Tag Archives: seattle

Are You a Dragon or a Monitor?

Most people have probably heard of Komodo Dragons. However, while checking out this fella at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, I read that they were known as Komodo Monitors for many years until some guy from the US saw one in the 20s and decided to start calling them dragons. Amazingly, it seems it stuck. They certainly don’t fit the traditional image of dragons but they are pretty dangerous if they happen to bite you. At that point, I doubt you will be too bothered about the the distinction and more bothered about your potential impending death.

Floatplanes Coming at You

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Standing in Gas Works Park, you have a view straight down Lake Union. At the other end of Lake Union is one of the bases for Kenmore Air. They operate floatplanes from there on a regular series of services as well as some sightseeing trips. We got there just as a bunch of planes took off in close succession and I was a bit annoyed to miss out the chance to get some shots of them. However, they are a busy company so we knew we would get some more flight before too long.

They start their takeoff run at the other end of the lake so they get airborne long before they reached us. With so much clutter in the background and a lot of ambient noise, you didn’t always immediately pick out that a departure was coming your way. Once they got airborne and a lot closer, they were easier to identify. They would turn before they reached us and head off en route. I could probably have spent a lot of time there watching the flights but Nancy is not quite so keen so we lingered a short while and then moved on.

Warthogs – Not the Flying Version

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Given that this blog has a lot of aviation content, some people will get excited when they see the word Warthog. Sorry guys, this is not an A-10 post. I may have to put one together now though since I want to see some A-10s on here too. This is a warthog of the animal variety instead. There were a couple of warthogs we saw at Woodland Park Zoo. Initially they were rummaging around under cover and not in a good spot for a photo. However, a little patience paid off and soon they moved out into the open. Then we got a good look at them and the chance to really see their faces. They may not be everyone’s favorite but I find them a great looking creature and certainly something you want to treat with some respect!

Union Pacific’s Falcon 2000

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Union Pacific is one of the large freight railroads in the US. Their fleet of locomotives is commonly seen across the US west of Chicago. They are painted yellow and carry a large American flag on the side. However, trains are not the only way that staff of UP get around. They also own a Dassault Falcon 2000 and I saw it come in to Boeing Field. While it isn’t painted like a loco, it certainly shares a few design cues with them and it looks a bit more interesting than the average all white scheme.

Hippos are Sociopaths

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A pair of hippos was hanging out in the water of their enclosure in Woodland Park Zoo. One was facing away from us and was submerged for most of the time. The other was facing us and was staring in our direction. The shot I want of a hippo is the large yawn showing off the scary array of teeth that backs up their reputation as one of the most dangerous animals to man. This guy wasn’t obliging. They say that humans have a natural reaction to seeing a yawn from someone of yawning themselves. The people that don’t do this have a higher probability of being sociopaths. I thought I would try it with the hippo. Either it knew I was faking it or hippos are sociopaths. I wonder which it is.

Two Tankers

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The KC-46 Pegasus tankers have appeared in the blog before but only on the ground. That post can be found here. I have finally seen them flying. A couple of them were airborne on test flights from BFI and, while they had taken off quite far apart, they ended up returning quite close together so I was able to get shots of them both. They don’t look terribly dissimilar which is what you would expect. They are fully fitted out with the boom and one of them has the pods so this is what a service aircraft should look like when the Air Force squadrons start to get their hands on them.

Bears!!

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Bears are cool and brown bears are even cooler. We saw a couple of them at Woodland Park Zoo and, while it was the middle of the day, they were actually pretty active. It didn’t hurt that some food was coming their way so I guess they were incentivized to be a little busy. It was a warm and sunny day so the fact they had some water to work with probably suited them quite nicely. Lots of zoo animals are somehow aware of where they can go to be as difficult to see as possible. These guys were either unaware or just showoffs.

They wandered around the enclosure quite a bit and provided plenty of opportunities to see them. Aside from the outdoor area, there was an indoor viewing space that was against the side of their pool. From within there you could really get a good view of them chomping down on the food that had been thrown their way. They seemed quite content to enjoy the nosh and pay no attention to the hordes staring at them through the glass. Being so close to such a large creature was really very impressive.

Otters on Speed

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Otters are known as being playful. However, having watched a bunch of them at Woodland Park Zoo, I have to think that they are on some serious drugs. The speed with which they flew around the enclosure, wrestled with each other, lay in the water getting blasted by the water jets and generally acted like hooligans, you would think this was a vast waste of precious energy for a creature in the wild. I think they must metabolize something in their food to create something like cocaine or speed. What other reason could there be?

Hwy 99 Crosses the Water

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To get from Seattle to Fremont, you have to cross the water. Highway 99 runs across a high bridge to get from one side to the other. Being underneath the bridge you have a very different perspective on things. It is an old bridge structure with concrete piers supporting the roadway. From underneath, the symmetry of the structure is quite appealing. What is apparent when you are there but is not so clear in a picture is the steepness of the hill as it drops away down to the water. The gradient is pretty dramatic. The bridge does climb a bit but the ground falls away far faster.

Zero G and, Ironically, It’s Not Raining

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I last saw this jet on approach to Oakland. I blogged about that event here. On that day, it was pouring with rain. I got the shot but it was rather dreary. This time I saw the jet parked up at Boeing Field in Seattle. Ironically, the sun was out on a lovely day – not Seattle’s reputation. Sadly, it wasn’t moving while I was there. I don’t know why it was in town but I heard there was a big software conference underway so maybe it was a fun trip for some big cheeses in the software business.