Triathletes prepare to enter the water for the first portion of the Lake Whatcom Triathlon. The colored swim caps denote the course they will be tackling. The Olympic course is a .9 mile swim, 24.9 mile bike and 6.2 mile run. The Sprint course is a .5 mile swim, 16.4 mile ride and 4 mile run.
The rowers in the University of Washington's Men's Second Varsity Eight (2V8+) boat celebrate their victory against University of California 2V8 boat in the 113th edition of the rivalry matchup known as 'The Dual'. Washington has won 'The Dual' 78 times.
The history of the Washington - Cal rivalry is storied. The 2023 film "The Boys in the Boat" dramatizes the rivalry as the 1936 Washington JV boat wins the right to represent the US at the Berlin Olympics and (spoiler alert!) goes on to win gold. In the years leading up to WWII, Washington or Cal won 11 of the 18 national championships.
From 1920 to 1956 the US won a gold medal every time they were represented at the Olympics. Only four American university teams have won gold medals at the Olympics. The Naval Academy 1920 (Antwerp), Yale 1924 (Paris), University of California, Berkely 1928 (Amsterdam), 1932 (Los Angeles) and 1948 (London) and the University of Washington 1936 (Berlin).
Cal and Washington have long been considered rowing powerhouses not just on the West Coast, but nationally. Since the 1920s, the winner of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championship has been considered the national champion team. Cornell leads the nation with 26 national championships. Washington claims 20 and California 19. Washington didn't participate from 1973 to 1994 as the IRA Championship interfered with finals. What a quaint notion! Washington or Cal have won 20 of the last 27 national championships. (No race was held in 2020.)
This year, the California men's team won the Varsity Four and Freshman 8 races, but Washington retained the Schoch Cup for another year.
In the women's teams, the number three ranked Washington rowers topped the number 9 Cal women to take back the Simpson Cup. They won the first and second varsity boat races with Cal winning the third and fourth varsity eight races. Washington won the first varsity four race with Cal winning the second varsity four race
The Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle covers 230 acres of former old growth forest and includes a Japanese garden and a botanical garden. It is divided into dozens of unique sections, much of it heavily canopied. There is Azalea Way, Oak Family, Lindens, Winter Garden, Walnut Family, Viburnums, Magnolia Family, Rhododendron Hybrids and Witch Hazel Family just to name a few. There are over 40000 different species of plants here!
Suspended above one of the many side trails is "Union", an art installation by John Grade. Installed in 2023 it consists of 6300 individual cast resin parts framed in laminated ceiba wood suspended from nets above the trails. Each resin part looks like a magnified cell of a tree.
This bench at the Quad at the University of Washington bench has a prime view of the show the 29 Yoshino cherry trees put on each spring. At 90 years old (60 years at this location), they've still got it! Around campus are a number of earlier blooming, more colorful trees, but these are the ones that are the main attraction.
A sunrise on a mostly cloudy day isn't quite a sunrise is it? This morning (7am) it was a choice between less color or more people. And there will be a lot of people here this weekend!
