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.

Dash 7s Still Exist!

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Coming across something old school is fun.  Go back through the Canadian aircraft history and you come to the Dash 7.  This four engine turboprop could achieve some pretty dramatic steep approaches and departures.  It was the first aircraft to operate in to London City using a 7.5 degree approach angle.  The Dash 8 family was the replacement for the Dash 7 and led to the Q400.  I flew on a Dash 7 in 1994 in a US Air Express flight between DC and Philly.

You don’t seem them around anymore but, I came across a couple of them in Toronto.  They were parked up at Billy Bishop Airport around the back of the terminal.  You can see who has been using one of them based on what is written on the side.  I assume these two are stored awaiting their next tasking but maybe they are more active than I realize.  I hope they still get good usage.

Cliffwalk – A Feat of Engineering

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One more post from our visit to Capilano.  The deep valley that the river runs through and that the bridge crosses has some steep, rocky sides.  These have provided another opportunity for the owners to add some interest.  They have mounted a walkway along the cliff face.  I don’t know what inspired this but if you have seen the walkway at the Grand Canyon or the glass boxes on the Sears Tower (watcha talking about Willis) then you see a similar them.

These paths run on structure built in to the cliff face.  They are shaped so, while you have normal width handrails, the foot section is narrower so you have a more obvious view downwards.  You have no doubt how high up you are.  Meanwhile, you get to see the mounting points that have been driven into the cliff face to support all of this.

One section of the path is a semi-circle that is suspended by cables mounted on the cliff face.  It is a dramatic part of the structure and everyone is fascinated by it when they get there.  Don’t anticipate moving through this section too quickly because it does tend to back up a bit.  A little later I walked above this section and found a spot where you can look directly down on the curve and it takes on a whole new perspective.  I think it is quite beautiful.  Winding your way along the face of the cliffs on these walkways is very cool and is definitely not to be overlooked if you visit.

An Old School Cobra

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The Cobra is still a big part of Marine Corps aviation with the Zulu model the current favorite as it replaces the previous Whiskey models.  However, the Cobra started out life as an Army attack helicopter.  While they are long retired from Army service, old examples still are airworthy and one of them was performing at the Olympia air show.  I was rather pleased to see it when it initially arrived and then it performed a flying display alongside a Huey.

A lightly loaded Cobra is still an agile beast and this one was being thrown around with some zeal.  Unfortunately, the sky was rather overcast so the shape was a bit disguised by the shadows but it was still great to see the narrow fuselage combined with the broad chord rotor as it thrashed its way around the display.  What a cool looking machine.

Departing Dreamlifter Finds the One Cloud

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A convenient departure of a Dreamlifter from Everett meant I could get up there to see it go.  The day was very nice so I was optimistic of getting a reasonable shot of it.  I saw it taxi out at the far end of the field (that extra tall fin the 400LCF has makes it easy to see over the ridges in the field) and it turned towards me and accelerated.

The light was shining off the fuselage and it rotated as it came over the ridge towards me.  Just as it got airborne and into a nice position, it found the one shadow that was anywhere in Snohomish county at that point.  It isn’t awful but it was pretty bloody disappointing.  As it climbed away, back into the sun of course!

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?

Portland Eagle Launches

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The F-15s based at Portland International Airport are an active bunch.  From what I understand, they tend to launch two waves of jets a day, one first thing in the morning and the next around lunchtime.  I was there early waiting to pick up some colleagues from a flight.  I was sitting in the parking lot waiting for the message that they had landed.  I wasn’t even thinking about the Eagles.  My camera was in the trunk.  Then I heard a noise and rapidly realized what it was.

I was never going to get out of the car, open the trunk, get the camera out and on in time to get the first jet but I was ready for the second and third.  It was a cloudy day so not exactly ideal conditions for shooting a gray jet but they were F-15s so who is complaining.  After a brief gap, some more jets launched as well and this time I was ready.  Just as they cleared me, I got a text from my colleagues saying they were ready to be picked up.  What excellent timing.

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.

My First Avanti in Ages

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I do love Avantis but, for whatever reason, I have not seen one in ages.  The distinctive sound used to be something I would see quite a bit in the Midwest before Avantair went bust and their frequent appearances abruptly stopped.  To see this one show up was a nice treat.  I have yet to see one of the latest EVO versions.  They have a five bladed prop instead of the six bladed version on the previous iterations so I have yet to find out how much the tone has changed.