Elliot Bay Bike Trip

Views around Seattle's main bay

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The Experience

Now that we are actually situated in Seattle, Kathleen and I decided to act like Seattleites. This place is about as green as green can get, and nothing is greener than riding your bike. Since we had just purchased a couple of low-end bikes, we set out to explore the regions that were in direct riding distance and we not on major highways. There is a bike path right out in front of our apartment, so we set out to see the sights. The photos below are what we saw.

A stainless steel tree being installed at the Sculpture Park of the Seattle Art Museum. The sculpture park is directly across the street from our apartment and we could see the assembly work on the tree. This sculpture is quite big, you can judge height by comparing it to the workmen performing the assembly. In the distance is a parasailor being towed behind a fast boat in Elliot Bay. Olympic Mountains are visible in the distance.

For good or bad, our place is next to the main line of the BNSF. We listen to trains all day and all night. Here one of these beasts is sitting still, but still groaning and hissing like a caged animal. I am not a train hack, but this unit looks like an EMD SD40-2 unit (the model number is written on the side of the frame above the right-most forward wheel).

Right next to our apartment is a huge grain elevator complex that loads ships. The facility has its own docking area and own switch yard with 2 private locomotives that are used to switch cars during the unloading process. This is the transfer tower.

A view of the head frame and dockage area. The "ramp" is the conveyor belt used to transport the grain from the storage silos to the chutes.

A view of the Space Needle and the bike/jogging path. Note the plane in flight on top of the needle.

The ship in the bay is a "grainer" and is awaiting being filled. This is a pretty nice bike path and park.

When they built the dock area, they also built a fishing wharf. Downtown Seattle, Space Needle and the stadiums are visible on the horizon.

On our way along the bike path, we came across this barge that has a section of fuselage from the Boeing 787 Dreamline. I assume that it is being floated from a local manufacturing site to the assembly point in Everret, WA.

Kathleen sporiting the latest in fashion helmets.

The anchorage at the Elliot Bay Yacht Club.

The bike path abruptly ends and the trail transitions to this. Note the driftwood at the high water line. Olympic Mountains on the horizon.

There were kayakers in the bay, but the area that they were in was choked with debris and drift wood. The patch in the center of the photo is wood and bay detritus.

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There was some nice hardware in the marina, but like most boats, they just sit there the vast majority of the time. Space Needle and downtown Seattle are visible on the horizon.

The marina area had a nice boardwalk complete with a side walk cafe where we ate.

The flora at the club was still in good shape despite the advance of fall.

When we got back to the apartment, I noticed this rainbow on my wall produced by the sunlight on our wheel reflectors.

This was a fantastic day. The weather was excellent and the only challenge was the potential of sunburn. It is nice that Seattle is a bike-friendly town as it make getting around much easier. I am sure that this will be just the first of many bike trips in the area (as long as the weather hold out).

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