Power Lines And Blackberries

Here are some pictures I took of the BPA Trail today. For those of you who don't recognize it, the BPA Trail is a trail through the city of Federal Way, WA. It runs along the route of some power transmission lines between Federal Way and Tacoma. "BPA" stands for the Bonneville Power Administration, the government utility that runs these lines.

[Click on the photos to see a larger version.]

Image credit for all photos: Cujo359

You may possibly notice some of the transmission lines in these photos...

This is a view from the top of a hill that isn't normally part of the trail, but my adventures this summer have taught me that I need to climb hills more often, and this hill has a lovely view of the transmission lines.

Here's another section of the trail, with some of the local vegetation on display. The area under the power lines is allowed to grow brush, but not trees. In that area, blackberries, scotch broom, and purple loosestrife battle for supremacy. I like the flowers on the loosestrife, so I suppose I'm pulling for them. The blackberries aren't bad, though.

This is where the trail meets 4th Ave. SW. Look, transmission lines! Not to mention a transmission tower with cell phone and microwave relay antennas.

The trail continues on the other side of the avenue, but we're not going that way today.


Instead, we head up 4th Ave. SW, toward the mini-mall. This is actually one of the more pleasant residential districts in Federal Way. It was apparently a planned community. There are apartments, houses, the mini-mall, and offices within walking distance of each other. Much of Federal Way is just tract housing. This little section is more like how it ought to be, I think.

That's where the tour ends today. Seeing too much of the BPA Trail has been known to cause drowsiness in lab rats, so we don't want to take the chance that you're on the road right now.

Ummm. Happy trails.