The new ferry terminal at Mukilteo is located on the site of what was once an Air Force fuel tank farm. There is not much left to give that role away anymore but the shape of the tanks is still visible on the ground. One of them still seems to have some of the old tank material left over too. Not sure what the story is with cleaning up the site and removing the material but it isn’t cordoned off so I guess it has been decontaminated.
We were walking along the shore in Mukilteo on a sunny Saturday afternoon when I looked up and saw something large on the approach to Paine Field. At first I assumed it was one of the scheduled E175s but, as I pulled the camera up to my eye, I realized it was a 777. As it got closer, it was apparent that it was a China Airlines Cargo freighter on test – the first time I have seen one. The midwinter light made for a nice shot.
It’s not unusual to see seals along the shoreline at Mukilteo. The creation of the new ferry terminal seems to have provided them something new to explore. It also provides an elevated location from which to see them which is great since photographing seals when you are close to water level makes for difficult conditions and less than inspiring photos.
I don’t know how much the base of the ferry terminal provides for good food supply for the seals but they seemed to be hanging around for a while. Maybe it was curiosity or maybe the food was good. I was just glad to see them!
The shallow waters near the new ferry terminal at Mukilteo seemed to be a popular spot for the local cormorants to hunt. For a while, there was one cormorant almost directly below me that seemed to be having a pretty successful time fishing. A couple of times I saw it pop up and swallow something large so I spent a bit of time tracking it waiting for it to return again. Sure enough, it popped to the surface holding a rather large looking fish.
I am not a fish expert so I don’t know what it was. I just know it was still struggling to get away and, given the size, I was curious as to whether the bird would be able to eat it. I clearly underestimated its capabilities as a couple of quick adjustments and the whole thing went down in one go. I waited for it to dive again but, having had a few decent sized snacks, it was clearly letting its lunch go down. It was a while before it dived again. Just before it did, a bloom in the water led me to believe that it was making space for its next course.
Washington State Ferries have opened their first new terminal in 40 years. Calling it a new terminal is a bit deceptive – it is a replacement for an existing terminal – but it is definitely a new place for the ferries to come in. It is the new Mukilteo terminal and it is located about a third of a mile from the previous terminal. That one was right at the end of Mukilteo Speedway next to the lighthouse. The new location is east along the shore near the old Air Force tank farm location.
The construction has been underway for a while and the switch over happened on December 29, 2020. The ferries didn’t run for much of that day as they moved some key equipment across from the old location. Additionally, the crews took the opportunity to get practice with berthing in the new facility. The transition was done ahead of the holiday to make sure that the surge in traffic over New Year wasn’t affected.
I took a walk along the shore on two days later to see what it all looked like. The weather was hardly delightful but it was December in the Pacific Northwest so no great shock there. Additionally, not everything was complete. The main facilities are open but they have yet to install the passenger footbridge. That will go in around February/March time. For now, passenger walk across the road access (not while cars are there, of course!).
That also means some of the construction equipment is still in place. A large floating crane is still there and will be, I assume, until the footbridge is completed. They are also tidying up some of the other elements but they should be done pretty soon.
There is a new toll plaza on the entrance to the holding lots. I didn’t go up to take a look at that but I did get some photos from a distance. The demand for service was really high on this day with everyone heading home for their New Year celebrations. Despite the large holding lanes, it was full and traffic was waiting beyond the plaza and up the hill.
The main building is a really elegant structure. Lots of wood construction and styled on a native long house, it contains an information center, a ticket office and some other facilities. There is lots of native art decorating it both inside and out including a cool boat hanging from the roof. The building is elevated over the road access. The ramp for loading comes straight in to the shore and leads directly under the building. It means you have a nice elevated view of the boats as the come and go.
There is a waterfront trail that runs from up near the lighthouse to a park further to the east so you can walk along the shore to see the facilities and watch the boats. Near the terminal, there are many information boards giving some history of the region and these are quite educational. On a sunnier day, I can imagine there will be plenty of people enjoying this part of the shoreline and checking out the ferry traffic.
Christmas Eve and I was down by the water in Mukilteo. My timing couldn’t have been better. I made a discovery that will come as a surprise to many of you. You may have thought that Santa rode in a sleigh on Christmas Eve (at night too), flying through the air pulled by his reindeer. I have news for you all. That isn’t true! Everyone has been lying to you all these years. How do I know? Because I saw Santa.
