Category Archives: photo

Fort Worden

After walking around the town in Port Townsend, we drove a short distance to check out Fort Worden. This base is now turned over to the community and the base buildings are used for a variety of enterprises. The whole area is a state park so we renewed our annual pass (it hadn’t been needed when we were going nowhere!) and talk a walk up to the old gun emplacements.

One of the things I like about these old installations in the state parks is that they are almost unchanged other than the guns having been removed. There is no fencing and so you can wander around and climb the ladders up on top if you chose (and you can fall off the edge if you aren’t careful!). It looks much like it would have a century ago. The only thing now is that a lot of trees have grown up where once there would have been open views.

We wandered along the rows of concrete works and read about the different batteries and who they were named after. There were large iron rings set in the walls which caught our eye and these were used for mounting block and tackle to allow the guns to be hauled in to place. On a sunny day the whole place felt very relaxing to walk around but I imagine the concrete structures were a lot less pleasant on a damp and cold winter’s morning. Some interesting history to check out.

Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

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Since I haven’t been out photographing aircraft as much as I would normally like to do, the blog has got me looking through older outings. I was discussing with Nancy what things I might look back on and, since some balloons were flying overhead at the time, we got on to the topic of our visit to the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. The blog has been going for nearly ten years so I tend to think that most of what I have done is on here but there are things that predate the blog and have yet to appear. A search through the archives suggests this is one.

We went to the fiesta because it was something I had long wanted to see but also because I was going to cover it for GAR and had arranged press access. This meant several days of being onsite early in the morning and later in the day. Having not been to a balloon event before other than a fleeting visit to the Bristol Balloon Fiesta in the UK, I didn’t appreciate the timing until I was there. Everything starts really early and is pretty much done by just after breakfast. The evening might be the second wave of activity but, since the winds were getting up in the evening, that didn’t prove to be much good and, besides, Nancy wasn’t wishing to give up all her time to this so we could do other things during the day and the evening.

I made sure to be there well before sun up each day. The crews would be getting their balloons out at their respective launch locations across the large grass area. The sound of fans filling the envelopes would then be followed by burners bringing them up to temperature. We had a glow one morning to watch which was pretty impressive and then, as the light came up, the launches would start. These had to be well coordinated given the number of balloons there. Marshals, dressed in zebra outfits, moved around the site keeping everything under control.

The variety of balloon shapes and colors was fantastic. To see the skies filled with balloons was amazing and the specials that were shapes of interest or for advertising would get particular attention. There were three balloons that were bees which carried a single person beneath them and flew around together which looked great. Since there were so many interesting balloons, there are a bunch of shots below of some of the cooler ones. I would like to go back one day to see this again.

Bothell’s New Bridge

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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.

Fourth 777X Takes Flight

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My previous unsuccessful trip to Paine Field on the Saturday for the first flight of the fourth 777X was followed up by a more successful Sunday visit. The dull and dreary Saturday weather had been replaced by clear skies (the smoke had finally gone away) and the sun was out. The time for takeoff was not going to be great because the sun would be high to backlit, but this was a first flight so the chances of it going on time were limited.

Sure enough, things got dragged out and the sun moved to a more favorable part of the sky. A 777F from Lufthansa Cargo was doing some test flying to provide some other interest and there was plenty of activity generally to photograph. Eventually the 777X was towed. From its parking spot to the south entrance to the Boeing ramp where it could start up.

It taxied up the Alpha taxiway to the hold point and then pulled into position. Normal Boeing practice is to do an accelerated and rejected takeoff before flying. They sat on the threshold and powered up, but the wingtips had not been lowered. I don’t know whether this was a test of the system that is designed to prevent taking off with the wing tips in the wrong position or not, but it seemed that way. Either way, the jet didn’t move.

They then lowered the wing tips, powered up, accelerated and then braked. Taxi back to the threshold again and a long way for some other traffic before they lined up again. The jet wasn’t heavy, but I was slightly surprised how much flap they had for takeoff compared to the other jets I have seen taking off there. Anyway, power on and off they went.

They were due to be flying for a few hours and then landing at Boeing Field so I figured I would make the trip down there for the arrival. On pulling up at Boeing Field, I bumped into my friend David so we were able to talk rubbish about planes for a while waiting for any arrivals. In due course the 777X showed up on approach by which time the light was a lot nicer than it had been for departure. Things may have taken longer than planned and meant the day was not much good for anything else but it was a fun outing and a successful trip.

Port Townsend Day Trip

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Months with little travel meant we were interested in a day out if we could find something to do that made sense and wasn’t going to be unnecessarily risky to us or anyone else. We figured a day at Port Townsend was a good idea. The ferry across is not a problem because you remain in the car for the crossing. Once in the town, we were outdoors almost the whole time and it was going to be a lovely day.

