extras for blog below

I refer to these two shots in the post below.

North Head

Once again, we hit Seattle right, weather-wise. On the first Sunday in November, we took off after church hoping for only a drizzle. The weather we got was phenomenal, considering the forecast for more of the same. It had rained for 12 straight days and we're expecting rain at least through Wednesday. It's been a very wet early winter. But there is a couple feet of snow up in the Cascades and the ski resorts are opening. Considering the brutal lack of snow in the mountains the last 3-4 winters, this is a very good start. We may even go cross-country skiing one of the next couple weekends.
Upon arrival, it was windy and chilly at Seattle's Discovery Park (north near Ballard), but surprisingly, the sun was streaming through the clouds. We put on sweatshirts, hats, gloves, and hiking boots for the one mile trek down to the beach. When the clouds started to move away from the Olympics in the background, I was delighted with the backdrop for this lighthouse sticking out into Puget Sound. All around the point were sailboats, working cargo ships, seagulls and cormarants, and even a couple wind-surfers in wet suits.
It's funny how you can start out in a chilly place and begin walking. Pretty soon you are wondering why you have on a heavy sweatshirt. Up and down the hills that slope toward the Sound make for a strenuous walk and soon you are, indeed, sweating. So even though it's called a sweatshirt, you really aren't interested in sweating, but "Perspire on, Hardy Soul!". Off come the gloves, hat, and windbreaker/rain jacket. They'll be ready for the windy point when we get down to the lighthouse.
It brings back memories of living in northern Wisconsin. We'd go to the Madeline State Park Cross-Country Ski trails after school and ski 5-7 km. The best temperature was around 5 degrees. You'd start out chilled and within 10 minutes, you were taking off gloves and the outer windbreaker because of how much energy you were putting out skiing. I don't recall kicking off the shoes though. I think I was doomed to have eternally cold feet. I'm just glad they didn't affect me 24 years ago. I would never have done so well in the marriage dept. It's hard to believe - 24 years.
The hike travels along the bluffs, which are actually giant sand dunes with soil on top. Looking at the small forest that we walked through, I'd guess these dunes have not moved for centuries. The hike is only a mile with an elevation drop of about 400 feet, I'm guessing. We reached the beach and moved along the drift wood. I had an inspiration for a picture using a depth of field technique. see blog above
We watched a couple guys wind surfing. After a while, a diver popped up near the jetty and took pictures of them from below. They tried to get action shots of them being lifted high after jumping. I didn't really plan my picture well and missed getting them in the air. The photo I got, though, was kind of funny. It shows lines from the parachute going down into a big splash. again, see blog above
On the way back, we had a great view of a shower coming our way across the sound. Here it is in black and white. In many of the digital photo mags that I read while at Barnes and Noble, there's been a growing interest in B/W shots. I've been toying with some with decent results.
I think I could write another two pages about Sunday. Maybe at a later time.
We both continue to be amazed at how much we have seen and experienced in Western Washington. It's said that Sheboygan isn't hell, but you can see it from there. Western Washington isn't heaven (try following our disgusting politics for proof), but I think we can see it from here. La Crosse County residents, You may claim to live in God's country, but this is his art studio.

Some days you just have to be at the right place at the right time. Such are the fortunes of a photographer, pro or amateur.

These two photos were taken within about 50 yards from each other, but about an hour apart. We were standing near the locks that connect Lake Washington to Puget Sound on the north side of Seattle. Of course, this is a relative explanation. For the guys on the tug boat coming off of Puget Sound, its the connection from Puget Sound TO Lake Washington. Some people are so narrow minded. This explanation is for those of you out there in Blogland, who need a precise explanation. You know who you are.

There are two parks on either side of the dam that separates these two bodies of water. On the north side, near the locks is the Army Corps of Engineers park and flower garden. I call it a flower garden because the government spent a lot of money for the signs that say just that. Without the signs, it's just a park with some paths that have about five plots of flower beds; not what comes to mind when you see numerous signs touting "gardens". Since it's their park, their signs, and a relatively cheap way to enjoy an hour or so hoping to witness a boat accident among high priced boats and the snooty people who own them, I'll call them flower gardens.

As stated earlier, the Army Corps of Engineers built the locks and operate them. There are two areas for boats to moor while descending or ascending to their desired navigable destination. The large area on the north is about the size of a couple narrow football fields, while the smaller one takes up the square footage (in liquid terms) that would round out the two-football-field analogy.

One must both cringe and inwardly smile the way one of the four to five attendants treat the operators of the private craft that give the impression of being less than skilled at fine-tuned navigation. From the way he snarls at the boats that take too long to decide whether they will wait for the next lockage to the smirks and condescending advice thrown at those who can't decide whether to tie their ropes on both stem and stern or one or the other. He give the impression that he both dislikes his job AND enjoys the sarcasm enormously. The fumbling and bumbling of some of the pilots is in front of about 50 to 150 onlookers from above.

One such inaptitude was witnessed toward the end of our visit to the locks and the fish ladders located on the south of the dam. We were on our way back to our vehicle when we noticed a singe pilot having difficulty maneuvering his sailboat out toward the Sound after being lowered in the locks. Why he was all alone, one can not know. My guess is that he couldn't wait to get out on his new/used boat despite his wife telling him that she wouldn't put her life in his hands until after he took sailing lessons. Another possibility was that his friends decided that they would no longer put their lives in his hands after traveling with him by water on previous outings. Either way, he was not a master of the seas. He simply took a long time to get out of the chamber. In his defense, a lady next to us who was watching, too, mentioned that it was not as easy as it looked since there were strange currents near the locks and dams. He was making a case for her explanation.


Once he finally got clear of the locks, he drifted off to the south near the fish ladders and the netting installed to steer the salmon toward them. He had the nets cleared, narrowly missing them the first time. But he was not to be denied. Looking closely at the bottom picture you can see that his boat is right on top of the end of the floats that held up the netting. He sat there for quite some time before another boater happened along-side. I can only assume that he eventually got help, but the harbor patrol was probably not in a hurry to get there, since the only danger that he was in was one of dying of embarrassment. Remember, it was a gorgeous day and those 50 to 150 people on the locks were about 1/3 of those visiting the parks at the time.

One other bonus for visiting this area is to peer into the viewing windows located to see the salmon and other fish using the fish ladders, unique in two ways: a rare fish ladder where salt and fresh water meet, and; an uncommon viewing area at a fish ladder. Many of life's best things to do are free. In Seattle, this is a favorite destination, along with viewing the surround area from Queen Anne Hill, and shopping a people watching at the Pike Street Market.