MV Dirona travel digest for Winter 2021

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Pink and orange sunset over Elliott Bay.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

The view on a misty Seattle morning looking north along Aurora Ave (left) and Dexter Ave N, with Lake Union at right.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

One of the elevators in our building has been out of service for over a week. In a four-elevator forty-floor building, having one elevator down slows service noticeably. Today they were servicing it on our floor. It looks like a big one judging by the pile of wire below the worker.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

We ordered our guest bedroom set from Room and Board. Here they are assembling it. We placed the order several weeks ago, but everything is backed up. Fortunately the furniture was made in the US and didn't have to come from overseas, as the delay would likely have been much longer.

Position: 47°36.91'N, -122°20.26'W

Happy Hour at Cinque Terre Italian restaurant. They have an unusually wide variety of wines available, visible on the wall.

Position: 47°36.95'N, -122°20.31'W

The three Seattle Spheres at night, viewed looking west from 7th and Lenora.

Position: 47°36.96'N, -122°20.38'W

The interactive light display Impulse, part of the four-exhibit display that includes Prismatica.

Position: 47°36.95'N, -122°20.38'W

Dog ownership is high in the area, and the Amazon Day 1 Dog Park is always busy. "Day 1" is the name of the adjacent office building and refers to the start-up mentality Jeff Bezos believes is crucial for any company's continued success.

Position: 47°37.33'N, -122°21.25'W

The Seattle Kraken warming up before beating the Edmonton Oilers 4-3.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Spitfire performing his annual traditional smelling of the Christmas tree.

Position: 47°35.78'N, -122°19.90'W

Player introductions before the Seahawks game take on division rivals the San Francisco 49ers.

Position: 47°35.78'N, -122°19.90'W

Injuries aren't rare in the NFL, but an ambulance on the field is. San Francisco running back Trenton Cannon was taken directly to the hospital after the game-opening kickoff. That's a dangerous port of the game, and the hits can be quite hard. Fortunately he is recovering well and was released the next day.

Position: 47°35.78'N, -122°19.90'W

The Seahawks beat the 49ers in a closely-contested game that came down to the last few seconds. It was an exciting finish, with most fans staying to the end. Here you can see a questionable design choice in Lumen Field. The upper and lower decks have wide, safe passageways flowing towards the exit at right. But the exit has only a fraction of the capacity of either flows heading into it.

Position: 47°36.70'N, -122°20.23'W

The Seattle Star with the Westlake Center holiday tree. The 161-ft (49 m) star has been a Seattle holiday fixture since 1961 and was originally called the Bon Marche holiday star after the department store that created it and whose building it was mounted on. When Macy's bought the building in 2004, it became the Macy's Star. And after Macy's closed earlier this year, the star was rebuilt with a $250,000 donation from Amazon, the current occupant, and a matching donation from the building's owner, Starwood Capital Group.

Position: 46°16.66'N, -99°46.11'W

Snow-covered fields in North Dakota. James is flying to Boston and then Cincinnati for a week of site visits.

Position: 42°33.36'N, -71°7.83'W

Generations of robots at Amazon Robotics, previously Kiva Systems, in Boston, MA. If you've recently had an Amazon delivery, it will have been touched by one of these robots multiple times.

Position: 39°1.95'N, -84°39.64'W

Looking down an incredibly long hallway in the Amazon Air Hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport. The 800,000 sq-ft building was opened in August of this year to support the Amazon's burgeoning air transport network.

Position: 39°1.95'N, -84°39.64'W

Robots sorting packages in the Amazon Air Hub at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky airport. The entire facility spans 600 acres and phase 1 is over 800,000 sq ft.

Position: 39°1.95'N, -84°39.64'W

James on the ground with a Prime Air 767.

Position: 39°1.95'N, -84°39.64'W

Riding in the pushback tractor about to push a Prime Air 767 out onto the taxiway.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

James has been visiting Amazon facilities this week, and Spitfire has been missing him tremendously. He frequently stands on James' desk and howls for him. James will be home tonight little feller.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

New Zealand Navy frigate Te Mana entering Elliott Bay, a long way from home. The ship was launched in 1997 and went through a major refit in 2014/2015.

Position: 47°36.97'N, -122°20.56'W

Two snowmobiles on a trailer outside our building. It's getting to be snow season in the Cascade mountains and further inland to our east. We haven't look closely at recent generation snowmobiles, but these have become really high-tech beasts.

Position: 47°37.07'N, -122°20.41'W

You can tell it's winter in Seattle when you see your second set of snowmobiles in a day. These are Polaris Khaos.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Our "pet cruise ship" Ovation of the Seas returning to Seattle from Port Angeles to moor at Pier 66. Earlier in the month the ship was looping off San Francisco before returning to the Pacific Northwest. Presumably US Customs, Jones Act and/or Washington State tax laws prevent the vessel from simply wintering here in Elliott Bay. A $1B investment, not producing any revenue at, must be a little hard on Royal Caribbean.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Since James was traveling last week, he's doing a COVID test before attending any in-person meetings. Still good!

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Our new deck table just arrived. We've really happy with it, and hope it does well with the weather.

Position: 47°36.95'N, -122°20.46'W

Installing a bundle of 864 optical fiber cable for Verizon communications at 6th and Blanchard. You can just barely make out a person wearing a yellow vest across the road and down the hill where the cable is going (click image for larger view). And we thought we had long wire runs in Dirona.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Today we closed on our apartment, and now are owners instead of renters.

Position: 47°36.90'N, -122°20.15'W

At the UPS store having documents for the sale of Dirona notarized. If all goes according to schedule, the boat sale will finalize in two days.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Our "pet cruise ship" Ovation of the Seas departed Seattle three days ago and spent that time looping in the Juan de Fuca Strait before returning back to Seattle.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Spitfire is happy to have James back and spends as much time as he can getting attention. Apparently between James and the laptop is a pretty good spot.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

The Olympic Mountains are thick with snow as we get further into December.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

The capable tractor tug Crowley Chief was built in 1999 by Nichols Brothers Boatbuilders on nearby Whidbey Island. The vessel was designed specifically for ship assist and escort duties.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Our "pet cruise ship" Ovation of the Seas departing Pier 66 again, after arriving only this morning.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Enjoying what Norwegians call the "cozy season", in the red glow of our patio heater. The temperature is 39°F (4°C), but we're bundled up and quite comfortable.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

The Jens Maersk departing Seattle en route to Mexico with an unusually light load.

Position: 47°37.06'N, -122°20.31'W

Celebrating an eventful week with a Friday dinner at one of our favorite Seattle restaurants, Butcher's Table. On Wednesday, we closed on the purchase of our apartment and today the sale of Dirona was finalized. We admittedly feel a little sad to sell Dirona, our home for the past twelve years, but we're having a great time living in Seattle, we're loving the apartment, and keeping the boat while not using it for several years just didn't make sense. Unused boats go downhill quickly. We expect to return to adventuring in 12-24 months.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

We wish you all a happy holiday season and best wishes for the new year. And if you do have a cat under your tree, may he not be eating your ornaments. :)

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

We received a gift box this afternoon that included a tin of fish roe. There must have been some residual scent on the box, left by those who packed it, and Spitfire was sure it was his present.

Position: 47°37.21'N, -122°20.96'W

Holiday decorations at the Howard S Wright Memorial Fountain, named after the Seattle the owner of the construction company that built the Space Needle visible in the background.

Position: 47°37.33'N, -122°21.25'W

Alternate Kraken goalie Chris Driedger snags a puck during practice. The Kraken lost 5-3 in a closely-contested match with the Edmonton Oilers. We were up 2-0 in the first period, then tied in the second. But lost after two unanswered goals in the third.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Kenmore Air float plane, sporting Seattle Kraken colors, flying unusually close to our condo complex north tower en route to landing on Lake Union.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

We both received text notifications that we're due for COVID-19 booster shots, since it's been 180 days since our second Pfizer shot. We already have appointments for this Tuesday. Scheduling appointments for our first two shots required barely a day's notice and these required two week's.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Watching Sunday afternoon NFL at home. Normally we have Sunday lunch and watch an NFL game at Buffalo Wild Wings, but with the Omnicron virus raging we decided to reduce our indoor venue time until we've received booster shots.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

The temperature is above freezing, but we're seeing snow flurries this afternoon.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

A submarine heading south through Elliott Bay. The ship stood off Blakely Island for a good hour or so, then likely continued on to the naval base in Bremerton.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

For safety reasons, the submarine we saw in Elliott Bay was broadcasting AIS. US forces used to only rarely broadcast AIS, but several serious accidents with commercial ships have changed that policy. Interestingly, the AIS information the vessel is broadcasting is very generic, only listing it as a US warship and not even identify it as a submarine.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

We liked the new table for our main deck so much we got another for our second deck. Here James is assembling it with Spitfire supervising.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Spitfire showed up with orange pollen all over his ears from nosing into the fresh lilies on our coffee table.

Position: 47°37.14'N, -122°20.73'W

Getting our COVID-19 booster shot at our third different Walgreens vaccination location. The first was in Charleston, SC within two hours of landing after crossing the Atlantic, and the second in Flagstaff, AZ on our road trip across the US.

