Tag Archives: Port townsend

Boathouse at Port Townsend

Down by the water in Port Townsend there is a boathouse for the local rowers and scullers. It is a relatively modern building with a nice look to it although for some reason I didn’t photograph the outside. It also includes a lot of window space which means you can see all of the shells stored within. (Like how in I am with rowing terminology and know to call them shells???). Avoiding reflections from the windows when taking shots of the inside was a touch tricky but it was manageable. The designs of these boats is pretty impressive since they are created to be light but they have to be very strong since a huge amount of load goes through very small areas when the crews are pulling hard.

Who Could Miss a Deer This Size?

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While walking through Fort Worden, we went through a selection of buildings to a trail up the hill. As we turned a slight corner. I looked back where we had just come and there was a deer sitting in the shade of one of the buildings we had just passed. It was looking very relaxed and I was amazed to realize I had just walked right passed it and never even noticed.

As we returned the same way a while later, I wondered whether it would still be there or not. I looked for it but the space was now empty. However, as my view opened up, I realized that a deer (I can’t say whether it was the same one or not) was strolling up the road. It came to some shade from some trees and plonked itself down to rest. We had to walk very close to it and it didn’t seem in the least bit bothered by us. I took some photos as we went by and we left it in peace.

Fort Worden

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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.

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!

Oh, a Lockheed 12!

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My visit to Port Townsend Aero Museum (which is covered in this post) was followed up by a quick walk around the ramp near the museum. There were plenty of cool types around but I was instantly drawn to a Lockheed 12 that was parked up. From a distance you could confuse this with a Beech 12 if you weren’t paying attention but, as soon as you look closer, the longer lines of the Lockheed show themselves.

Apparently this airframe is for sale. I am not familiar with the pricing of old aircraft but I believe that the Lockheed goes for an awful lot more than the similar Beech. I guess there are a lot more Beeches around. This one was tail on to the sun which was a touch inconvenient but, since they were willing to let me shoot to my heart’s content, I was hardly going to complain. A little HDR helps too.

Port Townsend Aero Museum

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You know your wife is special when, while on vacation and discussing what to do, she points out an aviation museum that you could visit. Not only that, but when you say she can drop you and pick you up later, she says she would be happy to look around with you. What a star! During our trip to the northwest, Nancy suggested the Port Townsend Aero Museum. I wasn’t even aware of it but I was willing to take a look. To be honest, our schedule did not include a lot of spare time but we had an hour or too to look around.

The museum is a really nicely laid out establishment. The hangar in which everything is kept is a really nice building and the exhibits are laid out well with some on the floor and others suspended from the roof. The way everything is put together is really good. There is space around each plane and the signs explaining what everything was were well put together.

The planes are all in excellent condition and some are still airworthy. (My only minor gripe was that they all had a museum logo sticker on them which was not ideal from a photo point of view but this is hardly something to focus on.) The aircraft are all vintage types. Most are piston powered but there are some gliders too.

This proved to be a great surprise on the trip (including that Nancy enjoyed it so much)! I’m not sure how many visitors they get (it was quiet when we were there but we were on a day when I wouldn’t have expected many visitors competing for space. I hope the business is sustainable because it is a great little museum.

Port Townsend

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The great thing about old towns is that they have interesting buildings. (They sometimes have interesting people too but that is a separate issue.) Port Townsend was a funky little town to look around. As a port, it has been around for a while and obviously was quite a thriving location. The grand design features of the buildings show that there was plenty of cash around when they were built. If you head up the hill you come to the town hall which is pretty impressive itself so the town has obviously been a center of things for a while.

In the heart of the town, the buildings are of a similar style but are showing their individuality. Getting shots of them is a little inhibited by the excessive number of power lines that are strung along the streets. It would be nice to not have those there but nothing much I can do about that. I imagine plenty of people wouldn’t notice them but they are the sort of thing that really catches my eye. Perhaps I shouldn’t have mentioned it. You might not have noticed them but now I have said something, they will be conspicuous to you too!

There seemed to be plenty of activity in Port Townsend. Lots of shops and restaurants with plenty of variety so I assume that the area is going to be okay. Having lots going on means that a cool town center is likely to survive and thrive. That is good news.

Dogs Driving Cars

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Okay, I will freely admit that this is not going to be the most informative post. We were walking through Port Townsend and a car came by. Nothing unusual in that. However, out of the sunroof was a dog wearing goggles, presumably to protect the eyes from dust and debris while on the road. This is not the sort of thing I normally see so I thought I would share.