January 22, 2023 - A Trail Above A Trail

A weekend closure of the 520 Floating Bridge made for a peaceful stroll along the pedestrian / bicycle portion of the typically busy bridge.  The west end of the pedestrian bicycle path on the bridge looks down on the Arboretum Waterfront Trail that connects Foster Island, Marsh Island and the Montlake neighborhood.  

A pair of Great Blue Herons didn't seem to miss the usual road noise.

The empty lanes of 520.

A view looking west towards I5 and the Montlake lid where an additional 13 girders were being placed across the freeway this weekend.

April 5, 2021 - Tulipless

 

Mount Vernon's Tulip Festival is held every April.  At this point the tulips are still a couple of weeks away from full bloom.  The daffodils are blooming though!  There was even a Great Blue Heron and an Egret posing roadside for visitors.

November 28, 2014 - Triangle of Fire

As part of a school assignment, my daughter had control of the camera today.  All pictures are courtesy of Lily Kimura.

A 10" gun points out over over Admiralty Inlet.  Several of the guns at Fort Casey, including this one, were 'disappearing' guns.  Through a use of counterweight and the recoil of the weapon, these weapons were designed to be exposed only briefly when firing.  After sending their 617 pound shell up to 8 miles away, they would then 'disappear' below the edge of the fortification to be reloaded.

The entrance to the Puget Sound was protected by a triangle of fire - three fortifications located on either side of the shipping lane.  Fort Worden and Fort Flagler were located on the west side of Admiralty Inlet, while Fort Casey was located on Whidbey Island, the east side of the waterway.   Now a state park, the facility was fortified from 1898 through WWI and then briefly at the beginning of WWII, Fort Casey's armament included seven 10-inch rifled guns, sixteen 12-inch mortars, six 6-inch, two 5-inch guns and four 3-inch guns. 

The Coupeville-Port Townsend ferry runs from a terminal at the base of the bluff in which Fort Casey is located at Keystone Harbor. 

The Admiralty Head Lighthouse, constructed in 1903, is located on the eastern edge of the park.  It is no longer in operation, but serves as an interpretive center and gift shop.

On this wet Black Friday there were a pair of Sea Lions just offshore.

January 1, 2012 - First of Many

Sights from the first ferry trip of the new year.

A gull ignores the ferry Kittitas as it approaches the dock from Mukilteo ferry dock from Clinton.


























A group of cormorants queued up near the ferry dock.

The first sail of the year.

A Great Blue Heron, huddled against the wind, is silhouetted against the early afternoon gray.