December 25, 2017 - A Rare Seattle White Christmas

The Mukilteo Light with a light covering of white on Christmas Day is a rare occurrence in Seattle.  This was just the 8th time since 1891 that snow has fallen on Seattle on Christmas. 

July 18, 2018 - Thunderbird at Sunset

The Rotary Viewpoint in West Seattle was adopted and developed by the local civic club from a neglected piece of city land.  On August 10, 1976 the small park was presented to Seattle mayor Wes Uhlman.  The primary feature of the small park, aside from the view, was an 18 foot totem pole, topped by a spread-winged thunderbird, carved by Robin Young, a Native American from South Dakota.

In November 2009 the totem pole was stolen, in broad daylight, by a local resident who had plans of installing it in the stairwell of his two story garage/workshop.  Unfortunately, the crane truck used to remove the 500 pound totem pole got stuck in the wet ground and required a tow.  Once the totem pole was reported missing it didn't take long for police to track down the thief.  The 70 year old man was arrested, the totem pole was returned (along with a second one stolen from a local Fred Meyer!) and $21,000 in restitution was paid.  The funds paid for the totem to be completely refurbished, repainted and reinstalled.  It was rededicated August 10, 2010.

July 2, 2017 - A Little Gas Station, Short and Stout

Outside of the central Washington town of Zillah is the Teapot Dome Service Station.  In the 1920s and 1930s a unique architecture proliferated in United States designed to catch the eye, and business, of passing motorists.  This particular example of roadside architecture was built in 1922 when the news of the day was filled with details of the greatest political scandal (until Watergate) in US politics - The Teapot Dome Scandal.  The service station remained active until almost the turn of the century.

President Harding's Interior Secretary, Albert Fall, was eventually sent to prison for accepting bribes.  In his role as Interior Secretary, he had awarded leases of two oil fields, part of the Naval Oil Reserves, to a pair of oil companies.  The scandal got its name from one of the oil fields involved: Teapot Dome.   The terms of the leases, awarded without a competitive bidding processes, were technically legal.  They were very favorable to the oil companies.  What got Secretary Fall into trouble was that the deal was very favorable to his own bank account.

June 24, 2017 - History Flies

Four WWII airplanes fly over Paine Field in Snohomish County north of Seattle.  The planes, from top to bottom - a North American B25J Mitchell, a Grumman F6F-5  Hellcat, a North American P51D Mustang and a Goodyear FG-1D Corsair - all belong to the  Flying Heritage Collection & Combat Armor Museum.  Just out of the frame is a Japanese A6M3.  The museum is a 501(c)3 dedicated to acquiring and preserving the combat aircraft from the 1930s and 1940s.

The sight of these 1940s era technological marvels flying is an impressive one.  The sound of a single Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp 18 cylinder radial engine, what powers the Hellcat, is a wonderful one.  To hear the roar of 90 cylinders all at once is a unique and special sound.

The Japanese A6M3 above was built in 1942 and recovered from New Guinea in the 1990s and rebuilt in Russia.

June 18, 2017 - Around (and Above) Seattle

A 20 minute circuit around Seattle in a float plane beginning and ending from Lake Union provides a perspective most don't typically see.  Being able to look down on the buildings of downtown, the University of Washington campus, Husky Stadium, the new 520 floating bridge, Safeco and Century Link Fields and the waterfront is a great way to see Seattle! 

June 14, 2017 - Small Town Story

Bricks tend to have a story to tell.  At least they hint at stories to be told.  East of Seattle, in rural King County, near the confluence of the Tolt and Snoqualmie rivers, lies the small town of Carnation (population 1,786).  

The north wall of Miller's Mercantile in Carnation hints at a story.  It has character and a little history.  If you've seen Macklemore's "White Walls" video, you've seen this brick wall.  The building currently houses Miller's Mercantile.  Howard Miller passed away in 2013 at the age of 97.  He founded Miller's Dry-Goods in 1938 and ran the business for decades.  His obituary states that one could "set a clock by his 8:45am walk to work".  

Mr. Miller was a town legend known at "the Stamp Man" and "Mr. Carnation".  The local athletic field is named after him.  He collected stamps his whole life.  In 1996 he began volunteering in schools and would give each student a stamp, tell them the history behind the stamp and let them keep them.  Mr. Miller was born on Leap Day.  In Carnation, every four years they celebrate Howard Miller Day.  Certainly a small town story.

June 5, 2017 - Historic Theatres

In the era of multiplexes, the historic Eltrym Theatre in Baker City, Oregon (population 9,828) stands out.  It is an operating example of the stylish, often unique movie houses that were built in the first half of the 20th century.  The Eltrym opened in June of 1940 as a single screen, 400 seat theater.  It currently has three screens.

Fifty miles north, in La Grande (population 13,026) the Granada Theatre, built in 1927, is still operation.  The owners also operate the La Grande Drive-in, one of the last three drive in theatres operating in Oregon.

June 5, 2017 - Abandoned Cement Factory

On the very eastern edge of Oregon, alongside a portion of I-84 that follows the route of the Oregon Trail, sits an abandoned cement factory.  The ruins are at a spot on the map labeled 'Lime', an unincorporated spot on the map whose post office closed in 1964.  The factory was opened in 1916 by the Acme Cement Plaster Company and closed in 1980.  The concrete ruins, tagged by spray can artists, starkly stands out; an industrial ghost town in the middle of the desert.

January 14, 2017 - Saturday Seminary

A sunny January day proved to be a good day to take in nature on the grounds of the former St. Edward Seminary in Kenmore.  The inscriptions above the portals to the seminary read "Pro Eis Sanctifico Me Ipsum" or "For them I sanctify myelf".  In the early 1920s Bishop Edward John O'Dea donated the land that would become a seminary for diocesan priests.  In 1931, the seminary opened and in 1935 the first class of 12 men was ordained.

In the early 1950s the seminary, designed for 111 students had over twice as many enrolled.  However, by 1968 the facility was used solely as a high school seminary and continued enrollment declines forced the closure.  In 1977 the State of Washington bought the seminary and 316 acres of the property for $7,000,000.  It was dedicated as a state park on April 16, 1978.  The balance of the property was later sold to Bastyr University.

Of the buildings on the property, only the gymnasium is currently open to the public.  A pool and the main building remain closed for repairs.  Most users take advantage of the miles of trails that run through the dense forest, bring their children to one of the largest children's playground in the state, or utilize the ballfield. The property is bordered on it's western edge by Lake Washington where one can take in mallards and buffleheads, loons, float planes and kayaks.

January 1, 2017 - New Year's Peace

An orchard in snow and falling snow on rocky hills makes for a peaceful moment at the start of the new year.

December 31, 2016 - Still Playground

The last day of 2016 dawned cold and icy on a playground the shores of central Washington's Lake Chelan.