Position: 47°37.11'N, -122°20.87'W

A selection of growlers at Zeeks Pizza, our favourite local pizza restaurant, where we stopped off after our vaccination appointment to take a pizza home. We noticed the growlers while waiting and asked the bar tender about them, who set up all three sizes for us to take a picture. We opted to take home a 64oz (1.9L) Head Full of Dynamite IPA (HFOD) from nearby Fremont Brewery, a beer we often have over a pizza at Zekes. HFOD is not actually one beer, it's an ongoing series of IPAs, each different from others.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Our "pet cruise ship", Ovation of the Seas, that has been in the Seattle area for the past few months, has been offshore just south of the Mexican/US border for the past few days. Likely it must be out of US waters for Jones Act or US Customs reasons.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Our apartment has a very nice Miele range with a built-in gas grill. The grill is particularly exciting because it would allow us to quickly do gas grilling anytime without going outside in the weather. We tried it when we first got into the apartment, and learned we have an excellent smoke alarm that not only would certainly wake us up, but likely would alert the fire department a few blocks away as well :).

It was a bit of a disappointment, because it's a beautiful gas grill that can deliver incredible heat very quickly, but it really didn't seem to work very well. Part of the problem is the overhead ventilation hood doesn't completely cover the entire grill area. So one solution is to only use the back two-thirds of the grill. But before trying that, we took apart the ventilation hood to see which fan motor was installed. This hood supports both a 300 CFM (509 CMH) and a 600 CFM (1,019 CMH) air mover. We found we already had the biggest supported motor installed, so we decided to see what we could cook on the grill if we only used the back two-thirds.

Here we are grilling chicken lightly coated with olive oil and dredged in blackened seasoning chicken. Quite a bit of smoke is rising from the grill, and the ventilation hood is capturing it all. The grill worked remarkably well, with no visible smoke escaping and no smoke alarm, and is really nice to cook on. And grilling only on the back two-thirds isn't much of an inconvenience, since that would be the size of our previous barbecue on the boat.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

A dozen spices out to make the spice rub for one of our favourite grilling recipes, Moroccan-Spiced Chicken Brochettes.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

A holiday parade of decorated boats setting out towards the Montlake Cut from Lake Union.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Moroccan-Spiced Chicken Brochettes cooking in the second test of our range grill. This also worked well, with no visible smoke escape, and no smoke alarm. We've also found it reasonably easy to clean the grill by briefly soaking it in a sink of water and making a quick pass with a pot-scrubber brush. That sounds lengthy, but the total time investment to do that is only a couple of minutes. It's really not much different than cleaning a barbecue after grilling.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

The capable Crowley ship-assist tugs (from left to right) Guide, Chief and Guard docked at the Port of Seattle. All three use Voith-Schneider Cycloidal propulsion, with Guard having 5,000 HP and Guide and Chief having 4,800 HP.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

We've been having such good success with the grill that we're actively seeking out the smokiest dish to probe the limits and see where the smoke alarm gets set off. Here we went with bratwurst sausages that emit clouds of smoke when barbecued. The test went surprisingly well. As long as we're cooking in the back two-thirds of the grill, even heavily smoking dishes seem to cook fine. The ventilation hood gets all the smoke, and we've not yet had a repeat of the apartment smoke alarms going off.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Blog read Greg Moore saw this ad in the window of a residential building in Jersey City, New Jersey and sent us a photo. That's Dirona moored at City Marina IJDok in Amsterdam, and you can even see James in the pilot house.

The advertisement was for a US property management firm, so we were guessing we must have been outside of their window sometime while we were on the US east coast. It took us a while to figure out that the picture was actually taken in Amsterdam, and is just a stock photo not directly related to the property management firm.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Snow flurries as we have our Christmas morning breakfast on the deck. This is just the beginning—a big snow storm is forecast for tomorrow morning.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Christmas dinner overlooking Elliott Bay. We decided to try something new this year and roast a turkey breast rather than an entire turkey. This worked out exceptionally well—the breast was incredibly moist, the best we've ever had.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

We got a little bit Norway in Seattle this holiday season as an unusual winter storm dumped several inches of snow Boxing Day morning.

Read more ...

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

High winds formed unusual snow drifts from the light and powdery snow.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

The Seattle Seahawks played at home today ... in the snow. This is a scene you might expect in Green Bay, Wisconsin, but rarely in Seattle.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Making Grilled Chicken Breasts with Lemon and Thyme as we continue to probe the limits of our range grill and see where the smoke alarm gets set off. This dish calls for marinating the chicken in a spicy olive oil mixture that produces a ton of smoke when cooking. But again, the ventilation hood captured it all, and the apartment smoke alarms were not triggered. The more we use this grill, the more we're loving having a grill just ready to go in the kitchen.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

With our deck covered in snow, we opted to have breakfast in the den for a view to snow-covered Queen Anne and Lake Union. With the combination of the snow and the holiday season, the streets are pretty quiet this Monday morning at 7:30.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

We've watched a few driver gingerly guide their vehicle down this steep, snow-covered road on Queen Anne Hill. Conditions look pretty hazardous.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

It's really cold this morning at 17° F (-8.3° C). The snow won't be going away anytime soon at this temperature.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

The Olympic Mountains thick with snow after the recent winter weather system (click image for a larger view).

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Ever since 9/11, a pair of Coast Guard vessels frequently and randomly escort Washington State ferries to and from Seattle.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

We missed being outside, so cleared out the snow by the table for happy hour.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

A small bird hit our window this morning and, dazed, was unable to fly away. We put a box out to give it a little shelter from the cold. It huddled at the outside corner of the deck and after ten minutes or so was able to fly away on its own.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

The Seattle police never seem to do anything in small numbers. Here four trucks are on the scene for what looks like a single person being questioned.

Position: 47°36.94'N, -122°20.62'W

Downtown Seattle has a large tent-dwelling population and over the past six months we've noticed some that are expanding into two-tent "apartments". Some even have fenced-off areas with No Trespassing signs for their "yard". With the cold spell and snow that's recently descended upon Seattle, the innovation continues and they now have indoor heat. Many of the tents have extension cords running out of them, sometimes hundreds of feet, to the closest live power socket available.

Position: 47°36.40'N, -122°20.38'W

Snowy scene looking across the a portion of the construction area for Seattle's new waterfront to the The Seattle Great Wheel, with the Port of Seattle beyond.

Position: 47°36.40'N, -122°20.38'W

The temperatures have remained below freezing the past few days and the sidewalks are thick with ice. We could use those shoe grippers we got in Bergen.

Position: 47°36.14'N, -122°20.25'W

At Coleman Dock to take the ferry to Bremerton. There aren't many people here for the Saturday morning trip.

Position: 47°36.10'N, -122°21.86'W

View to the Port of Seattle as the 362-ft (110 m) ferry Chimacum pulls out from Coleman Dock en route to Bremerton.

Position: 47°36.09'N, -122°22.28'W

The twin towers of the Insignia condominium complex where we live. Our apartment is at the top left of the south (right) tower.

Position: 47°36.10'N, -122°23.46'W

The beautiful Seattle skyline on a crisp and clear winter day. Flanking the high-rises are two Seattle icons: the Space Needle at left and the Smith Tower at right. The 605-ft (184 m) Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair and the 462-ft Smith Tower was the tallest in the country west of Ohio when completed in 1914.

Position: 47°35.98'N, -122°23.82'W

The 460-ft (140 m) ferry Tacoma en route to Colman Dock from Bainbridge Island.

Position: 47°34.27'N, -122°29.24'W

Looking back along the ferry Chimacum's wake as Seattle recedes in the distance.

Position: 47°34.27'N, -122°29.24'W

One of several container ships moored in Yukon Harbor, awaiting space in the Port of Seattle.

Position: 47°34.02'N, -122°30.54'W

Enjoying the view from the bow of the ferry Chimacum as we enter narrow Rich Passage. It's really cold out here, but the scenery is fabulous.

Position: 47°33.97'N, -122°30.93'W

We've transited Rich Passage many times in our own boat and this modern waterfront home on Bainbridge Island always catches our attention.

Position: 47°33.97'N, -122°30.93'W

View to the snow-covered Olympic Mountains across Beans Point on Bainbridge Island.

Position: 47°33.86'N, -122°36.33'W

Hilltop west of Bremerton bristling with communication towers, likely for the nearby naval base.

Position: 47°33.39'N, -122°37.08'W

We've passed under the Manette Bridge in our boats many times en route to Dyes Inlet. Silverdale and Oyster Bay are popular stops for us.

Position: 47°33.48'N, -122°37.31'W

The Bremerton Marina in front of several new condominium complexes. Bremerton has change a lot since our last visit well over a decade ago.

Position: 47°33.69'N, -122°37.48'W

The fast ferry Enetai moored at Bremerton. From our apartment, we frequently see the commuter vessel underway between Bremerton and Seattle.

Position: 47°33.69'N, -122°37.48'W

The ferry docks in Bremerton are adjacent to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, established in 1891. It is largest naval shore facility in the the Pacific Northwest, employing 14,000 people.

Position: 47°33.70'N, -122°37.49'W

The prominent green hammerhead crane at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, built in 1933, is 250 ft (76 m) tall, 80 ft (24 m) wide, and has a lifting capacity of 250 tons.

Position: 47°33.70'N, -122°37.49'W

The elite nuclear-powered fast-attach submarine USS Connecticut was towed into Bremerton a week ago to undergo repairs after striking an uncharted seamount in the South China Sea. This certainly is the sub we saw from our apartment. The ship's sonar dome was lost in the collision and will be replaced for an estimated $10M. This structure, that looks like a submarine nose cone, might be part of the repair project.

Position: 47°33.70'N, -122°37.49'W

Wash from the ferry Chimacum as it slows down to dock in Bremerton.

Position: 47°33.96'N, -122°37.69'W

A long and enjoyable lunch at the Horse & Cow pub in Bremerton. The bar was established in 1953 to serve the large submariner community in Bremerton and is packed with submarine memorabilia including many photographs and other items signed by captains and crew.

