Our hotel room in Victoria was near to the top of the building. The window was set into the roof line. We had a flat space outside the window and it was popular with the local bird life. On several occasions, we had a gull land on the space and stand there for a while. It actually seemed interested in us rather than deterred by our presence. No guarantee that it is the same bird but we started to feel like it was visiting us on a regular basis.
The testing of the Eviation Alice continues. My first post on this was when they tried to do some high speed taxi trials but didn’t manage to get the plane going. However, they have been making more progress since. I managed to get up there when they were planning some more taxi trials. I was hoping for some more fast work which they delivered. Not fast enough to get the nose wheel off yet but progress all the same.
A few photographers were out to see what occurred. The test team did not seem too happy about the level of interest. I think they would prefer to get early testing work done without the world watching. They did have their own multimedia team, of course. Various cameras were doing the official recording and some drone work was done as they carried out the trials. A NOTAM for the UAV was in place for several days. I went with stills and video and put some stuff together for GAR and here is some of what I got. Let’s hope to get more as they progress.
Living in the Midwest provided plenty of stormy weather days. The way in which the storms could brew up on warm afternoons was really impressive. I have always loved lightning and sometimes we got so much of it, you would stop paying attention. One afternoon, there was a storm forecast to roll across the city. I decided to head out to the planetarium since it has a great view of the city and I was hoping for lightning behind the skyline or maybe even on some of the high buildings. I am not sure whether it is a thing but it seemed like the lightning would be more prevalent at the leading and trailing edges of the storm so I was hoping to get shots before the rain made it no fun to be outside.
Things didn’t work out quite as planned and there wasn’t the lightning I was hoping for. However, I did get some amazing cloud formations rolling across the city. Watching this come towards me, it was hard to recognize that this wasn’t some CGI on a movie but was actually heading my way. It looked amazing. It wasn’t long before I retreated to the car once the rain showed up.
On another occasion, I was flying in to Midway. As we made the turn back towards the city after flying out over Lake Michigan, a really intense storm cell was sitting north of the city. It came into view as we turned and I videoed it with my phone. It was another beast of a storm, and it was probably rather damp underneath it.
Our trip to Cannon Beach got delayed a day by snow on the hills which you have to cross to get to the Oregon coastline. When we did make the crossing, not only were we properly equipped (as shall be seen in another post) but the weather was transformed. The sun was out, and it looked picturesque. The snow was still heavy on the trees and the hillsides while the road was compacted snow. Consequently, it was white everywhere. We were on a major road that would normally be traversed at speed but, due to the traction devices fitted, we were limited to 25mph. It made the crossing pretty protracted, but it did provide ample time to look around and see the scenery – and the occasional vehicle off the road!
Storms and rain have been a feature of the fall of 2021 in the Pacific Northwest. I was out with a buddy riding up the Centennial Trail in Snohomish County. Part of the trail, north of Arlington, takes you across an old rail bridge over the Stillaguamish River. The north and south forks of the river come together at this location and the combined river heads under the bridge and off towards Puget Sound.
The rivers were in flood and the amount of debris built up against the bridge was indicative of just how much damage the rivers had done on the local area. With two strong flows of water, the area where they came together was swirling with some violence. Whirlpools were popping up and heading downstream. Below the bridge, you could see upswellings of water from the lower levels and it looked like the sort of thing that would be very dangerous to find yourself in. The video I shot doesn’t really do it justice but you might get some sort of impression of how active it was.
I was on one of the construction sites for the Sound Transit expansion to Federal Way. As I walked around the parking garage that was under construction, I came across a piece of equipment I had not seen before. I have seen machines for working the surface of concrete before but this one has two rotating elements under a seat. The operator rides on the machine. It looks like some kids version of a jet pack.
The better news was that a second one was in use on the upper levels of the parking structure. When I got up the tower crane, I was able to shoot a little video of it in use. It is a curious looking piece of machinery and, having never seen it before, seeing it in use really made me smile.
Sunny Saturday afternoon and we were coming back from Discovery Park. Our route took us passed Commodore Park which gives immediate access to the Chittenden Locks at Ballard. With it being such a nice afternoon, we decided it was worth a brief stroll across to see what was going on. There were a number of smaller boats coming through the little lock which we watched for a while. Then, coming up from Puget Sound, we saw a large commercial vessel approaching.
It was a tug returning from time out on the open ocean. There are plenty of tugs in the area – many of which are not too big – but this one was a decent size. No doubt there are larger ones for open ocean recovery of vessels but this was still impressive. The crew was busy preparing for port. Hosing the salt off the superstructure, greasing up exposed metalwork and gathering all of the trash. They had to wait for a short while because the lock crews were still working the smaller lock. Then they were summoned in. A little burst of power from a tug this size can really get the water churning. Since they needed the larger lock, the other waiting boats were brought in too.
Once the water level was raised, the lock gates were opened and the water flowed through to finally balance things out. The current whipping past the tug made it look like it was moving at some speed even though it was standing still. Once cleared to depart, they pulled off gently. Since a lot of small craft were behind them in the lock, they couldn’t just give it the beans or their wash would have bounced everyone around. Instead, a delicate application of power and they were on their way. Below is a little video of them to go with the stills.
I was riding down along the west side of Lake Washington approaching Renton when I saw something large on a dead tree trunk alongside the road. With the number of bald eagles and ospreys that I see down there, I was assuming it would be one of them. However, it was a woodpecker. I have heard of the pileated woodpecker but had never seen one for real. It was pulling the trunk apart with abandon and it was huge. Combine the size with the crest and it looked just like a pterodactyl. The thing was massive when compared to any other woodpeckers I see. My phone was not ideal for photos but it did a pretty good job of getting some video.
During a visit to Whidbey, we stopped off at Fort Casey to have some lunch. After eating, we walked downtown the hill from the lighthouse towards the main fort area. There was a ground of people flying kits on the grass down there. They clearly were experienced flyers and were flying routines in formation. There were three of them at first and they were very slick. A fourth joined in but I think was less experienced than the others. Even so, they were still doing a good job.
I got a few photos of them as they practiced. However, stills are not so good a way to give the feeling of kite flying so I went with a little video too. A little of the video is below.
I have been doing a lot of riding my bike this year and have been gradually expanding how far I go. I decided I wanted to do a longer ride but figured I should not combine that with lots of hills in case I overextended myself a touch. I figured it might be a good time to try out the Centennial Trail. This is a trail that starts in Snohomish and runs 30 miles up past Marysville and Arlington to the county line with Skagit.
An out and back seemed like it could be fun and it is a converted disused rail line so it wouldn’t have hills. (That isn’t true of course. It does have hills but the grades are gentle. I wondered why I was slow for a while and then found myself zipping along so clearly the grades were noticeable.). I started early one morning which meant I avoided some of the busier traffic that comes later in the day.
It was a fun ride. Once out of Snohomish, the trail only occasionally crosses any roads so you can trundle along without much interruption. Since it is an old rail line, there are some old rail bridges to cross occasionally when you get to rivers. There are mile posts to let you know how you are doing and even areas where horse riders can cross when hoof marks have been set into the surface. Aside from a brief stretch through Arlington’s more industrial areas, it is a pleasant ride. A nice park in Arlington itself provides a stop off if you need it and the end of the trail is at a barn seemingly in the middle of nowhere. A good ride to get 60 miles under your belt!