I had met my friend mark down at the top of Lake Washington in Kenmore a while back and some of our shots had been compromised by a large barge moored a little way from the shore. When I went back later a month of so later, no sign of a barge – initially. After I had been there for a while, I saw a barge coming up the lake with a tug pushing it along. It came to the same location and slowed to a halt before mooring the barge.
The tug then cast off from the barge and headed into the inlet at the top of the lake. A little while later it came back out, this time with another barge that was empty, unlike the one it had arrived with. There is a concrete plant in Kenmore that is along the water, so I assume that the barges are used to bring in the aggregate for the concrete manufacturing process. From this reverse angle, I got to see the crew working along the barge handling the lines to the tug. It was rather interesting to see them hard at it. I also liked the tug’s name. It clearly had an original name, Willamette Chief, overpainted although the second half had been left exposed. It had a newer name, Island Chief, on a plate higher up on the superstructure.
As we motored down Sproat Lake looking for good locations from which to photograph the takeoff of Hawaii Mars, we went through a narrow passage between sections of the lake. Just south of the passage was a small island. A closer look told us that there was a single house on this island. The idea of your own private island does sound quite nice. I think I would like the house to have a less obstructed view of the water but, maybe if you live there and see constant boat traffic like ours, the need for privacy makes the trees a better option.