Position: 47°33.96'N, -122°37.68'W

Huge banners, filled with submarine crew signatures, cover the walls in one section of the Horse & Cow pub in Bremertion. These two are from the USS Alabama and the USS Pennsylvania, both Ohio-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines.

Position: 47°33.95'N, -122°37.61'W

Statue of a fisherman being snagged by a fish in downtown Bremerton. The fish, not visible in the photo, is on the opposite street corner.

Position: 47°33.76'N, -122°37.48'W

The destroyer USS Turner Joy served from 1958 to 1982 and now is a museum ship moored permanently in Bremerton alongside the marina.

Position: 47°33.83'N, -122°37.39'W

The sculpture "Proud Tradition" was installed in 1991 to commemorate the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard’s centennial. The statue honors Naval shipyard workers and shows a man wearing a hardhat handing a boy a model of an aircraft carrier.

Position: 47°33.71'N, -122°37.39'W

On the fast-ferry dock to return home.

Position: 47°33.96'N, -122°37.68'W

On board the fast ferry Lady Swift to return back to Seattle. The ferry carries 118 passengers with a service speed of 36 knots. We'll return home in 30 minutes, compared the one-hour outbound trip on the car ferry Chimacum. The vessel is one of two ultra-low-wake craft designed for fast ferry service between Seattle and Bremerton through Rich Passage. A previous generation of fast ferries, introduced in the late 1990s, was pulled from service after residents of Rich Passage filed a successful lawsuit claiming the wakes were damaging their waterfront property. Years later the ferries were sold to Golden Gate Ferries in San Franciso at a deep discount.

Position: 47°36.32'N, -122°20.40'W

The Colman Dock is being upgraded and the Lady Swift moors in a temporary dock farther north. We were impressed at how easily the skipper brought the vessel into such a tight spot.

Position: 47°36.57'N, -122°20.75'W

The fire boat Leschi moored at Bell Harbor Marina, our old home port.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Dusk looking southwest across snow-covered buildings in downtown Seattle with the Port of Seattle in the distance.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

A beautifully clear and calm evening looking across Lake Union.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Toasting the sunset on New Year's Eve.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

For our fifth grilling test, we threw everything we had at the grill and made steaks for our New Year's Eve dinner. The meat generated a ton of smoke, but we didn't set off the alarm, and it produced one of the best-tasting steaks we've ever made.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Watching augmented New Year's fireworks set off from the Space Needle on the television.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Units on the other side of the north tower in our condominium complex have a clear view to the New Year's fireworks set off from the Space Needle, but we can still see some of them from our apartment. Next year we might walk out to see the display.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Spectator boats on Lake Union to view the New Year's fireworks display set off from the Space Needle.

Position: 47°37.21'N, -122°20.96'W

The Space Needle aglow at dusk on New Year's Day.

Position: 47°37.28'N, -122°20.96'W

The Seattle Center monorail terminal from an unusual perspective. When the Seattle Kraken is playing, it's particularly busy.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Our "pet cruise ship", Ovation of the Seas, is off San Francisco en route to Seattle having spent the past week or so just south of the US/Mexican border.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Opening our last bottle of Solsikkeolje (sunflower oil), purchased in Norway. We kept Dirona fairly well-stocked, with months of deep stores, and are still working through them in the apartment.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Our "pet cruise ship", Ovation of the Seas, returning to Seattle for another brief stop.

Position: 47°37.51'N, -122°20.83'W

With so many people in the US sick with Omnicron, many businesses are struggling with staffing shortages. This grocery store normally has an extensive seafood display, but reports they don't have the staff to fill it, so that space isn't monetized.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Spitfire is quite partial to cut flowers, so much so that he'll even eat plastic ones. That these dyed daisies are turning the water pink is no deterrent. We've been staying away from lilies since Sandra and Barry Kempster of Fort William, Scotland warned us these flowers are dangerous for cats.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Boats flying spinnakers race off Duwamish Head in the event of the same name, the second of the 2021-2022 Southern Sound Series.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Heavily-loaded container ship arriving into Elliott Bay with Bainbridge Island and the snow-covered Olympic Mountains beyond.

Position: 47°36.64'N, -122°20.23'W

Protesters of masking and vaccine mandates gather at Westlake Center for a "March for Freedom" rally and march to Pike Place Market.

Position: 47°36.84'N, -122°20.51'W

March For Freedom rally supporters driving through downtown Seattle. The flag hanging from the truck reads "Unmasked, Unmuzzled, Unvaccinated, Unafraid". The black-and-white American flags on the truck behind have historically been used in times of war to indicate no surrender. This variation, with a blue stripe, additionally shows solidarity with law enforcement. Increasingly, just about every issue brings a polarized response.

Position: 47°36.63'N, -122°20.24'W

A multitude of taps at the Yardhouse pub opposite Westlake Center.

Position: 47°36.64'N, -122°20.21'W

Holiday display at Westlake Park in downtown Seattle.

Position: 47°36.80'N, -122°20.17'W

The clothing store Do The Extraordinary is built in an old bank. The vault now is a speakeasy, and the dressing rooms partly visible on the left are the original safety deposit box rooms.

Position: 47°37.15'N, -122°19.96'W

The Denny Substation Dog Park is popular with the hounds.

Position: 47°37.23'N, -122°19.79'W

Taking in the water feature from the bridge leading to the REI flagship store.

Position: 47°37.23'N, -122°19.79'W

The wonderful outdoor fireplace at REI.

Position: 47°37.23'N, -122°19.79'W

The cavernous REI outdoor equipment store. And this photo shows only part of the first of two floors. The store is so well-equipped it even has a park ranger station built in.

Position: 47°37.09'N, -122°20.23'W

This massive Denali HD GMC truck, owned by Diaz Brothers Construction, caught our attention as we walked home past the Pan Pacific hotel. The truck has a 445 HP 6.6L diesel V8 engine and a 10-speed Allison automatic transmission with a towing capability of 36,000 pounds.

Position: 47°40.13'N, -122°21.05'W

The WildLanterns winter light display at Woodlands Park Zoo just north of Seattle is simply amazing. We’d seen several pictures and were expecting an entertaining show, but the experience far exceeded that in scale, quality and interest.

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Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Mt Baker, to our north, snow-covered and glowing pink in the morning sun.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Downtown Seattle is full of apartment buildings overlooking Elliott Bay, with frequent ferry and commercial traffic. If a distress flare were fired in this area, you would expect this to generate a lot of reports. But when one was set off this morning, we might have been the only ones to report it.

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Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Our "pet cruise ship", Ovation of the Seas, back in Seattle after four days away.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Stowing our Christmas tree decorations until next year.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Ovation of the Seas underway from Seattle again after another brief stop. The traffic patterns of this ship are really unpredictable.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

The Washington State ferry Kennewick caught our attention this morning steaming directly towards Pier 69. We could see cars on board and initially thought it was a ferry en route to Seattle having some kind of mechanical difficulty. But this vessel runs between Port Townsend and Coupeville, well to the north. So likely it was just on sea trails.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Calm conditions at dusk in Elliott Bay.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Morning fog over Lake Union, with Mount Baker just visible in the distance.

Position: 47°36.95'N, -122°20.22'W

Enjoying a glass of French red at our latest discovery, Le Caviste wine bar.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Lunch outside in thick fog. At points we could barely see the other tower of our complex.

Position: 47°36.77'N, -122°20.85'W

How to avoid a construction outhouse becoming a public outhouse. Watch that first step!

Position: 47°36.76'N, -122°20.69'W

An excellent and lengthy meal at El Gaucho over a bottle of Stag's Leap Cabernet.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

The tour boat Orca II doing man-overboard drills with a large fender serving as the dummy.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Trying out a new recipe for fish tacos. They were delicious.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

The bulker Ursula Manx taking on cargo at the Pier 86 grain terminal.

Position: 47°36.64'N, -122°20.23'W

Westlake Park is a popular place to stage a protest or demonstration.

Position: 47°36.70'N, -122°20.25'W

Picking up an ORCA transit card at Westlake Station. The card allows payment on all forms of transit in the central Puget Sound area, including buses, light rail and ferries.

Position: 47°36.70'N, -122°20.25'W

Waiting for our train to Northgate Station underneath the city at Westlake Center.

Position: 47°36.70'N, -122°20.25'W

The Sound Transit Link light rail train we'll taking to Northgate. Sound Transit builds and operate express buses, light rail, and commuter train services for the central Puget Sound Region across Snohomish, King and Pierce counties. Their coverage ranges from just outside Olympia in the south to Everett in the north.

Position: 47°36.70'N, -122°20.25'W

On board the light rail train at Westlake Station. This is our first train trip since perhaps the Flam railway in Norway nearly a year ago.

Position: 47°42.27'N, -122°19.65'W

Northgate station, opened Oct/2021, currently is the northernmost station in Link light rail system. But the 8.5-mile (13.5 km) link to Lynnwood is half-complete and will open in 2023, and the 16.3-mile (26km) extension to Everett in in the planning phases. At the southern end, we toured the extension to Federal Way with Nordhavn owner Bill Grady of KLB Construction, one of the main contractors for the project. KLB also participated in the building of the Northgate extension.

Position: 47°42.27'N, -122°19.67'W

Northgate Mall, opened in 1950, was one of the first modern shopping malls in the country. The mall is currently going through a major renovation, and not much is open.

Position: 47°42.36'N, -122°19.58'W

The new Kraken Community Iceplex is part of the Northgate Mall renovation. The Kraken NHL club practice here, and the facility also support public skating, hockey and figure skating.

Position: 47°42.35'N, -122°19.54'W

Lots of Kraken gear for sale at the team store in the Kraken Community Iceplex, but nothing nice in extra-small.

