A Vietnam Veteran named Mike recently received a memorable 80th birthday gift: his own tiny home.
Mike’s tiny home is the culmination of over a decade of work by a nonprofit called Operation Tiny Home, which celebrated this milestone with a ribbon-cutting ceremony last Friday.
…ContinuedFor the past two years, a black lab named Daisy has spent every day with her trainer learning to become a service dog. Daisy’s past life at a shelter is a distant memory. Now that she has learned tricks like turning on light switches and alerting, Daisy will soon leave her trainer’s care.
Daisy’s trainer, Mae, has learned valuable skills too. Over several years, Mae has become certified as a dog trainer through the Prison Pet Partnership. She already has a job lined up after she completes her sentence at the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, Washington.
…ContinuedNever bought gravel before? If you’re overwhelmed, you’re not alone. We covered some of the basics about buying gravel so that you can be more confident in selecting and ordering gravel for your project.
…ContinuedWith no other place to go, a mother pulls her van into a newly graveled lot. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s a godsend. It’s lit with a streetlight, and there’s running water, portable bathrooms, and outlets where she can charge her phone.
The entire lot is fenced, and the gate locks at night. Her kids can play in the field nearby. In the morning, there will be a hot meal ready at the church next door, and her whole family will be given bagged lunches filled with sandwiches, fruit, chips, drinks, and treats.
…ContinuedWashington Rock’s popular Sand and Slide booth returns to Dozer Day Seattle 2024 with a dinosaur theme.
…ContinuedYou would probably recognize the Carnation name off of a can of sweetened condensed milk. After all, that’s the origin of the town’s name. But some locals prefer the original name: Tolt.
Occupying just over one square mile with a population of 2,220, you wouldn’t be the first to dismiss Carnation as a blip on a map. For the past century, the main street of Tolt Avenue has been less of a Disneyland-kind-of main street and more of a rugged thoroughfare. But over the years, passionate Carnationites banded together to elevate Tolt Avenue to the charming main street it is today.
…ContinuedMillions of acres of American wetlands have been destroyed since the late 1700s, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Early settlers viewed wetlands as disease-ridden swamps that impeded travel and agricultural development. Their solution was to drain the wetlands and turn them into farmable land.
In the mid 1960s, the port was growing in Tacoma. Shipping channels were being expanded, and more land was needed for industrial activities. Like many wetlands in the area, Wapato Creek was diverted into a channelized ditch. Its former path was filled with material removed from the waterways, solving both the need for expanded waterways and more land. The channelized ditch ran along 12th Street East in Fife, then followed Alexander Avenue west to a culvert that feeds into Blair Waterway.
…ContinuedAlmost 900 feet above the Colorado River, the views from the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge are spectacular. Tourists have a panoramic view of the Hoover Dam and the blue-green waters of the river, which travel from the top of the dam to the bottom. This technological marvel is surrounded by red rock canyons, providing a stark contrast between industry and nature.
…ContinuedWashington Rock continued its annual tradition of sponsoring the Meeker Days Sandbox over the weekend. This year, we also hosted an information booth at the Puyallup Farmer’s Market on Saturday in Pioneer Park.
…ContinuedWe’re excited to announce that gift cards are available for purchase! They feature a beautiful new design by artist Zoe Radford. Our gift cards make the perfect stocking stuffer
In front of the community movie theater in Friday Harbor, a perch welcomes anyone who passes by. It’s not your everyday park bench: it’s sculpted granite, refined in its well-formed lines and polished surfaces, yet preserving a natural form in its organic waves and curves. Like its creator Tom Small, it is solid, stable, and unpretentious. It invites viewers to pause and enjoy a few minutes’ rest and peace.
The bench is one of sculptor Tom Small’s first public pieces. Seeing people seated on it brings Tom a sense of fulfillment when he ventures into town, and it reminds him of his primary goal in stone carving.
…ContinuedLowman Beach Park is small, but according to locals, it’s a hidden gem with incredible views. On a warm day, you might come across sunbathers taking in the rays, children playing on driftwood logs, or paddle boarders setting off from the shore.
…ContinuedLawns require so much water and care that some homeowners look for lower maintenance landscaping ideas. In this article, learn about how three of our clients have used our gravel to create stunning grass-less landscapes.
…ContinuedDaniel Burnstein of Brooklyn, New York had a unique dilemma: his client wanted to be able to use the backyard with a wheelchair. Concrete work and pavers can be expensive, and Daniel liked the rustic charm of gravel.
His question: Can gravel surfaces be wheelchair accessible? The answer is yes—if they meet certain standards.
Washington Rock, with the help of landscape architect Clayton Beaudoin, researched the topic and came up with guidelines for making gravel surfaces wheelchair accessible.
Our goal is to make these guidelines as easy as possible to follow, so we created a simple guide below. Then we included additional resources, such as a Glossary of Terms and Research Notes.
Check out the companion piece to this article, “Designing for Diana: How We Made Gravel Wheelchair-Accessible in Brooklyn,” to read about how we used our guidelines to help Daniel create a gravel-accessible backyard. The project is summarized in the video below.
…ContinuedFiguring out how much topsoil or gravel you need is a tricky business. Below I’ll take you through how our material calculator works and how much various trucks can carry. Be sure to check out our new video for step-by-step instructions on calculating how many cubic yards of material you need.
To visualize how many cubic yards or tons a pickup truck or dump truck can carry, check out our post, “What Does a Cubic Yard Look Like?”
