All about the West Seattle neighborhood around Beach Drive
Tazi is a Basenji, the barkless dog, and is the most ancient breed (per Wikipedia). They evolved from wolves and like wolves they rarely make noise as their vocal cords are different from a typical dog. They can bark but rarely do. They can run up to 35 miles an hour, one of the fastest of all breeds and Tazi loves to run! He runs 3 miles a day with his human, Sandi.
You've probably seen him with Pat and Sandi perched from the front porch overlooking Beach Drive.
This young Stellar Jay has been following his mother around our courtyard this morning.
Two days of low tides offered some great sights along a couple of West Seattle beaches. Starting with the beach off of Emma Schmitz Viewpoint, found this Stingray looking critter on it's back and set him back in the water before the birds made a meal of him!
then found these gooey looking dudes hanging off a rock about 200 yards out…
Click here for an album of other photos taken off Beach Drive.
Then it was off to Fauntleroy Cove where I could almost walk straight on the Ferry from the exposed beach under the piers. Great access from Fauntleroy Park located on the north side of the dock…
Great sculpture of a Raven marking the location of the park
Tomorrow promises to be another great day to see what's lurking below with a minus tide of -3.3. Someday I hope to get a glimpse of the famous Spirit Boulder that's been reported to peak it's head out at extreme low tides on the south side of the ferry dock.
Scupper for Beach Drive Blog
Ira Finkelstein's Christmas is coming to a theater near you (well, almost near you). This just in from the Director, Sue Cocoron:
If you want to buy tickets to see Ira Finkelstein’s Christmas on the big screen, THE BOX OFFICE IS NOW OPEN! Seattle International Film Festival 2012.
http://www.siff.net/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=45381&FID=254
SIFF Cinema Uptown on May 22nd at 7pm
Everett Performing Arts Center on May 27 at 1pm
AMC Pacific Place 11 on June 9th at 11am
Parts of this movie were filmed at a home located on Beach Drive and along the beachs of Alki.
The Seattle Parks Department is hosting a "family beach safari" on the shores of Mee Kwa Mooks (aka Emma Schmitz Viewpoint) right now. The walks are free and require advanced registration.
It's a great day to explore the beach with a low of minus 3.00 at 11:38 pm today.
The next walk at this park is scheduled on May 20, 2012. You can register for this walk by calling 206-386-4236 or by clicking here.
Just a couple hundred yards off Beach Drive lies one of the best little dives along the entire Alki strip. Locals would reefer to it as a a swim-up bar but most get to it by boat (want more puns?).
Known to most as the Alki Rock Pile, this site also goes by Alki Reef, Jacobson Fishing Reef or Fish Haven (as noted on marine charts). Several popular dive sites on the web incorrectly state that this man-made reef was one of the original 13 artificial reefs created in Puget Sound in the mid 1970's by Washington Dept of Fish and Wildlife. It was actually created in May of 1987 as a "mitigation reef" to offset the ecological damage created when developing the Elliott Bay Marina.
The idea was to carefully construct a reef which would provide an assemblage of economically important fish species similar to, or greater than, the impacted habitat.
A scientific study used to measure the effectiveness of the reef in 1989 described how it was built…
"A total of 181,400 metric tons of quarry rock was used to construct fourteen 41 m· 15 m· 6 m (high) reef structures in a 2.83 ha area during May 1987. This design of a 1:2 ratio of reef material: sand bottom also accommodated the trophic level relationships normally occurring for fishes feeding from reef structures and surrounding natural habitats."
While researching this particular reef on the internet, I found that it has become a reference point for building artificial reefs worldwide.
Today marks the opening day for Ling cod fishing which will attract several boats fishing the reef in May.
Photo credit to zlatcarp Hey baby, last time I seen a mouth like that, it had a hook in it!
Divers get their shot of these lunkers in the 3rd week in May
I'll end this fish story with a great video of a couple of divers that were escorted from Emma Schmitz Viewpoint to the reef by a "true local". Turn up your speakers and enjoy!
Scupper, for Beach Drive Blog
Download Seattle Police Email Newsletter112
You can read the most recent Seattle Police Department Newsletter by clicking the link above.
It has been six weeks since the murder of 51 year old Greggette Guy who was last known to be walking along Beach Drive on a stormy evening. Last night, Fox News 13 aired an interview Greggette's husband, Dwight, about her tragic death. The interview ends with a reminder that her murderer has not yet been caught. The family is offering $10,000 for a tip that will lead to the arrest and conviction of her murderer. Click here to watch the interview.
We, along with other neighbors, have been in contact with various city officials about the safety of our neighborhood. We have been told there will be a community safety walk in the next few weeks (a few weeks ago).
Please stay vigilant and safe. Don't be afraid to call 9-1-1 when you need to.
UPDATE April 30, 2012: We received bad information from the parks department regarding the bench that is being installed today. This bench is not being dedicated to Greggette. We sincerely apologize for this miscommunication.
This camouflaged raptor was hanging out on a rock below Emma Schmitz Park.
Photo credit: Scupper
If you have a small floating dock, you may want to double check to make sure it's anchored where it's supposed to be.
This dock appears to be heading north (currently it is just south of Emma Schmitz Memorial View Point).
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