Position: 47°42.37'N, -122°19.55'W

One wall of the Kraken Community Iceplex shows a huge mural of the Seattle Kraken opening game at Climate Pledge Arena. That's us, enjoying the game in the red circle (click image for a larger view).

Position: 47°42.35'N, -122°19.54'W

One of the three NHL-sized ice rinks in the Kraken Community Iceplex.

Position: 47°42.35'N, -122°19.47'W

Some of the skaters in the freestyle session were quite talented.

Position: 47°42.35'N, -122°19.47'W

A busy public skating session on the third rink at the Kraken Community Iceplex.

Position: 47°42.35'N, -122°19.47'W

A crew from Root Sports was in the bleachers gathering footage of the public skate. This camera is equipped with both dual cellular modems for direct communications back to the station, supporting remote reporting, and high-bandwidth local wireless communications, for mobile game reporting.

Position: 47°42.37'N, -122°19.55'W

One of several Zamboni ice-cleaning machines at Kraken Community Iceplex. The machines we saw a few years ago on the east coast of the US ran on propane, but the green choice is now electric.

Position: 47°42.52'N, -122°19.48'W

We've been hearing about various shortages of products, such as cat litter, due to supply-chain issues. This Petco store at Northgate had plenty of litter, but their cat food shelf was pretty bare.

Position: 47°41.81'N, -122°19.73'W

We took the light rail back south from Northgate and stopped at the University of Washington. The U Distrct station has art installed on the wall made to look apartment windows.

Position: 47°39.59'N, -122°18.79'W

BMW continues to produce more aggressive sport sedans and the twin-turbo 6-cylinder 440i follows the trend.

Position: 47°39.58'N, -122°18.46'W

Hutchinson Hall on the University of Washington campus was built in 1927 as the Women's Physical Education Building and currently houses the Drama Department.

Position: 47°39.53'N, -122°18.47'W

The striking Paccar Hall, completed in 2010, is home to the UW School of Business. The building was constructed with a $18M grant from the Piggott family, who head the truck-manufacturing company Paccar. They produce the Kenworth, Peterbilt, and Daf over-the-highway trucks.

Position: 47°39.46'N, -122°18.46'W

Raitt Hall was completed in 1916. It was the first of four buildings constructed around the Liberal Arts Quadrangle, or Quad, the main quadrangle at the University of Washington.

Position: 47°39.42'N, -122°18.46'W

Smith Hall, completed in 1938, was the final building erected to enclose the Liberal Arts Quadrangle.

Position: 47°39.39'N, -122°18.50'W

The 47-bell Gordon Stuart Peek Foundation Carillon atop Kane Hall was a gift from UW alumnus Gordon Peek and is the only instrument of its kind in Washington. A carillon is an instrument made up of a chorus of bells played on an by an organ-like keyboard.

Position: 47°39.37'N, -122°18.58'W

The striking Suzzallo Library is named after Henry Suzzallo, who was president of the university from 1915-1926. The first phase was completed in 1926 and the final phase in 1963.

Position: 47°39.37'N, -122°18.58'W

Brick monoliths adjacent to the Odegaard Undergraduate Library on Red Square, the University of Washington's central plaza. One of the monoliths was built to ventilate an underground garage, and the other two were built for aesthetics.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Uber rides are always close in downtown Seattle. This one is completing a trip in the area and picking us up, while never getting more than a block away.

Position: 47°28.25'N, -122°13.15'W

At Car Pros Kia Renton to check out their SUVs. We've so far not needed a car, as we mostly walk within downtown, or take an Uber or public transit. But for trips outside the city, we've decided having a car would be convenient. Car share services such as Gig are available here in Seattle, but they're mostly small two-wheel drive vehicles and we would prefer all-wheel drive for many of our trips.

We've always owned sports cars, most recently a Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4. But the Nissan Pathfinder we drove across the country worked super-well, with plenty of room for our luggage and Spitfire's "kitty central", so we are leaning to something in that market.

One of the problems with shopping for a car right now is availability. Chip shortages are restricting supply for most companies, with many-month delays for new vehicles. It's a 3.5- to 6-month wait for a new vehicle from Kia.

Position: 47°28.47'N, -122°13.11'W

Another candidate vehicle, a Rav4 at Toyota of Renton.

Position: 47°29.02'N, -122°15.06'W

A Hyundai Santa Fe heading out for a test drive.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

We upgraded our apartment router system to an Amazon eero system and so far are quite impressed. The install was very easy, the app is impressively good, and performance is excellent.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Three cubic meters of gear we are keeping from Dirona arrived today from Yacht Tech in Florida. In the Los Angeles area there's been a rash of train thefts of personal effects being moved and other cargo, but ours made it through without issue.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

We had the pallets delivered to the loading dock of our apartment building and transferred it down to our storage room. This is the first of about eight trips.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Our storage room before the first load from the pallets.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

The storage room after unloading the pallets. Getting everything inside was a big job, but we still have to unpack and go through all the boxes stacked against the right wall.

Position: 47°34.72'N, -122°8.95'W

Test-driving a Honda Passport SUV. We really liked the vehicle from a looks, comfort, handling and performance perspective. One of the appealing aspects of the Nissan Pathfinder we drove across the country was its acceleration ability, allowing us to pass slower vehicles with ease. The Honda Passport is even faster at 0-60 mph in 6.1 seconds compared to 6.7 seconds for the Nissan.

Position: 47°34.80'N, -122°9.77'W

At Honda of Bellevue with our salesperson, Jason Kim (beside James), and the general manager Mike Lavigne, after we decided to purchase a Honda Passport. Behind us is a Honda Passport Trailsport, a similar model to the Elite that we expect to take delivery of this week.

In a surprising coincidence, Mike recognized us from our blog as we came into the showroom. He and the rest of the team at Honda of Bellevue have been super-helpful.

Position: 47°34.80'N, -122°9.77'W

Our most recent tender to Dirona was an AB 12VST capable of about 32 kts (37 mph, 60 kph). Our new 'tender to condo' is a Honda Passport Elite capable of over 100 kts (115 mph, 185 kph). We picked it up today from Honda of Bellevue.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Sunrise as fog spills from Elliott Bay into the city.

Position: 47°26.15'N, -121°39.36'W

At Olallie State Park, about 40 miles (65km) west of Seattle, en route to Snoqualmie Pass for a drive in our new Honda Passport. We were planning to walk the short trail to Weeks Falls, but the snow is deep enough on the trail that we elected to just continue our trip up to the pass.

Position: 47°25.70'N, -121°25.28'W

The Summit at Snoqualmie is a winter resort in the Cascade Mountains at Snoqualmie Pass about 52 miles (80 km) east of Seattle. Popular activities there include snowboarding, alpine and cross-country skiing, and winter tubing.

Position: 47°25.28'N, -121°24.75'W

The elevation of Snoqualmie Pass is 3,015 ft (918 m), and it's a chilly 20°F (-6.6°C) here. That's 30 degrees F (10 degrees C) colder than Seattle.

Position: 47°24.57'N, -121°24.65'W

One of the 19 chair lifts at the Summit at Snoqualmie resort.

Position: 47°24.56'N, -121°24.67'W

Skiiers and snowboarders on Summit Central, one of four base areas at Snoqualmie. Some of the steepest runs in the state are at the Alpental base area, where Olympic gold medalist alpine ski racer Debbie Armstrong trained.

Position: 47°24.57'N, -121°24.65'W

Snow throwers parked at Snoqualmie Pass. They get a lot of use up here.

Position: 47°24.53'N, -121°24.70'W

The Summit at Snoqualmie resort crew get around on snowmobile.

Position: 47°24.16'N, -121°24.43'W

Walls of snow on either side of the road. The climate is amazingly different from Seattle for such a short distance away.

Position: 47°24.16'N, -121°24.43'W

The Summit at Snoqualmie is an easy drive from Seattle and very popular for quick day trips. Both sides of the road were packed with cars and a large parking lot was filling up quickly in the brief time we stopped.

Position: 47°25.28'N, -121°24.75'W

A great lunch at The Commonwealth at Snoqualmie Pass overlooking their patio. The flames on the table just outside the window are built-in propane heaters, and beyond are shipping containers converted into more outdoor seating.

Position: 47°25.70'N, -121°25.12'W

View to the Cascade Range as we return west to Seattle.

Position: 47°25.32'N, -121°26.42'W

These icicles alongside I-90 reminded us of our winter hike from Farsund, Norway along Boensbakken, an old 1904 highway hung off a cliff edge.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Our new bar stools just arrived from Room and Board and they look great. The previous owners of our apartment had lent us theirs until we got new ones.

Position: 47°14.34'N, -122°24.69'W

Passing the Tacoma Dome on a day trip to Gig Harbor and the Kitsap Peninsula. The building opened in 1983 and has hosted a variety of events, such as music concerts, rodeo, wrestling, monster trucks and a variety of professional and amateur sporting events including being the home arena for Seattle SuperSonics basketball team in the 1994-1995 season while Seattle Center was being renovated.

Position: 47°15.48'N, -122°31.05'W

About to cross the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. The first of the twin suspension bridges was completed in 1950, and the second in 2007. These replaced the original bridge of the same name that was built in 1940. Nicknamed "Galloping Gertie", the deck of the original pitched in high winds and collapsed into the Puget Sound four months after opening. The first and second bridges were the third-largest suspension bridges in the world when completed, after the Golden Gate and George Washington bridges.

Position: 47°19.76'N, -122°34.71'W

Lunch at Tides Tavern in Gig Harbor. We brought our boat to sheltered Gig Harbor a lot in the 2000s, and Tides Tavern was always a popular stop for us. It was fun to be back after more than a decade.

