Avenue in Seattle. 

One of the new park's features is a butterfly garden.

The grand opening included a chalk drawing exhibition. The artist below melded Jimi and the butterflies. Nice!

A number of the chalk artists included a Jimi likeness, like the one below.

Naturally, Annabelle had to get in on the act!

We talked about potential themes, and she decided to go with Hendrix's "Wind Cries Mary." One of the lyrics from that song is "Fly on my sweet angel."

So, she drew a rainbow heart and some really big wings attached.

 She added swirls to the sky and the photo atop this blog post was her finished product.

It was super fun watching her work and interact with the many, many people who stopped by to say kind things about her artwork.

We enjoyed checking out others' chalk drawings. 

There was nonstop entertainment from noon until 5 p.m. at the park.

Following, CJ tells a bit more about the Hendrix experience.

On Saturday, my family visited the opening of the Jimi Hendrix Park, a public park adjacent to the Northwest African-American Museum (NAAM). As described on the park's page on seattle.gov, The park features a grand entrance and stairway adorned with Jimi's signature at the corner of Massachusetts and 25th Avenue South. Phase 1 of the park development is designated "Little Wing," and was completed in fall of 2016. It includes the new stairway and entrance at the southeast corner of the park, paved pathways, a chronological timeline of Jimi's life and career, enhanced landscaping with trees and native plantings, seatwall benches, ADA accessible walkways, rainwater infiltration gardens and a butterfly garden. The improvements to Jimi Hendrix Park create a welcoming green space and provides an experience that clearly defines its namesake. Phase 2, which includes a colorful central shelter, was complete by June 2017 in time for the celebration.

According to the Seattle Times, more than 200 people, from children eager to play with sidewalk chalk to gray-haired fans sporting vintage tie-dye T-shirts, joined local officials, park advocates and the musician’s sister for the ribbon-cutting. Musicians from a youth rock camp belted out a cover of “Purple Haze,” the first tune in a daylong Hendrix soundtrack, from underneath a red sculpture evocative of a butterfly wing.

About the chalk, my sister got some chalk and participated in a chalk art contest. She drew a winged rainbow heart on pavement square 25, and I do not know if she won or not.

If you ever visit Seattle, I'd encourage you to visit Jimi Hendrix Park.
http://www.seattle.gov/parks/find/parks/jimi-hendrix-parkhttps://nyti.ms/2sF2VnF

NEIGHBORLY: As an added bonus, between our parking spot and the Jimi Hendricks Park, we happened upon an amazing pubic play space. Colman Playground features the old Colman School and an adjacent playfield. 

Also on site is the amazing Children's PlayGarden. With backing from the Seattle Department of Parks & Recreation, families of children with special needs, and the horticultural and medical communities, the PlayGarden was born. Its mission is to provide children of all abilities a safe, accessible and adventurous place to play.

The accessible park has so many sweet features. Right off the bat we noticed Some Pig (Wilbur, of "Charlotte's Web" fame). 

 And there were a number of cute topiary on site. Check out the bicycle-riding bunny!

 We thought the one below a llama.

 And we surmised this might be a bit of a misshapen giraffe.