Birth Week 2026, Day Five: "Issaquah Alps"

Birth Week 1976 Local Landmark # 9: "Issaquah Alps," Issaquah, WA Phrase for the mountains around Issaquah, coined in 1976 by "hiking curmudgeon" Harvey Manning.

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The original plan had been to hike up to Poo Poo Point, just as I had with Valerie last year as part of my "Observation Decks and Viewpoints" theme. But overcast skies and low clouds almost completely obscured any views, and the hope was that when I went with Alexia this year it would be a clearer day—and I could finally see the views of both Bellevue and Seattle from there. Poo Poo Point is on Tiger Mountain, which is part of the "Issaquah Alps," so it would fit with this year's theme as well.

Well, Alexia had to back out of the hike to Poo Poo Point due to some chronic knee pain, so we had to pivot—a somewhat moot consideration when Tuesday this week turned out to be just as cloudy as it had been with Valerie last year; I'd never have gotten great views from Poo Poo Point this year either. But! I then found Central Park in the Issaquah Highlands, which I learned also had views of the surrounding hills, and even views of both Bellevue and Seattle in the distance (10 miles and 16 miles in the distance, respectively), albeit better on clearer days than this. I suggested to Alexia that we just go to this park and have a picnic and appreciate the views, and she was all about it.

We did have to go to multiple spots around the park to get a shot of the hills behind us that I was fully satisfied with, but the above shot works pretty well. And even with the gloomy weather, I kind of like this shot that shows both the Bellevue and Seattle skylines in the distance (10 miles and 16 miles away, respectively):

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"Backpack me Daddy!"

(I may be 50, but Harvey Manning still makes me feel young!)

This is a statue of Harvey Manning, the guy who coined the phrase "Issaquah Alps," just outside of downtown Issaquah and near the Issaquah Community Center. It was sculpted by Sara Johani and dedicated in 2009. He's holding a notepad that reads, Make your world larger ... by going slower, a slogan that was apparently sometimes seen on a T-shirt he wore.

Manning died 20 years ago, in 2006, at the age of 81. The statue was installed three years later.

[posted 7:36am]