Position: 47°19.78'N, -122°34.71'W

The Landing sculpture at Gig Harbor's Maritime Pier depicts the captain's gig (small boat) of famed explorer Charles Wilkes, who sought shelter in the harbor during a mapping expedition of the Oregon Territory and thus named the harbor.

Position: 47°20.02'N, -122°35.30'W

The sculpture Mussel Beach along the Gig Harbor waterfront, with commercial fishing boats visible behind. The artwork reflects the abundant sea life in the harbor and Puget Sound in general.

Position: 47°34.71'N, -122°37.95'W

Looking west across Dyes Inlet to the Olympic Mountains from the Warren Avenue Bridge. We've crossed under this bridge many times en route to Oyster Bay and Silverdale, but rarely, if ever, traveled over it by car.

Position: 47°33.24'N, -122°39.45'W

The USS Independence, foreground, in dry dock at the US Naval Inactive Ship Maintenance Facility in Bremerton. Launched in 2008, the 418 ft (127 m) ship is the first of the Independence-class near-shore combat ships, capable of speeds over 44 knots. The ship was quietly decommissioned in 2021 "due to public health safety and restrictions", with 13 in the class remaining active and 5 still under construction.

Position: 47°39.21'N, -122°39.92'W

Fabulous view to the Olympic Mountains as we pass through Silverdale on WA State Route 303.

Position: 47°42.15'N, -122°37.38'W

We took a detour into Keyport, and reached the end of road at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. For 100 years, the facility has supported fleet readiness for submarines, torpedoes, land attack systems and training systems to sustain and maintain American's undersea warfare systems. The narrow waterway on the opposite side of the base leads to Poulsbo, a very popular boating destination that we've anchored at many times.

Position: 47°42.00'N, -122°37.48'W

At the US Naval Undersea Museum, founded in 1979 as part of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport. The museum contains over 39,000 artifacts related to undersea weapons, submarine technology, diving and salvage artifacts, and undersea vehicle technology.

Position: 47°41.99'N, -122°37.44'W

The Deep Submarine Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) Mystic at the US Naval Undersea Museum. In service from 1970 to 2006, the Mystic provided rapid-response rescue capability for submarine accidents. The vessel was built as part of the DSRV program following the disastrous sinking and loss of all 129 men aboard the nuclear submarine USS Thresher off Cape Cod, Massachusetts during deep-diving tests.

The DSRVs can descend to 5,000 feet, well beyond a submarine's collapse depth, and could deploy by air, land or sea to reach a disabled submarine anywhere in the world in 72 hours. They have been tested, but never used in a real rescue operation, as no American submarine has sunk since the program began. The vessels were replaced by the remotely operated Submarine Rescue Diving Recompression System (SRDRS).

Position: 47°41.99'N, -122°37.47'W

The sail of the USS Sturgeon, the lead ship in the Sturgeon-class of 37 fast-attack submarines used heavily during the Cold War to seek and destroy enemy submarines and support surveillance, reconnaissance and ground warfare operations. The Sturgeon's sail was permanently installed at the US Naval Undersea Museum after the ship was decommissioned in 1994.

Position: 47°42.01'N, -122°37.50'W

Model of the USS Lafayette, a Lafayette-class ballistic missile submarine, with a true-to-scale 34-foot (10.3m) Trident I missile standing on the stern (click image for a larger view). In the background is an original of just the top portion of the missile, showing how big they are. The Lafayette could carry 16 of huge missiles, standing vertically in the ship.

Position: 47°44.20'N, -122°38.95'W

Driving through downtown Poulsbo, known at "Little Norway" for its Scandinavian theme celebrating the Norwegians who founded the town in the 1880s.

Position: 47°47.83'N, -122°29.90'W

At the Port of Kingston to take the ferry east across Puget Sound from Kitsap Penninsula to Edmonds, about 18 miles (29 km) north of Seattle.

Position: 47°47.81'N, -122°29.74'W

This Roofnest tent on a truck in the ferry line caught our interest. The tents pops up on the roof of a vehicle to provide an easy camping spot without needing a campsite, a flat surface or having to pitch a tent pole.

Position: 47°47.74'N, -122°29.75'W

Heading onto the upper car deck of the ferry from Kingston.

Position: 47°47.67'N, -122°29.64'W

Departing the ferry dock at Kingston en route to Edmonds.

Position: 47°47.67'N, -122°29.64'W

View south to 14,417 ft (4,394 m) iconic Mt Rainier on the ferry en route from Kingston to Edmonds.

Position: 47°48.50'N, -122°26.22'W

It's a chilly ride at the front of the ferry in late January.

Position: 47°48.50'N, -122°26.22'W

The 208.6 ft (63.6 m) NOAA research ship Oscar Dyson operating in the Puget Sound. Delivered in 2004, the ship was designed with an ice-strengthened welded-steel hull for operation in Alaskan waters.

Position: 47°48.99'N, -122°24.60'W

Approaching the Edmonds ferry dock.

Position: 47°47.66'N, -122°22.37'W

Taking on our first load of fuel in our new Honda Passport. Refueling is a lot faster, easier, and cheaper than taking on over a thousand gallons on Dirona :).

Position: 47°39.11'N, -122°19.36'W

The Seattle skyline viewed from Interstate 5 as we return south to Seattle. Our apartment building is visible to the right of center, the leftmost of the three tallest buildings before the Space Needle.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Our new Honda Passport has a built-in cellular modem and can provide telemetry and some basic controls through the HondaLink app. Even more interesting is that we can communicate with the car through Alexa and from our apartment get answers to questions such as how much gas is left in the tank.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

We've been experimenting with grain bowls for lunch recently, using grains such as quinoa, farro and wheat berries and various toppings such as edameme, cabbage, onion, cilantro and pepita, sunflower, and chia seeds. The grains have a wonderful flavor and the bowls are super-healthy.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Downtown Seattle has a large tent-dwelling population. Many have gas-cooking and electric heat, plugged into sockets on nearby buildings or garden light fixtures. We heard a loud explosion this evening and looked down to the street to see that one of the tents had exploded and was fully engulfed in flames. The explosion had picked up a nearby tent and driven it into a parked car twelve feet away. The fire department is less than a block away and arrived as we were reporting the incident via the 911 emergency number. Fortunately nobody was in either tent.

Position: 47°36.87'N, -122°20.36'W

Supply chain issues are producing shortages in a wide variety of products. This local pharmacy was nearly sold out of acetaminophen (paracetamol) and having a difficult time resupplying.

Position: 47°36.90'N, -122°20.57'W

We stopped to chat with these workers down a utility hole near our apartment building. They were working on under-road mid-voltage power transmission lines.

Position: 47°36.14'N, -122°20.31'W

The Washington State Police K-9 unit screening vehicles for explosives in the line for the ferry to Bainbridge Island. We're crossing over on a weekend trip to Olympic National Park.

Position: 47°36.14'N, -122°20.34'W

Boarding the ferry Wenatchee at Coleman Dock for Bainbridge Island. The ferry arrived with a full load of commuters on this Friday morning, but is departing only lightly loaded.

Position: 47°36.14'N, -122°20.31'W

Departing Coleman Dock on the ferry Wenatchee with downtown Seattle in the background.

Position: 47°42.38'N, -122°33.65'W

Passing over Agate Pass that separates Bainbridge Island and Kitsap Penninsula. The Agate Pass Bridge was built in 1950, replacing a car ferry service that operated since the 1920s.

Position: 47°45.11'N, -122°38.73'W

Our turnoff to Washington State Route 3 towards the Olympic Peninsula.

Position: 47°51.20'N, -122°36.77'W

Crossing the Hood Canal Bridge from Kitsap to Olympic Peninsula. The bridge, completed in 1961, is the 3rd largest floating bridge in the world. We've boated a lot in this area and have often anchored in Bywater Bay northeast of the bridge. Just to the south is Naval Submarine Base Bangor, the only Trident Submarine Base in the US Pacific Fleet. We've occasionally seen the bridge open for one of the huge "boomers" to pass through.

Position: 48°3.02'N, -122°56.24'W

Great view to the Olympic Mountains from US Highway 101 at Miller Peninsula.

Position: 48°1.36'N, -123°0.60'W

Colorful totem poles at the 7 Cedars Casino on the Jamestown S'Klallam tribal land.

Position: 48°3.74'N, -123°2.52'W

Jeff (on flybridge) and Susie (on dock) Petty with their Nordhavn 40 Irene at John Wayne Marina in Sequim. The marina was built on land donated by the family of the actor John Wayne, who frequented Sequim Bay on his yacht Wild Goose.

Position: 48°4.78'N, -123°5.97'W

Vinyl-wrapped utility box in Sequim featuring striking native art by Dale Faulstich, a master carver from the nearby Jamestown S'Klallam tribe.

Position: 48°4.81'N, -123°5.91'W

Exceptional tacos for lunch at David Family Taqueria in Sequim.

Position: 48°9.09'N, -123°8.62'W

View to the New Dungeness Lighthouse from Dungeness Landing County Park. The light has been in continuous operation as an aid to navigation since it was first lit in 1857, the second lighthouse in the territory of Washington. The original tower was 100ft (30m) tall, but after developing severe cracks was lowered to 63-ft (19m) to avoid it toppling. The light wasn't automated until 1994, among the last in the country to have a full-time keeper. Today the New Dungeness Light Station Association mans the station 24x7 and offers tours of the facility. Visitors can either walk the 5 miles (8km) to the tip of Dungeness Spit, or arrive in a shallow-draft boat suitable for beaching.

Position: 48°7.84'N, -123°11.78'W

At the entrance to the Dungeness National Wildlife Reserve to walk Dungeness Spit.

