April 18, 2021 - A Chamber of Commerce Day

 

The small harbor town of Gig Harbor, population 7,000, makes for a pleasant scene on this sunny day. 

Located on Puget Sound west of Tacoma, it was incorporated in 1946.  Prior to the completion of a bridge across Puget Sound at the Tacoma Narrows, Gig Harbor was accessed from Tacoma by ferry.  The first Tacoma Narrows Bridge, "Galloping Gertie", collapsed in November 1940 after four months of operations.  A replacement bridge wasn't built until 1950.  In 2007 a second bridge was added which allows for well over 120,000 vehicles a day to cross Puget Sound here.

December 30, 2015 - Hometown Tourist

The holiday break is the perfect time to play home town tourist.  Often the only occasion to go to the observation deck for people that live in Seattle is if they are entertaining someone from out of town.   From the observation deck of the Space Needle, 520' above the city, you can see plenty of things.  On a clear day you can see....

...maintenance staff replacing the colored gels on the exterior lights of the Needle....

...downtown Seattle and Mount Rainier...

...the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) on the shores of Lake Union....

...plenty of construction cranes...

...10,778 foot Mount Baker, ten miles from the Canadian border...

...ferries pulling into Bainbridge Island 10 miles across Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains...

...the Olympic Sculpture Park...

...a view of Kerry Park, site of the iconic view of the Space Needle and the Seattle skyline...

...the broadcast towers, the former Queen Anne High School and in the distance, Whidbey Island...

...and of course, other folks playing tourists!

July 13, 2013 - Suspended Mountain

Mount Rainier appears to hover on a layer of clouds above the Seattle skyline.  The Space Needle and buildings of downtown Seattle are across Puget Sound, 15 miles away from the ferry dock in Kingston where this picture was taken.  The 14,410 foot high active volcano is another 50 miles beyond that, with its base firmly planted in the ground.  The mountain is an icon in the western Washington landscape.  On a clear day, it can be seen from Canada to Oregon.

January 7, 2010 - Afternoon over Puget Sound

Mt. Rainier rises above Puget Sound as seen from the Bremerton-Seattle ferry run in the afternoon.