Turns out Santa’s preferred mode of transport is a paddle board. The reindeer do pull him along on his board but they do so from a small boat and they might look a bit like people wearing reindeer antlers. Santa did spend a bit of time getting ready. I’m sure it wasn’t because he was putting on appropriate clothing for being out on the water in December. He just wanted to make sure he looked the part. A mask was also in order so he might have trimmed the beard.
He got on to the board prior to the reindeer being ready. A bit of paddling around until it was time to hook the tow line on from the boat the reindeer were using. With everyone aboard, they headed out in to the water and started motoring around near the lighthouse. The ferries were crossing in the background but Santa was not going to tangle with them. I had to head off after they made a couple of passes along the waterfront but I assume they were off around the world to start delivering presents.
I spent some time early one morning waiting for the return of a warship as covered in this post. It was dark and rainy when I first got there but then the sun snuck under the clouds and the result was some very pleasing light. I was down in Mukilteo which is the departure point for the ferry to Whidbey Island. They leave every half hour and I was able to get a few departures while I waited and after the ship has passed through. The white superstructure of the ferries glowed in the morning light with the dark background of the island behind them.
While waiting along the shore in Mukilteo for the return of a ship, I saw a heron standing on the water’s edge, presumably looking for something to snack on. With the gloomy light and the shadows on the heron, I liked the atmospheric nature of the image so took it.
My friend Bob alerted me to an unusual warship visiting Everett’s naval base. The USS Michael Monsoor is the second of the Zumwalt class of destroyer. Only three of these ships are going to be built so it is an unusual thing to see. They have a shape unlike almost any other ship with a stealthy profile. I had seen pictures of them and figured I would try to catch it at some point. I was hoping to see it shortly after Bob mentioned it but then saw it had already sailed for some local exercises.
As with aircraft, there are ship tracking websites available so I waited to see if it was heading back. It wasn’t coming in that day. Nor the next or the one after that. Instead it was going to and fro off port Angeles at a low speed.
Then, as I got up one morning, I happened to check the tracker and I saw it was heading back. The weather was pretty grim but was forecast to clear up a bit. I grabbed my stuff and headed for Mukilteo. They would come passed the point en route to Everett and it should provide the best opportunity to get a shot. There followed quite a bit of trouble as they first appeared to not be coming my way and then made a 180 and did indeed come towards me. I will spare the details of this. Meanwhile, the sun had made an appearance.
I initially spotted them a long way south. The odd profile of the ship was conspicuous, even at a distance. As it got closer, the unusual shape seemed strangely unreal. Pictures do make it look strange but seeing it in person it is somehow stranger. The sun was appearing and disappearing behind the clouds but I was able to get some nicely lit shots. The details of the structure were interesting with the bridge seemingly buried in the structure, the guns on the upper rear decks looking like something out of a sci-fi movie and the side door open with the ladder lowered, presumably for the pilot.
After it had gone, I was tied up on a call for a while but I did drive back along the shoreline towards Everett to get a look at it tied up alongside in the base. Head on you get a clear idea of how different it is from the rest of the ships of the fleet.
With the limited options to go anywhere, you would think that any photo opportunity would immediately pique my interest. The arrival of a comet in the night sky would seem to be just the sort of thing I would have a go at. However, it took me a little while to get tuned in to the idea of seeing this comet. I had been out of the house one evening and, when I got back, I saw a video about the comet on YouTube. With it getting dark, I figured I would try and check it out. We had a run of very clear skies so this seemed like the ideal opportunity.
The problem was where to see it. The comet was relatively low in the sky and I needed to get a bit higher up. Plenty of hills around here so I headed out in the car. However, we also have a lot of trees and I failed to find a good spot. I also think I hadn’t let it get dark enough in hindsight. It did get me thinking about it a bit more though and I decided I should go to the shore since the view would not be obstructed. Mukilteo seemed like a good option. Apparently, I was not the only one to think so!
I got to Mukilteo at about 10pm to give my self time to get sorted out. The parking lot was surprisingly full. It certainly wasn’t crowded but there were a lot of people there. I got set up once the comet started to be visible. There is a path along the shore with some grass behind it and I set up on the grass. What I didn’t know about was the night sprinkler system. I found out when it switched on! I only had to move a short distance to stay dry, though. Then I was free to shoot the comet. I did try a shot with the ferry crossing underneath but the ferry moves a surprisingly long way in a short exposure time.