Position: 48°8.28'N, -123°11.63'W

The road to the parking lot for the Dungeness Spit trail head is along Voice of America Road. In 1952, the US State Department acquired 1,200 acres (485 hectares) of land with plans to build a Voice of America broadcasting station aimed at countries behind the iron curtain. Within a year the project was deemed overly expensive and ineffectively located, and was canceled. But the road name stuck.

Position: 48°8.48'N, -123°11.46'W

Looking northeast along narrow Dungeness Spit from a viewing platform along the trail. The lighthouse is out of the picture at top right. At 6.8 miles (10.9 km) long, it is one of the longest natural sand spits in the world. We've anchored off the spit several times, and getting a picture is challenging because it's just so big.

Position: 48°9.74'N, -123°10.12'W

Winter storms drive huge logs high ashore the length of Dungeness Spit.

Position: 48°5.87'N, -123°25.10'W

Huge substation in Port Angeles operated by the Bonneville Power Administration. The non-profit agency initially was formed to market power from the Bonneville Dam, but its responsibilities later were expanded to include all federally-owned hydroelectric projects in the Pacific Northwest plus the Columbia Generating Station nuclear plant along the Columbia River near Richland, WA.

Position: 48°5.97'N, -123°25.57'W

We stopped into the Olympic National Park visitor's center to pickup some maps and brochures. This tree slab on display there is from a 650-year-old Douglas Fir.

Position: 48°5.97'N, -123°25.57'W

Cougars are common in the Olympic Peninsula, although sighting one of the solitary animals is rare. Males can weigh up to 250 lbs (113kg), while females usually weigh between 75 and 100 lbs (34 to 45 kg).

Position: 48°7.14'N, -123°25.73'W

Coast Guard Station Port Angeles on the end of 3-mile-long (4.8 km) Ediz Hook, viewed from the balcony of our room at the Red Lion Hotel in Port Angeles. Ediz Hook also is the location of the Port Angeles pilotage station all vessels en route to or from the sea.

Position: 48°7.14'N, -123°25.73'W

The 208.6 ft (63.6 m) Oscar-Dyson class NOAA research vessel Bell M. Shimada, commissioned in 2010, at anchor off Port Angeles. The Oscar-Dyson class are among the world's most advanced fisheries research vessels, with a unique capability to conduct both fishing and oceanographic research.

Position: 48°7.14'N, -123°25.73'W

The powerful Voith Tractor tug Garth Foss at anchor in Port Angeles. The 155-ft (47m) tug has 8,000 horsepower and 87 tons of bollard pull and is primarily used for tanker escort and fire-fighting vessel. We often see the vessel with its twin, Lindsey Foss, doing ship assist work.

Position: 48°7.14'N, -123°25.73'W

Panoramic view to Port Angeles harbor from the deck of our room at the Red Lion Hotel in Port Angeles. At left is the NOAA research vessel Bell M. Shimada, at right is the tug Garth Foss, and at center in the distance is the Coast Guard station (click image for a larger view).

Position: 48°7.16'N, -123°25.83'W

We stopped in mid-afternoon at Kokopelli Grill near our Port Angeles hotel for a drink and to get a little work done. With the restaurant empty between meals, we got an awesome window-view table.

Position: 48°7.16'N, -123°25.83'W

We enjoyed our "office" table by the window at Kokopelli Grill so much that we opted for an early dinner there as well. The food was good and the view was great.

Position: 48°7.16'N, -123°25.83'W

The vehicle and passenger ferry Coho arriving into Port Angeles from Victoria, Canada. The ship has been plying this route several times a day since its launch in 1959 and is a fixture in both cities. We often saw the ferry arrive into the Inner Harbor when we lived in Victoria. With the Canadian-US border closed during the pandemic, the Coho was out of service for 19 months, and recently started up again in November when Canadian entry restrictions eased.

Position: 48°4.24'N, -123°34.41'W

Crossing over the Elwha River en route to hike Mt. Storm King in Olympic National Park. The weather is a little chilly, but clear—ideal for a winter hike.

Position: 48°4.15'N, -123°37.54'W

Our clear weather disappeared into a thick fog bank. Fortunately it dissipated by the time we got to the trailhead.

Position: 48°4.33'N, -123°46.44'W

Crescent Lake seen from a viewpoint along Highway 101, with the sun lighting up the mountain tops in the distance.

Position: 48°3.47'N, -123°47.30'W

The Olympic National Park Storm King Ranger Station, at the trailhead to Mt. Storm King. The station only is staffed during the summer.

Position: 48°3.47'N, -123°47.18'W

Pedestrian tunnel under Highway 101, creatively made by forming a storm drain pipe into a oval shape.

Position: 48°3.40'N, -123°47.29'W

The first part of the trail to Mt. Storm Kings shares a route with the beautiful and well-maintained path to Marymere Falls.

Position: 48°3.35'N, -123°47.37'W

The old-growth trees along the trail are fabulous, and really tall.

Position: 48°3.09'N, -123°47.27'W

Bright red wood of a cedar fallen across the trail to Mt. Storm King.

Position: 48°3.27'N, -123°46.80'W

Great view to Crescent Lake from altitude 1653 ft (504 m). We started out at 402 ft (122 m), so have climbed about 1200 ft (375m). In the distance a thick fog is visible over the Strait of Juan de Fuca (click image for a larger view).

Position: 48°3.32'N, -123°46.74'W

We reached the end of the maintained trail to Mt. Storm King at about altitude 2,000 ft (580m).

Position: 48°3.31'N, -123°46.58'W

The unmaintained portion of the trail is a little more exposed, with great views.

Position: 48°3.28'N, -123°46.62'W

Climbing ropes along a steeper section of the ascent. Generally the going was not particularly difficult, and the ropes we're really required.

Position: 48°3.30'N, -123°46.46'W

Clearing the top of the climbing ropes, with Crescent Lake visible behind.

Position: 48°3.32'N, -123°46.42'W

Atop Mt Storm King at 2600 ft (792m), with Crescent Lake to the north behind us.

Position: 48°3.32'N, -123°46.42'W

The fabulous view north across Crescent Lake from atop 2600 ft (792m) Mt Storm King in Olympic National Park. In the distance on the right is the Strait of Juan de Fuca, thick with fog (click image for a larger view).

Position: 48°3.32'N, -123°46.42'W

The trail to Mt. Storm King wasn't very busy compared to the summer, but at least a dozen people arrived and departed during the time we were there.

Position: 48°3.32'N, -123°46.42'W

Snow-dusted mountain tops viewed from Mt. Storm King.

Position: 48°3.32'N, -123°46.42'W

Our "tender to condo", the black Honda Passport at center, seen from atop Mt. Storm King. When we arrived around 9am, the parking lot was pretty empty. By the time we returned a few hours later, it was completely full with people waiting for a spot. Most were taking the easier trail to Marymere Falls, but we did pass a few dozen climbing Mount Storm King.

Position: 48°3.32'N, -123°46.42'W

Seemingly fearless Canada Jays are known as 'camp robbers' for their habit of stealing food. They lived up to their reputation atop Mt. Storm King, creeping close and swooping in to steal a piece of granola bar right out of our hands as we stopped for a snack before returning back down.

Position: 48°3.18'N, -123°47.38'W

Enjoying to the view to Barnes Creek from a footbridge across, en route to Marymere Falls in Olympic National Park.

Position: 48°3.09'N, -123°47.27'W

Beautiful old-growth forest looking down Barnes Creek.

Position: 48°3.08'N, -123°47.28'W

Another footbridge before steps leading up to Marymere Falls. The forest setting is fabulous.

Position: 48°3.03'N, -123°47.32'W

90ft (27m) Marymere Falls are a beautiful sight at the end of a short and easy trail. We really enjoyed both hikes.

Position: 48°7.06'N, -123°25.63'W

We caught the Coho returning back to Port Angeles from Victoria, Canada as we arrived back from our hike. The mountains on Vancouver Island in Canada are just visible in the distance (click image for a larger view).

Position: 48°7.16'N, -123°25.80'W

As we walked out for dinner from our hotel, we passed a group of sports cars getting lining up for photos before a rally.

Position: 48°7.16'N, -123°25.83'W

A vehicle at the opposite end of the spectrum from some of the high-end sports cars we watched lining up for the rally. This one appeared to have rolled, was crushed in the front, the rear window was missing and the trunk didn't latch. It's amazing it actually moved at all, but someone drove it up, ran an errand, and continued on their way.

Position: 48°7.15'N, -123°25.99'W

Mural depicting Port Angeles in 1914, with the lighthouse on Ediz Hook at far right.

Position: 48°7.15'N, -123°25.99'W

A mural in Port Angeles showing the iconic ferry Kalakala. The art deco-styled vessel was an immensely popular tourist draw in Seattle, second only to the Space Needle during the 1962 World's Fair. The vessel was launched in 1926 as a ferry between San Francisco and Oakland, but written off as a total loss when a 1933 fire destroyed the superstructure. The Black Ball Line purchased the hull, brought it to Seattle, and rebuilt the superstructure with a modern, streamlined design. The ship served between Bremerton and Seattle starting in 1935, but became obsolete by the 1950s, because its narrow car deck could not accommodate the larger American cars of the period.

With an enclosed bow design, the vessel was suitable for the rough-water run between Port Angeles and Victoria, and ran that route between 1955 and 1959, when the purpose-built Coho replaced it.

