Eight dignitaries ceremoniously shoveled a spade full of soil Tuesday morning at South Park signifying the beginning of construction of Tacoma’s newest multi-purpose trail.

About 40 people, a third of whom where Spandex clad cyclists, where on hand for the 30-minute celebration of the Water Ditch Trail which will link Lakewood and downtown Tacoma.

MILES: Construction has begun on phase 1, two sections of the trail covering about 2 miles. When the trail is complete it will be 6 ½ miles.

SURFACE: The trail will be a 14-foot wide asphalt path with rock shoulders. According to a

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Bart Smith hopes to complete his 16,000-mile trek across all eight national scenic trails this afternoon

He checked in yesterday afternoon via satellite phone and had just 27 miles of the Continental Divide Trail to complete.

"It’s hard to believe that that’s going to be my last night in the tent after all these months," he told me.

Smith was to walk into Island Park, Idaho about 4 p.m. From there, a friend will take him to the Lake Hotel at Yellowstone National Park.

Tomorrow morning he will walk a short stretch of the trail inside

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If you’re looking for a meaningful meal this week circle Thursday night on your calendar.

Jennifer Block, champion of the 45-49 age group at the Coeur d’Alene Ironman, will be at Mama Stortini’s at 3207 East Main Street in Puyallup, to celebrate the birthday of Ty Quandt.

Ty is turning 12 and is battling Niemann-Pick Disease. Block is racing in honor of Ty at the Ironman World Championships on Oct. 11 in Hawaii. The event will double as sendoff for Block, a Puyallup resident.

Proceeds from those eating dinner

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It was a beautiful afternoon at Paradise Sunday afternoon. I took my wife and kids along as I talked to people about the closing of the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center. My wife, Mali Mayor, took these photos.

Visitors walk out of the Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise after it closed Sunday afternoon.

Park rangers lower the flag one last time outside the Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise. It was one of the more poignant moments Sunday as the center closed for good.

I heard from Bart Smith, the Lakewood man who is hiking the 16,000 miles of the National Scenic Trail system.

Bart is spending a rest day in Lima, Mont., as he hikes the Continental Divide Trail. He has about 100 miles to go before completing his quest to hike all eight national scenic trails, crossing through 35 states.

Bart said he now plans to complete his journey on Wednesday. He will hike a short section of the trail inside Yellowstone National Park, ending his 16-year journey at Old Faithful.

He’s off later that day for Washington, D.C.

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Starting today, Columbia River anglers, fishing upstream from the mouth of the Lewis River to Bonneville Dam, can keep two adult chinook salmon as part of their salmon limit.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife made the announcement yesterday.

The increase is effective through Dec. 31. The area included runs from a line projected from a boundary marker on the lower end of Bachelor Island across to the Warrior Rock Lighthouse upstream to the dam, according to a department news release.

The daily limit is six salmon of which no more than two may be

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Brandon Johnson was kind enough to snap this week’s pic of the week when we were hiking recently near Sunrise.

Our lead story in Thursday’s section is about the Brown Farm Dike Trail at Nisqually National Wildlife refuge. Our Olympia counterpart Cheste Allen writes that this is likely the last fall you’ll be able to hike the full trail as it is slated for removal next year.

We’ve got a couple of stories from Mount Rainier National Park.

First, we have a cover story about the closure of the Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center at Paradise. If you want to walk through the spaceship-style building one last time, do it this weekend because it closes at 6 p.m.

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