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Failing to Catch a Leaping Salmon

As the locks at Ballard transfer the water, they manage to catch a lot of salmon at the same time. It was very common while we were there to see the salmon leap out of the water. Some would leap out and crash back into the water on their sides while others would leap upright and nose back in to the water like a dolphin. Catching this on the camera was a touch trickier. I have a lot of shots of splashes as the salmon has just reentered the water. I did get some on video though so you know I am not totally making this up!

Some Small Pleasure Craft

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Two small boats came through the locks while we were there. One was just over 50m in length while the other was much smaller and just under 50m in length. Both of these boats looked like they might be quite comfortable. They were also both flagged in the Caribbean. A quick Google search on each showed that they were available for charter. Both seemed to have plenty of people on board but they looked like they might have been the crew rather than the guests as they seemed all business as they handled these tiny boats through the lock. If I decide to get a boat at some point, I might be tempted by either of these. I do prefer one over the other but I suppose I could make do with the less preferable one if the price were right.

Langley Town Center

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Nancy and I decided to have a day trip to Whidbey Island to do some exploring. We focused our trip on the small town of Langley. Located on the southeast side of the island and not far from the ferry terminal at Clinton, it is an easy place to get to. The town has a very relaxed feel to it. We were there outside peak season which, no doubt, helped but there were still plenty of visitors. Even so, the town had a laid-back feel and did not seem too busy.

We wandered around the shops, had a spot of lunch overlooking the water and checked out some of the older buildings and their history. We also saw some local entertainment but I shall save details of that for another time. On a sunny fall day, you couldn’t have asked for a nicer place to hang out and watch the world go by. When we had looked around the streets, there was still the shore to explore so a little stroll along the water’s edge wrapped up a great little visit.

If You Can’t See Where You Are Going, It Is Your Fault!

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We relocated to the other end of Boeing Field for the return of the Blue Angels. They ran in across the field trailing white smoke. Unfortunately, with little wind, this meant a pall of smoke was now hanging over the airport. As they broke into the downwind and then turned onto final, it was sometimes hard to see them at all. A healthy boosting of the contrast makes some of the shots a bit more visible but, in truth, the viz was really awful. I only hope they had a slightly better view of the ground than we had of them since their being able to see was slightly more important.

Shipyards on the Lake

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The houseboats aren’t the only thing along the shore of Lake Union. It is still definitely a working waterway and this is reflected by the yards along the edge of the lake servicing the boats. Floating dry docks and regular moorings are filled with boats of all sorts. Some look like they are retired from their original role while others seem to be in for maintenance before heading back into use. I’m not sure how busy the yards are compared to their peak and whether the neighbors are trying to ease them out but they do seem to be needed based on the number of them and the number of boats!

Finally I Get to See the Mossie

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I last saw a Mosquito in flight in the early 1990s when the BAe operated example was on the air show circuit prior to its loss at Barton. I had assumed at that time that I was unlikely to see another one fly. I never saw Kermit Weeks’ example fly and it has been on the ground for a long time. I hadn’t counted on the recent interest from collectors in getting rare aircraft rebuilt. The Mosquito has been a popular project and there are a couple now flying in the US and, I think, another one in Canada. It is great to see people with the available funds getting these aircraft back in the skies (even if these are pretty close to totally new builds).

One of the Mossies is part of Paul Allen’s collection and the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum (FHCAM). It had flown a few times since we moved to the area but I had not seen it fly until they held their European Theater Day. I was determined to see it this time. I had forgotten just how large an aircraft the Mossie is. It flew with a bunch of other fighters and included a number of passes with a 109. The Mossie is huge when next to the 109 and it really has presence. It is a bit of a pain to photograph because the color scheme has camouflage upper surfaces and black undersides. With the sun high in the sky, this makes for a very contrasty subject.

I probably got a little overenthusiastic photographing the plane. It was parked on the ramp before and after the flypasts although not well positioned for the light in either case. That didn’t stop me though. When it was flying it got my maximum attention – a little bit of a compromise since the 109 it was partnered with was also something worthy of some shots. I did get a few of them and they will be in an upcoming post. It is nice to have finally shot a Mossie though after all of this time. I look forward to seeing it again, particularly on its own and in more of a display format.

Lighthouse at Mukilteo

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Mukilteo Light Station is a small lighthouse located (not surprisingly) in Mukilteo. It sits in a small park right next to the ferry terminal for the crossing to Whidbey Island. I had been wondering about checking out the park and the light station for a while after noticing them on Google Maps but I had never got around to doing so. Then I found myself on the ferry to Whidbey with a buddy of mine when I looked back and saw the light in some lovely early morning sun. Too late but something to remember.

I didn’t have long to remember though. I was back at the ferry a few days later. This time we arrived just a little late to get the first ferry so had to wait for the second. This gave me a chance, albeit a short one, to have a quick look at the light. It isn’t the most impressive structure you will see but it is a nicely kept lighthouse on a nice promontory.

Houseboats on Lake Union

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Seattle is certainly a hilly city. This does mean you can find yourself in locations with a pretty cool view of other parts of the city including the lakes. I was up above Lake Union and got a great view of some of the lakeside features on the opposite shore. Houseboats are arrayed along the shoreline and, unlike some houseboats I remember from my childhood, these look rather nice. They are still a compact space but they look in good shape and they clearly have quite a nice view out of the front door. I wonder what they are like to live in. Do they get very damp or are they not a problem to control I wonder? Anyone know anybody who lives in one?

The Fish Ladder

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Hiram M Chittenden was not only the man in charge of creating the Ballard Locks, he also was ahead of his time in understanding some of the ecological impact of what he was doing. The importance of the fish to the region and the disruption that the salmon would experience led him to the creation of a fish ladder. There is still one there now although it appears to be of slightly more modern construction.

There are ramps alongside parts of the ladder so you can look down and see the fish as they work their way up the steps. You can also look down and see a lot of them swimming around in the approach to the ladder itself. Meanwhile, there is a viewing gallery that has windows into the side of part of the ladder where you can watch the fish either resting in the quieter flows or forcing their way up to the next level. There were signs telling us which types of fish there might be but I have to admit they all looked alike to me.

The Spooks Are in Town

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The subject of this post ended up getting some coverage but, when I saw it, I didn’t know about the interest surrounding it. I was at BFI awaiting the departure of another aircraft when a turboprop took off over me. I had the camera to hand so grabbed some shots of what I realized was an Airbus CN235. Painted in a dark gray scheme, it looked a little odd. A closer look at the shots showed it had a few lumps and bumps suggestive of an array of antennae. I figured it was just passing through en route to somewhere more interesting.

However, that wasn’t the case. It had been spotted flying some patterns over the city. I had seen some odd flight paths on Flightaware being flown by a plane called Spud21. I loved the name! it was flying orbits over the city but I couldn’t see anything else about it. However, when I saw the plane crop up in the media, the article identified that it was the owner of the Spud21 callsign.

I don’t know what the purpose of the flights was. It is suggested that the aircraft is owned by the US military but whether it is for their use or is in support of an overseas operator, whether these flights were for testing purposes or were checking out the residents I don’t know. I do know that it was something a little out of the ordinary though.