To a Land of Water and Honey

Dear Diary,

When I left Madison Pool on June 27, as yet unaware of any discussion between the parks department and Ingraham High School, I had seven parks left to visit, as far as I knew, in "NE".  Only one has a restroom, which I couldn't find, to make matters worse, and none has a water fountain.  But those seven would only have taken one page in you, dear Diary; instead I'm planning six.

This is because in October I also re-visited every park in "NE" with a water fountain, as well as several others; and because I found out about still more actual or incipient parks.

So let's get started.  The region this page is about, between Lake City and the edges of "NE", is distinctive because it's the only place in North Seattle where I'm reasonably confident park water fountains will stay on all winter.  It has only three parks I'd already visited with water fountains, no "new" (to me and you, anyway, dear Diary) parks (so, none of the seven I first saw June 27), and I introduce only one digression, which isn't a park and isn't really, in my opinion, a digression at all.

Northacres Park

Introduced May 28 in "Top of the City, Part II".  At that time, it had two pairs of restrooms normally open, two winterised water fountains attached to one pair, on, and one regular water fountain, sort of attached to the other pair, off.

The only change in October was that the second pair's men's room was already closed for the season.

But the women's room remained open:

These are the restrooms on the park's playfield side, which are seasonal.  Their water fountain remained off:

Now, I've felt guilty about not photographing this park before (the only photo in May was of signs), since it has made a difference to my physical comfort several times.  So this time I explored a bit.  Mindful that I had then just accused the parks department of "structural sportism" for its "cavalier" treatment of basketball, I started with this park's artistic example:

(No, the playfield side does not have better.  It's basically all baseball.)

This stuff, like the playground, is near the restrooms.  Also near them is an excellent example of neat stuff:

But I also explored the woods a bit; it's something of a nuisance to take the street route between the park and playfield sides, and I wanted to find a trail.  Typically enough, the trail I chose from the park side went all over the place, but I had to do some navigating finally to reach the playfield side; but the most obvious trail from the playfield side goes straight to the park side.  A scene from the first trip:

Oh, well, it seemed interesting at the time.

From Northacres I went via 130th St and Roosevelt Way to 10th Ave, and took that north.  Along the way I encountered a woman, probably rather older than me, walking her dog.  We chatted a bit, she bragging about her garden, I about you, dear Diary.  Then she told me she had something to give me, and went into her house.  When she emerged, she had brought a foil-wrapped packet which she said was steak, and a thick roll of $20s which she said was $500.  She said she'd come into an inheritance she didn't need.

I've been budgeting on the assumption that at some point there would be another $1200.  I still have, I'm pretty sure, more than $500, but it's a relief not to have to be quite sure, as the prospect of that other $1200 seems to recede daily.

Separately, the fact that I had money comes repeatedly into the rest of the story of these hikes.

Not much further on, then, I reached

Jackson Park

Introduced in the same page as Northacres Park.

The main thing I was curious about on this visit was when they'd shut the water fountains off.  They aren't winterised, after all.  To my great good fortune I encountered a gentleman, apparently an employee, whose pride and joy they are, who was practically euphoric at being able to inform me that they stay on all winter.

Now, these two water fountains are attached to the building behind the driving range.  More specifically, they're attached to the back wall of a sort of alcove whose side walls hold the doors to the restrooms.  Now, there's a similar sort of alcove at the Ballard Community Center, if I remember correctly, but the water fountain there is free-standing.

So this is the digression.

Ten park water fountains or sets of them in North Seattle are attached to restrooms or other buildings that stay open all winter.  Six were turned on this year; four weren't.  Rachel Schulkin, communications manager for the parks department, tells me all those that weren't turned on this year couldn't be; I can only hope she's wrong.

You may remember my indignation, dear Diary, that the water fountain attached to the beach restroom building at Magnuson Park, whose men's sink delivers warm water, ever got shut off.  We're told the pairs at Northacres and Jackson Parks don't get shut off.

The other three candidates are a water fountain attached to the Loyal Heights Community Center, two attached to the northernmost restroom building in Green Lake Park, and the two attached to the buildings of the Green Lake Small Craft Center.

The four that did not come on this year are attached to restroom buildings at Dahl Playfield, Gas Works Park, and Maple Leaf Reservoir Park, and in Lower Woodland Park the pair attached to the restroom building on the hilltop.

So far this year, the parks department has varied its routine as little as possible.  Two major variations were harmful to us homeless - delaying by months turning on most water fountains, and never going to peak restroom schedules.  Two were helpful - allowing us to sleep or camp in parks, and opening more restrooms than usual 24 hours.  It would be a significant variation to expose four workhorse water fountain systems to the cold, let alone to repair four others *in order to* risk their freezing.  But I can only urge that it be tried.  The northwest corner of "NE" should not really become the promised land of water and honey.

OK, dear Diary, I'm done digressing only, obviously, not.

From Jackson Park I headed to Lake City, which needs its own page.  And from Lake City to Northgate, ditto.  But between those latter two is one more park that fits better here than it does with the others, if only because its water fountain, like those at Jackson and Northacres Parks, was on every time I've visited.

Pinehurst Playground

Introduced May 28 in "Top of the City, Part I".

This small park has a water fountain attached to a shelterhouse.  It would be great if the latter had heat, in which case I'd urge that the former stay on, but I'd be surprised.

One major difference from my first visit:  a camp, sheltering multiple people, has sprung up under the shelterhouse's eaves.  It wouldn't surprise me if they came there from Licton Springs; the camp was messy, and they were already starting to clutter up the water fountain.

Another difference:  I took a picture.

This is all I can write in you tonight, dear Diary.  Sweet dreams!