The vessel returned to service on the Bremerton-Seattle run between 1960 and 1967 as a high-season-only ship, and was especially popular during the 1962 World's Fair to bring tourists from Seattle to tour the Bremerton Navy Shipyard. After being retired from service in 1967, the ship operated as a seafood processing barge in Alaska until the 1980s when it fell into disuse. In the late 1990s, a new owner brought the ship back to Seattle at Bell Street Pier 66, with plans to renovate the vessel as a museum and event center. The plans never came to fruition and over the subsequent 20 years the unwanted vessel was shunted between locations including Lake Union, Neah Bay and finally Tacoma, where it eventually was scrapped in 2015.

Position: 48°7.14'N, -123°25.68'W

View to Port Angeles harbor from the balcony of our room at the Red Lion Hotel.

Position: 48°7.14'N, -123°25.68'W

The Coho completing its second and final round-trip of the day between Port Angeles and Victoria, Canada. The evening was wonderfully calm and we spent ages out on our hotel room deck enjoying the view to Port Angeles harbor.

Position: 48°2.84'N, -122°58.63'W

We could still hear the roar of this Lamborghini's engine way in the distance a long time after it sped past us as we departed Port Angeles. We didn't expect to see it again, but ended up right behind it at a roadblock on Highway 101.

Position: 48°1.72'N, -122°58.77'W

No traffic was flowing in either direction, and at least a dozen cars had turned around. We followed suit and detoured around the obstruction along a pleasant country road.

Position: 48°6.79'N, -122°45.48'W

View to Marrowstone Island from Port Townsend on an ultra-calm morning. We'd arrived about an hour before our ferry departed for Whidbey Island, so parked our car in the ferry waiting line and took a walk through town.

Position: 48°6.82'N, -122°45.48'W

Port Townsend, at the northeast tip of the Olympic Penninsula, is known for its beautiful Victorian buildings that line the street. Full of restaurants, cafes and art galleries, the city is a popular weekend destination.

Position: 48°6.85'N, -122°45.46'W

Three-dimensional building models cover the roof and sides of this elaborately-decorated van parked in Port Townsend.

Position: 48°6.97'N, -122°45.08'W

Port Townsend is full of beautiful public art, such as Three Otters, created in 2011 by sculptor Georgia Gerber.

Position: 48°6.98'N, -122°45.08'W

The whale-watching boat Puget Sound Express moored at Port Townsend. Whales, particularly orcas, are common in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. We've seen huge pods while cruising the area.

Position: 48°6.90'N, -122°45.42'W

We stopped and chatted the proprietor of the Rose Theater, who was unloading about a dozen huge bags of popcorn. When operating at peak load, that massive amount of popcorn will last about a month.

Position: 48°6.71'N, -122°45.60'W

Beautiful hawk in the ferry line with us.

Position: 48°6.70'N, -122°45.59'W

Another unusual pet waiting for the ferry.

Position: 48°6.68'N, -122°45.55'W

Boarding the Kennewick in Port Townsend for Whidbey Island. The northern routes between Port Townsend and Whidbey Island, and between Anacortes and Friday Harbor or Sidney, Canada can fill up quickly, particularly in the summer. These are the only routes where reservations are available and even today in early February all reservations for the sailings later in the day were sold out. But the load was light this morning and we had no trouble boarding without a reservation.

Position: 48°6.66'N, -122°45.54'W

The Kennewick departing Port Townsend with the city visible behind.

Position: 48°9.51'N, -122°40.27'W

Looking northwest back to Port Townsend from Keystone Harbor. The last time we were here was over two decades ago during our PADI rescue diver course.

Position: 48°13.30'N, -122°41.26'W

Two boats moored at the Coupeville Wharf. We visited the area many times in our first boat, and it's fun to be back, this time by car.

Position: 48°13.27'N, -122°41.27'W

We got a giggle out of the Kopaw's Iskreme "Worldwide Headquarters" sign in Coupeville.

Position: 48°13.25'N, -122°41.30'W

Deer rushing into the woods as we passed just outside Coupeville.

Position: 48°14.41'N, -122°40.64'W

An astonishing amount of driftwood captured in the lagoon at Monroe Landing.

Position: 48°17.24'N, -122°37.91'W

The entrance to Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor. The city divides the base into two separate facilities, and this component supports most of the living quarters and retail operations.

Position: 48°17.30'N, -122°38.02'W

The huge Oak Harbor Marina has 420 permanent slips, plus ample room for guest boats.

Position: 48°19.30'N, -122°37.75'W

The entrance to Ault Field, the aviation portion of NAS Whidbey Island. Constructed in 1942, it is the only naval aviation base in the Pacific Northwest. The base is home to 20 active duty Navy squadrons, 3 reserve squadrons, and a Search and Rescue unit. Navy fighter aircraft practicing in the area are a common sight.

Position: 48°22.38'N, -122°39.86'W

Looking north towards along piles of driftwood at Moran's Beach County Park, with the San Juan Islands visible in the distance. Nowhere else in the world did we see such huge amounts of driftwood on the beaches.

Some of the logs are lost from the huge timber rafts that tugboats transport by water. Winter storms drive the logs far up onto the beaches, and high tides can pull them back into the water again. The logs are difficult to see and can be a real hazard to navigation, particularly at night. Storm Force Winds in the Strait of Georgia shows pictures of us navigating through log-littered Heriot Bay in British Columbia.

Position: 48°24.32'N, -122°38.68'W

Looking into Deception Pass after walking across the bridge. Completed in 1935, the bridge considered one of the scenic wonders of the Pacific Northwest, and the park here is popular year-round. The current runs swiftly through Deception Pass, generating huge whirlpools and upwellings. Slow boats like Dirona need to pass through near slack water.

Position: 48°22.16'N, -122°39.15'W

Looking through the complex girders underneath the Deception Pass bridge.

Position: 48°23.39'N, -122°29.89'W

Lunch at the LaConner Pub. The place was packed on this sunny and warm Sunday afternoon and we were lucky to get a table. Sheltered LaConner, with its many waterfront restaurants and guest docks alongside, is a favorite Pacific Northwest boating stop of ours.

Position: 48°23.39'N, -122°29.89'W

You'll not go hungry at the LaConner Pub. We decided to share a lunch order and an appetizer, and still had enough for two meals. We did enjoy the fish sticks and shrimp.

Position: 48°23.40'N, -122°29.85'W

An 800-year-old fir log on display in LaConner dating from the year 1210, with a timeline showing key world events that this tree has grown through.

Position: 48°23.18'N, -122°29.74'W

Fabulous view to Mt Baker from the outskirts of LaConner as we head towards Interstate 5 to return south to Seattle after an excellent trip to the Olympic Peninsula.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Our "pet cruise ship", Ovation of the Seas, back in Seattle for another quick stop.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.47'W

Spitfire at Urban Animal for his annual vaccinations. It's hard to believe it's been a year since his last ones in Farsund Norway while we were frozen in the ice. Spitfire doesn't like being in his carry bag, but he's pretty happy to stay there once he realizes he's at the vet

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Submarine heading north from Bremerton with several escort vessels (not in the picture).

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

COVID cases in Washington state peaked January 29th at 24,554 new cases on a 7-day average and have declined steeply in the two weeks since to 5,317. But that's still significantly higher than last year's peak of 3,411. Once our booster shots had taken effect, we started going to restaurants again. But we have been avoiding more crowded indoor venues such as hockey games until the aggreate numbers improve.

Position: 47°36.66'N, -122°20.90'W

At the floating portion of the Seattle Boat Show in Bell Harbor Marina. Past events have held the in-water portion at Lake Union, but this venue worked well for us because it's only a 10-minute walk from our apartment and an easy 30-minute walk to the main event at Lumen Field, compared to an hour from Lake Union.

Position: 47°36.66'N, -122°20.90'W

Quadruple Mercury Verado 300 HP engines, for a whopping 1,200 HP, powering an Invincible 39-ft Open Fisherman at the Seattle Boat Show. This style of quadruple engines is common in Florida, but still a rare sight in Seattle.

Position: 47°36.66'N, -122°20.90'W

Another 1,200HP Invincible Open Fisherman at the Seattle Boat Show, this one 36-ft with Triple Mercury Verado 400 HP engines.

Position: 47°36.66'N, -122°20.90'W

The beautiful and expansive salon on a Fountaine Pajot MY6 power catamaran. We loved the layout, but 21.6 ft (6.60 m) is a lot of beam.

Position: 47°36.66'N, -122°20.90'W

A 57-foot (17.3m) Northern Marine at the Seattle Boat Show. The vessels are built in nearby Anacortes with a similar design-point as Nordhavn: a well-appointed power cruiser capable of crossing oceans.

Position: 47°36.66'N, -122°20.90'W

Our old slip at Bell Harbor Marina, one pier to the left of where the blue-hulled boat is moored. Dirona departed from here in September of 2012 for San Francisco at the start of our trip around the world.

Position: 47°35.61'N, -122°19.93'W

After touring the boats at the floating portion of the Seattle Boat Show, we walked to Lumen Field for the main event. The show felt a lot quieter than past years, but that may be partly due to our attneding on the final day.

Position: 47°35.61'N, -122°19.93'W

We first came across Sealegs amphibious boats in Australia, where we watched in amazement as one rode up out of the water and onto the beach. We later came to know the company through correspondence with their former salesman Ted Dixon, who later purchased Nordhavn 47 Southern Star.

Position: 47°35.61'N, -122°19.93'W

The Pride of Pay 'N Pak U-1 unlimited class hydroplane, with its revolutionary horizontal wing, won the 1973-1974 national championship. The home improvement store chain Pay 'N Pak sponsored a series of highly competitive boats from the 1960s to the early 1980s, including the first to win with a turbine-powered engine.

Position: 47°35.61'N, -122°19.93'W

A Kalama foil board on display at the Seattle Boat Show. Foiling technology is spreading into all forms of water sports.

