Tag Archives: Edmonds

Crabs Hunting in the Rocks at Edmonds

Nancy and I were walking along the shore in Edmonds and decided to stroll out on the fishing pier. This follows the line of the breakwater for the marina and the large rocks that the breakwater is constructed from make for a good habitat for wildlife. We saw a starfish on one area but, since they don’t move too quickly, it was not much fun to watch. However, there were a couple of crabs lurking down there. One was just hanging in its little space waiting for something to come its way. Another was a lot more active and was making good progress across the rocks. I got a bunch of still shots but also played with a little video as you can see below.

Forklift for the Boats

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The marina at Edmonds is a regular source of interest for me. They have racks on which the boats get stored in multiple levels. This requires a method for moving and lifting the boats and this is a bunch of specialist fork lifts. They have very long arms to support the boats and a high extension to get the boats to the upper levels and also provide clearance over the racks when maneuvering the loads in tight spaces. They must be pretty heavy to provide sufficient balance when picking up the boats. Watching them wobble around is a little strange but entrancing.

Waterfront Birds

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Walking along the shore at Edmonds, a few birds were flying around near me. I did get a cormorant which is good and, while I don’t know many birds, I think some of these might be mergansers. Anyone into their birds that can confirm or deny?

Edmonds Ferries In The Sun

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A change of plans caused by reduced ferry services at Mukilteo meant we found ourselves at Edmonds having a stroll along the shore. It was a lovely sunny Saturday if a little cool and breezy. The ferries to Kingston from Edmonds were running a full service and you know I can’t resist getting the odd ferry photo.

Sounder In the Fall At Picnic Point

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One evening, while up near Everett, I had a bit of spare time on my hands. I had noticed a park along the waterfront called Picnic Park and had noted that I would check it out at some point. This was a good time to try finding out what it was like. The weather was not great but, with time on my hands, I headed down there. It is a small park along the water and there is a bridge across the railroad to reach it. As I walked across the bridge, there was a nice view down to where the coast curves around and the trees along the shore had some nice fall colors.

With the sun popping in and out on a regular basis, I thought this would be a good place if a train was coming. As it happened, the Sounder commuter rail train from Seattle to Everett was not far off so I decided to wait for it to come through. A few minutes later it came in to view. There was a family with a young child standing on the bridge waving to the crew and, when I looked at the photos at home, I could see both crew waving back. It was a pretty short train. The Sounder North has not been too successful and the commuter rail ridership is well down due to COVID. I guess there is no need for more cars just now.

Boats Look Better At A Distance

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When photographing the ferries at Edmonds, the sun was very low in the sky and was coming on to the boat at an oblique angle. This shows up something that is not obvious about ships from far away but is really obvious when you get close to them. Take a look at a large ship from far away and it may look like a smooth sided creation. However, ships are constructed from plates of steel being welded together and, when you get close to them, this becomes a lot more apparent. The individual panels are far from smooth and the joins where they are welded together are a bit “agricultural”. Get the light on them at a shallow angle and this is pretty clear.

Early Morning with the Edmonds Ferries

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After our aborted trip on the Edmonds ferry, I figured that the morning light would be good on the ferries as they arrived and departed. Rather than bore Nancy that day, I figured an early morning visit would make more sense – assuming that the weather was nice. We had a steady stream of nice weather for a week so, early one morning, I headed back to Edmonds.

At this time of year, the sun is a little further north than appropriate to get light on the side of the ferry while it is in the terminal. However, as soon as it leaves, it turns to the south slightly to head across to Kingston. The light soon gets on to the right side of the boat. It is nice to still have a bit of snow on the top of Olympics which provides a bit of a more interesting background.

You can see across to Kingston from Edmonds and the morning light made the view across pretty clear. I was surprised how well you could see the ferry departing the other terminal as well as the stored ferry on that side. As they crossed in the middle, it was easy to get the two of them in one shot. The morning light also brings out some texture on the side of the ferries but that is going to get its own post.

Approaching Edmonds from the Water

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While on the ferry, you are free to walk around the car deck if you wish although a mask is required. Since it is open and the wind is blowing through from the open ends, there is good circulation. I walked to the front to see the Edmonds skyline appear as we got closer. We have been to Edmonds on a few occasions and it is a nice town. This was my first view of it from the water, though. Here are some shots of the town from the waters of Puget Sound.

Some Humpback Fluke Action

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We took a trip out to go whale watching while we had some visitors staying with us. The trip departed from Edmonds and proved to be a great day out. Our first encounter was with some humpbacks. We have had some great humpback spotting previously and they got a post here from one of those events. This time we came across a couple of them feeding in the waters of Puget Sound. A couple of times we were nice and close when the whales dived. The humpback is great for getting a view of the fluke as they dive deeper. Here are a couple of fluke shots I got. The flukes are the way that the scientists are able to identify the whales since they are quite individual.

Edmonds Museum

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Downtown Edmonds proved to be a great place to wander around. Having enjoyed the waterfront, we walked into the town itself to check out the shops and with a lunch place in mind. There is an interchange with a roundabout in it that has interesting streets heading off in each direction. One of them takes you to the Edmonds Historical Museum. As we walked up to it, it seemed like a pretty familiar structure and there was a good reason.

The building dates back to 1910 and it is a Carnegie Library. We have come across a few of these over the years. While the needs of libraries have outgrown the buildings, they have often found new uses and museums are a popular second life. We didn’t go inside on this occasion. We thought it might be worth a visit another time and we have a visitor coming for whom something like this might be right up their alley.