December 23, 2020 - Festive Afloat

On the eve of Christmas Eve, seasonally festive boats moored at the Port of Edmonds.  

September 20, 2020 - A Company Town

 

Not too far east of Snoqualmie Pass, just 90 minutes east of Seattle, is the small, historic town of Roslyn. The 19th century town of 900 has a four block business district, whose century old exteriors look largely unchanged from the time the city was founded to mine a significant coal deposit nearby.  

Roslyn was founded as a 'company town' by the Northern Pacific Railway.  The ready access to coal so close to their rail line was extremely serendipitous.  The company built over 500 houses, as well as community centers, to support the mining and support operations.  It is estimated that over 80% of the coal remains in the nearby deposits, but the gradual replacement of steam locomotives to diesel powered locomotives eventually made the mines unprofitable.  By 1963 operations had ceased.  

There is enough of the small town / old town feel that make it a tourist draw.  It is also a great filming location for productions seeking a readily available, postcard view of a 19th century western town.  The business district has been featured in the 90s TV series "Northern Exposure" as well as the more recent "Man in the High Castle."

A significant amount of the town's population departed as the coal operations wound down, but today there is a  healthy business environment here.  The nearby development of the 6400 acre Suncadia resort community with 2000 residential units and over 500 home sites has certainly been an important economic factor for the continued success of the town's businesses. 

The nature of providing a workforce for the mines in the 1880s brought an incredibly diverse group of laborers to the town.  This is reflected in the small cemetery just outside of town. There are 26 sections of distinct ethnic groups.  

The appropriately named Brick Tavern was built with 45,000 bricks and bills itself as being the oldest continuously operating bar in the state.  While one can't currently belly up to the bar, which originated in England, the flowing water spitoon at the base is still in operation.

May 25, 2020 - Memorial Day Needle

This weekend the flag that has flown above the city the last several weeks - #WeGotThisSeatle - had a blue, sunny background.  Today's background, perhaps more fitting for Memorial Day, and the flag was different. 

The Space Needle doesn't typically fly a flag, let alone the same one for more than a day.  The pandemic has brought about an exception.  It will be nice when the #WeGotThisSeattle flag no longer flies above the city.  Today, Old Glory flew at half-staff in honor of all who have the made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their country.

April 29, 2020 - A Quarantine Ferry

A blog post never completed.....

A brief trip out of the house to chase a sunset at a beach closed for the pandemic was cut short by a rain shower.

April 7, 2020 - Pink Moon

This year's brightest New Moon - the Pink Moon - as viewed from West Seattle's Totem Pole Park at the Rotary Viewpoint.  With about 200 cloudy days each year, we're not often lucky enough to view the different new moons.  The Pink Moon is named after Phlox, the early blooming flowers, native to, and found throughout North America.   Other traditional new moons - Worm Moon (March), Buck Moon (July) and Sturgeon Moon (August) - don't have quite the aesthetically pleasing moniker as April's.

February 23, 2020 - Kohala Mountain Road

A lone tree stands on the slope of Kohala, the oldest of the five volcanoes that make up the Big Island.  Most of the Kohala Mountain Road travels along the west edge of the Kohala Mountain allowing views of three of the other four volcanoes on the island of Hawaii (on a clear day) as well as a view down much of the Kohala coast.

January 26, 2020 - Blue Tease

A Seattle Filter wouldn't apply this morning as the clouds left a little opening for a tease of blue sky.  By early afternoon, the sun had come out.  With a mid afternoon soccer match scheduled, Murphy's Law dictates a change to rain!

 

The Hong Kong flagged container ship Seaspan Hudson arrives from Elliott Bay assisted by a pair of tugs.  The 112,000 ton, 1105 foot vessel (3 times the length of the ferries that ply Puget Sound!) is listed as having a carrying capacity of 10,000 TEU (Twenty Foot Equivalent), or 10,000 20' foot containers!  Each intermodal container has about 1000 cubic feet in volume.

January 25, 2020 - Seattle Filter

A break in an otherwise wet first month of the year yields the city's own filter when the skyline is viewed from Alki looking across Elliott Bay.  It's not quite black and white.  It's not on Instagram.  It isn't "Inkwell", or "Moon", or "Walden."  "January Seattle Morning", is too long and certainly doesn't fit with the online photo application's naming conventions.  Suggestions, anyone?  "Elliott", perhaps?

The ferry M/V Tacoma heads across Puget Sound to Bainbridge Island.

An image in black and white isn't much different from our Seattle filter!