Lake Chelan Rotary Club and Rotary International Provide Funding Support

by Dennis Rahm

Fans of astronomy will soon have the opportunity to access a permanent Planet Walk feature at Riverwalk Park in Chelan, perhaps as early as this August.

The idea man behind the project is Chelan resident Russ Jones who has been thinking about developing a planet walk for a long time and is just a few months away from seeing his dream come true.

The Planet Walk needed financial support and the approval of the Chelan County PUD to install the information stations on the south side of the popular Chelan park. The financial support to fund the $14,000 project came from the Lake Chelan Rotary Club and Rotary International while the PUD approval came later after a couple of tries.

The Planet Walk route will extend from the old bridge to the parking lot of the Reach Trail, with the farthest station being Pluto. There will be a series of 11 stations featuring planets and an asteroid belt. Each station includes a representation of the sun at 18-inches with everything scaled off that measurement.

The scaled rendering will include photos and information about the object being showcased. It will also show how far to the next object in actual distance as well as scaled distance.

Jones tells LakeChelanNow that he’s excited for the Planet Walk to be completed and with a glint in his eyes noted that “someone will be able to ride a bike along the route faster than the speed of light….in scale that is”.

In case you want to test your skill at riding a bike at several times the speed of light, that speed would be 486,000 miles per second.

Listen for more details on the project in our audio interview below.

Planet Walk at Riverwalk Park – Interview with Russ Jones

It is likely to be completed sometime in August as a project of the Lake Chelan Rotary Club of which Jones is a member. Each display along the walk will include a QR scan code that will reveal additional information.

Jones sees the project being a great addition for families to enjoy. In addition to his love of the night skies, Jones stays active with his main job as Vice President/Branch Manager at Cashmere Valley Bank in Chelan as well as serving as a Commissioner for Fire District 7, the Director of Education for the Lake Chelan Sailing Association and as a farmer for Rusty’s Nut Farm operated by the Jones Family and featuring “local nuts and odd berries”.