We last came to Port Townsend when on vacation in the region a few years back. It was surprising how much I remembered about it. There were plenty of people in the town but it wasn’t busy. We did go into a couple of shops but they were limited on the number of customers at one time and so we only went to those of real interest. Lunch was outside and we even checked out the ice cream shop!

The waterfront is a nice place to be and there is a selection of jetties that you can walk out on to in order to get a view of the town. The architecture of the town is really interesting too and it seemed that a few of the buildings were in the process of being refurbished. It was fun to get out and about and see something different for a change. Fall is now upon us so making the most of the sunny days was good too!

CF-100 Canucks in Museums

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I can’t recall what prompted all of this but I found myself searching through my photos to see if I had any pictures of Avro Canada CF-100 Canucks. I knew I had seen one at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford but had I seen any others? I had been looking at the Wikipedia article on them as part of this theme and had seen where the remaining examples are. Turns out I had also seen one in Castle AFB museum. It’s a curious looking type but here are some shots including the IWM example from thirty years ago as well as last year.

Follow the Red Brick Road

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On the outskirts of Bothell, there is a small park with a red brick road. It is right next to the Burke Gilman Trail so I had ridden past it many times on my bike and frequently thought to myself I should check it out. I either forget to go there or am in a hurry on the bike and so, until recently, I had never visited it. A quiet weekend afternoon meant I had the opportunity and, more importantly, remembered to do so.

The route around the north of Lake Washington had been a dirt trail until the red brick road was built. When it opened, it increased the speed of travel from Bothell to Seattle dramatically and opened up the area. The road is now SR522 and is heavily traveled. It has long ago been re-paved but one small section of the original brick road has been preserved in this park. Along with the brick itself, there are some signs telling about the history of the road and the impact on the region as well as a couple of sculptures. I doubt people will be traveling from far afield to visit but I am glad I finally got around to checking it out.

Inlet Vortex on a Rainy Day

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Boeing was supposed to be making the first flight of the fourth 777X one Saturday, so I headed up to Paine Field to see it. The weather was not great with low clouds and rain and it was below minima for the flight, so we didn’t get to see the 777X. However, an American Airlines 787 was doing a test flight and it took off in the damp conditions.

As they powered up the jet, the moisture on the surface of the runway got sucked up in the vortex that forms between the inlet and the ground at high power and low forward speed. A dull day makes it easier to see this as well, so I was able to get a few shots of it. The lack of flying that day was a disappointment but this meant the days wasn’t a total bust.

Rabbit Rescue

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A slightly sad tale for this post. We get plenty of wildlife in our backyard including loads of rabbits. They come in to much the grass all the time. They are a combination of cute and inconvenient since they tend to spread a lot of seeds for things we don’t want in our grass. Such is the way of nature of course. Most days we will see one or more of them out there but they disappear quickly if we go outside.

One weekend morning Nancy looked out and saw one on the grass but not looking normal. We went out to check what was going on and the rabbit seemed to have some injury which was preventing it from moving properly. Without the ability to examine it, I thought its leg was hurt. We pondered what to do. Meanwhile, a bunch of crows started gathering on the fence sensing a meal. They flew off when we went outside but the rabbit had moved itself somehow behind the aircon unit. We know that nature has a course in these things but figured, if there was something we could do for the little thing, we should at least make an effort. If it wasn’t going to make it, so be it.

A call to a rescue service told us that we should bring it to them and they would assess it. Despite its injuries, the flight mentality was strong and it was not easy to scoop up. However, I managed to get it wrapped up in a towel and into a box on another towel and off to PAWS in Lynnwood. They did an evaluation and confirmed that this was definitely a fixable issue but not by them. Off to Sarvey in Granite Falls. This bun was getting quite a road trip. We dropped it off with them which is when I took the picture above. I hadn’t wanted to photograph it if it wasn’t going to make it since that seemed wrong somehow but, with someone taking care of it, I decided a photo was okay.

All this effort for one rabbit might seem strange when so many must die every day but it seemed like the right thing to do and it introduced us to two good organizations that deserve support.

Seattle From Elliott Bay

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The ferry ride back to Seattle was later in the afternoon. We were asked to stay on the car deck in our vehicles but we could walk around the deck if we wanted. Everyone around us was wearing masks – as was I – so I was happy to get out of the car in the fresh air and look at the city coming towards us (just depends on your frame of reference physics geeks). Here are some shots of the skyline from the boat as we got closer to the terminal.