The Canadian Forces SkyHawks parachute display team opened the Abbotsford Air Show evening display. One of the jumpers had a line of smoke canisters that hung beneath them as they descended under their canopy. Some tight turns allowed the line to swing out and create some nice smoke trail patterns. Here are some shots of the results.
The disused railway lines along the eastern side of Lake Washington are progressively becoming trails for the local community. One section of track that runs through the middle of Kirkland is know as the Cross Kirkland Connector. This will run up towards Woodinville in due course. The northern end of the trail for a long time was Totem Lake when the trail came to 124th St. This is a busy road and crossing it was not a simple process. As part of the development of the trails, a bridge has been under construction for a while now and it recently was opened to the public.
This bridge is a short distance from my office, and it would provide a useful potential connection if I was to start cycling to work again. I walked down to the bridge one lunchtime to see how it looked. The styling of the structure over the road is quite flowing and I had driven underneath at various times in construction, so I was familiar with the general shape. To get down to the street level, a circular ramp is on the north side, and this loops around near the lake and marshlands.
There are some overlook areas built out from the ramp to encourage people to linger a little. A few bikes and pedestrians passed over in the short time I was there so I hope there will be a good amount of traffic to justify the investment. When all of the trails are complete, it will be possible to ride from Renton to the Skagit County line without needing to use the road.
I was down at Renton and drove around the back of the ramp. There was a Cessna Grand Caravan parked up and I was tempted to get a shot. They have made that area a lot harder to see recently and I didn’t bother. However, I was up on the other side of the field at the overlook when it taxied out for departure. I heard the call sign was experimental which caught my interest and I grabbed some shots as it took off.
A few days later I heard of a plane crash up near Snohomish. I had seen this plane flying patterns up there when I was looking earlier in the day and, when I saw pictures on the news sites of the crash, I could see the registration was the same plane. I understand they were trialing something new – perhaps a baggage pod – but I have no idea what happened. It looked as if the wing had separated in flight since it was a long way away. The test pilot was one of the Kenmore Air staff. He died along with one other person on board. A very sad story.
Tokul Creek Gorge is the waterway that runs under the trestle at Tokul. With the heavy rains that had been falling in advance of my visit, the creek was flowing heavily. The trestle is a long way above the water so it was not easy to get a good look at it but I did try and get some shots. I also had a go at getting some video.
My walk along the trail up near Snoqualmie started and ended at a road that went above the old railroad bed. There was a small tunnel under the road. I assume this was once a proper rail tunnel or a bridge but the tunnel that is there now looks like a more modern construction. Even so, it is a little interesting so here are some shots of it.
I was out on the bike doing a short trip to Bellevue to a) get some miles in and b) buy some new cycling gloves. On the way back, I decided to take a different route and try out the Cross Kirkland Connector. This is a bike and walking trail across Kirkland that uses an old rail route. This is part of a network of trails which, when finished will take you from the Skagit county line, through Snohomish, down to Woodinville, on to Kirkland and then via Bellevue to Renton. It will be a while before it is all open, though.
I have ridden on the connector once when we lived in Juanita. It isn’t paved so is a little dusty but it is a good surface in the most part. There is construction underway at one end where a bridge will soon take the trail across a larger road. It feels remarkably secluded given that it is through some densely populated areas. One part of the trail has what seems to be a railway halt. There is a shelter and some old track and signals to show the heritage of what the line once was. The right of way would be ideal for reintroducing passenger service but I think the objections to that would be strenuous from the trail’s users, even if tracks and trails could coexist. I doubt it will happen in my lifetime!
I have been doing a lot of riding my bike this year and have been gradually expanding how far I go. I decided I wanted to do a longer ride but figured I should not combine that with lots of hills in case I overextended myself a touch. I figured it might be a good time to try out the Centennial Trail. This is a trail that starts in Snohomish and runs 30 miles up past Marysville and Arlington to the county line with Skagit.
An out and back seemed like it could be fun and it is a converted disused rail line so it wouldn’t have hills. (That isn’t true of course. It does have hills but the grades are gentle. I wondered why I was slow for a while and then found myself zipping along so clearly the grades were noticeable.). I started early one morning which meant I avoided some of the busier traffic that comes later in the day.
It was a fun ride. Once out of Snohomish, the trail only occasionally crosses any roads so you can trundle along without much interruption. Since it is an old rail line, there are some old rail bridges to cross occasionally when you get to rivers. There are mile posts to let you know how you are doing and even areas where horse riders can cross when hoof marks have been set into the surface. Aside from a brief stretch through Arlington’s more industrial areas, it is a pleasant ride. A nice park in Arlington itself provides a stop off if you need it and the end of the trail is at a barn seemingly in the middle of nowhere. A good ride to get 60 miles under your belt!
My bike rides along the Sammammish River Trail in recent months have involved a diversion. Part of the trail passing through Bothell had been shut down. It took me a while to work out why but, one day, while driving through the town and past the park, I saw a new bridge structure sitting in the park awaiting installation. The old bridge had been pretty steep and unwelcoming so this was a positive change.
I would really have liked to have been around when the new bridge was installed but I didn’t know about it until it had been done and that I found from the trail reopening. The bridge is not yet open for foot and bike traffic as they finalize the installations at each end but it certainly looks nice and I stopped on a recent ride to get a couple of shots of it. Hopefully it will be open soon.
Drive south from Tofino and you come to the wonderfully named town of Ucluelet. There are some great trails near the town that take you around the coastline and one of them goes past a lighthouse. The Amphitrite Lighthouse is a great looking lighthouse. In the days of modern navigation techniques, the concept of lighthouses seems a little out of date but they still serve a purpose and they do provide a nice focal point to a view of a rocky coastline. The lighthouse was one of the first things to see on the trail we took and I should probably post some of the other views in another post at some point. In the meantime, here is the light to keep you going.
While walking along the Sammammish River Trail, a couple of Mallard Ducks flew by me at low level. I pulled the camera up at short notice to get a shot. No time to change the settings so this is what I got on the spur of the moment. As it happens, the shutter speed did a nice job of blurring out the background and making them look super speedy. I kind of like it!