On our road trip to Anacortes last summer, day three ended in Bellevue, Washington, where we spent a couple of days visiting our older daughter and her fiancé’s family. The day we arrived we went for a walk in the Bellevue Botanical Gardens. The gardens are a beautiful getaway just east of downtown. We arrived at about 7:30pm, 40 minutes before sunset, so the Sun was low in the sky.

There were great contrasts between the Sun-illuminated trees and the places in shadow.

The gardens, covering 53 acres, are very well maintained. There are a huge variety of flowers.

The paths wind around through an amazing variety of plants.

Bees were busy collecting nectar.

The calm walk through the gardens was a nice way to end our long day of driving. If you go to Bellevue, make time to visit the Botanical Gardens.