Position: 47°35.61'N, -122°19.93'W

We've always liked the Ranger Tug line of power cruisers, built locally in Auburn, WA. The designers do an incredible job of packing all kinds of innovative features into a small space, producing a boat that feels much bigger and versatile than its size and we always spend a ton of time touring them at any boat show we attend.

They are an ideal craft to do the Great Loop, a system of internal waterways circling the eastern US, where the lowest non-opening bridge is 19.6 ft (6m). We designed Dirona with a folding stack specifically to clear that bridge (see pictures at 5263 Delivery).

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Our new car getting a bath in the super-convenient car wash located in the parking garage in our building.

Position: 47°35.38'N, -122°16.63'W

View to downtown Bellevue with the Cascade Mountains beyond, as we cross the I-90 bridge on a short trip to visit Snoqualmie Falls. We lived in Belleuve before moving aboard. The city has really grown since we left, with still more new buildings under construction.

Position: 47°32.63'N, -121°50.35'W

Spectacular 268-ft (82m) Snoqualmie Falls are about a 40-minute drive from Seattle. They are one of the most popular tourist attractions in Washington State, receiving about 1.5 million visitors per year. This is the view from one of the upper observation decks.

Position: 47°32.76'N, -121°50.26'W

A new tree growing on an old stump along the trail to the Snoqualmie falls lower observation deck. The trail is steep, but short and scenic.

Position: 47°32.68'N, -121°50.46'W

Power generation first began at Snoqualmie Falls in 1899. This Francis-style turbine, manufactured by Voith Hydro, was used in the second plant that was completed in 1910. The design is ideally suited to the net head conditions (vertical distance between the intake and the turbine) at Snoqualmie.

Position: 47°32.68'N, -121°50.45'W

This second penstock was constructed at Snoqualmie Falls in 1957 to meet increased demand. At this point, the plant could generate 44.4 MW. After additional upgrades in 2010, the plant currently has a capacity of 53.9 MW.

Position: 47°32.59'N, -121°50.47'W

The view to Snoqualmie Falls from the lower observation deck.

Position: 47°32.64'N, -121°50.48'W

The 45-mile (72 km) long Snoqualmie River drains from the western Cascade Mountains through Snoqualmie Falls and eventually flows into the Puget Sound near Everett as a tributary of the Snohomish River.

Position: 47°32.60'N, -121°50.29'W

Fans of the Twin Peaks television series will recognize this scene of the Salish Lodge above Snoqualmie Falls. The towns of Snoqualmie and nearby North Bend were the primary shooting locations for the show, and the Salish Lodge appears in the opening credits as the fictional Great Northern Hotel.

Position: 47°31.73'N, -121°49.47'W

A delicious tasting flight enjoyed along the balcony at Snoqualmie Falls Brewery.

Position: 47°51.35'N, -121°59.60'W

Dense fog on highway 522 as we head east towards Stevens Pass for a hike to Heybrook Lookout. Hopefully the fog will clear before we arrive, or we won't get much of a view.

Position: 47°52.03'N, -121°44.14'W

The fog is clearing as we approach the Wallace River truss bridge, built in 1940. 6,244 ft (1,903 m) Gunn Peak is just visible in the distance.

Position: -121°34.69'S, 47°48.76'E

Passing over the South Fork Skykomish River Bridge, built in 1933 at the confluence of the North and South forks of the Skykomish River.

Position: 47°48.47'N, -121°32.05'W

The small parking lot for the Heybrook Lookout trail was nearly full by the time we arrived at 8:40. You have to get going pretty early to beat the crowds here, especially with nice weather.

Position: 47°48.49'N, -121°32.10'W

Our traditional trailhead photo, as we start the hike up to Heybrook Lookout in Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. It will be a short and easy walk with an elevation gain of 850 ft (260m) over 1.3 miles (2 km) one-way.

Position: 47°48.49'N, -121°31.97'W

Beautiful green forest on the path to the lookout. The well-maintained trail is the work of the Washington Trails Association.

Position: 47°48.62'N, -121°31.54'W

A forest fire lookout has stood on 1,700 ft (518m) Heybrook Ridge since 1925, starting with a simple tent platform. Successively taller towers were built, culminating with the current 67-ft (20 m) lookout completed in 1964.

This is one of only 106 remaining forest fire lookouts in the state, down from a peak of about 500-600 in the 1930s, and one of the few still in actual use as a lookout.

Position: 47°48.64'N, -121°31.52'W

Jennifer, wearing red, partway up the tower.

Position: 47°48.64'N, -121°31.52'W

Fantastic views to 5,979 ft (1,822 m) Mount Index, left, and 5,452 ft (1,661 m) Mount Persis in the Cascade Range from top of the Heybrook Lookout. We're actually one level below the real top, closed to public access, where the fire rangers work.

Position: 47°48.63'N, -121°31.52'W

There wasn't any snow at the parking lot, but a fair bit up at the tower.

Position: 47°48.64'N, -121°31.53'W

Dozens of people were making the hike as well, many with dogs, who seemed to love the snow.

Position: 47°48.65'N, -121°31.33'W

We walked down a Forestry Service road for a bit, where the snow was even deeper away from the wind and sun. It was fun to walk in the snow again, reminding of us our many winter hikes in Norway.

Position: 47°48.63'N, -121°31.52'W

The snow won't last long at this temperature of 41°F (5°C).

Position: 47°48.47'N, -121°32.06'W

The parking lot was full when we returned back down 90 minutes later. This group had brought multiple cars and parked one across the rear of the other two to fit.

Position: 47°47.78'N, -121°30.85'W

Just east of the Heybrook Lookout trailhead, Eagle Falls on the Skykomish River were really gushing.

Position: 47°43.84'N, -121°24.46'W

Passing through a tunnel on Highway 2, with the South Fork Skykomish River close beside us.

Position: 47°43.68'N, -121°8.22'W

5,482 ft (tk m) Sky Mountain soars above the road as we near the top of Stevens Pass.

Position: 47°44.77'N, -121°5.24'W

Stevens Pass is another popular ski area near Seattle. It's about 82 miles (132 km) away, compared to only 52 miles (80 km) for Snoqualmie Pass, but still gets plenty busy on a nice weekend.

Position: 47°44.81'N, -121°5.18'W

We were planning to stop for lunch at Stevens Pass ski resort, but by 10:40 the only parking was excessively far away from the resort area so we kept exploring by car. Just driving out was slow with all the people flowing in by car and walking from their cars to the slopes.

Position: 47°45.75'N, -121°4.59'W

Heading towards 5,858-ft (1,785 m) Big Chief Mountain on the east side of Stevens Pass. The winter scenery up here is spectacular.

Position: 47°40.82'N, -120°44.08'W

Driving alongside the Wenatchee River towards 7,000-ft (2,133 m) Icicle Ridge

Position: 47°37.34'N, -120°43.49'W

Near-perfect reflections in a still section of the Wenatchee River.

Position: 47°35.20'N, -120°41.21'W

Entering Leavenworth east of Stevens Pass. The entire town is modeled after a German Bavarian village as part of a tourism initiative that began in the 1960s. It's a bit touristy, so we didn't stop on this trip. But many people we know love it, so we'll likely be back to see it in more detail.

Position: 47°35.54'N, -120°40.09'W

The Bavarian Ritz Hotel in Leavenworth.

Position: 47°35.74'N, -120°39.73'W

Looking across Front Street Park to the Hotel Europa joining other Bavarian-styled buildings.

Position: 47°35.81'N, -120°39.60'W

Even the local McDonald's in Leavenworth follows the Bavarian theme.

Position: 47°20.07'N, -120°34.23'W

We just drove on US 97 through Blewett Pass at an elevation of 4,124 feet (1,257 m). Most passes in Washington State—such as Snoqualmie Pass, Stevens Pass and Whites Pass—run east-west along the spine of the Cascade Range. But Blewett Pass runs north-south, connecting Leavenworth on US 2 with Ellensburg on Interstate 90 (I-90).

Position: 47°10.65'N, -120°42.18'W

View to the Columbia River Basin, a major agriculture area, as we descend from Blewett Pass. The Columbia River is only 22 miles (35km) to our east.

Position: 46°59.30'N, -120°32.87'W

Delicious street tacos for lunch at Fidelina's Taqueria in Ellensburg. With so much agriculture in the area attracting Mexican workers, the taquerias here are plentiful and excellent.

Position: 47°7.72'N, -120°48.23'W

View to the Cascade mountains from the east as we return west towards Seattle via Snoqualmie Pass on I-90.

Position: 47°11.04'N, -120°54.10'W

Cle Elum, similar to Bend in Oregon, is a popular area for camping and other outdoor activities.

Position: 47°12.52'N, -121°1.18'W

We stopped in to have a look around the luxury Suncadia Resort. This is the view looking from their lounge over the Cle Elum River to the Cascade Mountains.

Position: 47°12.49'N, -121°1.18'W

Map of the huge property of Suncadia Resort. Besides several common buildings and areas, the resort also includes hundreds of single-family homesites, visible as the individual plots on this map.

Position: 47°20.47'N, -121°21.68'W

Frozen Keechelus Lake just east of Snoqualmie Pass.

Position: 47°24.14'N, -121°24.24'W

5,784 ft (1,762 m) Kendall Peak rising above I-90 at Snoqualmie Pass.

Position: 47°33.75'N, -122°9.40'W

On the way back home to Seattle we took a detour through Somerset, our old neighborhood in Bellevue before we moved aboard our boat Dirona. This is the view from the top of the hill.

Position: 47°33.90'N, -122°9.57'W

Driving past the last house we owned, on Somerset Place in the Somerset neighborhood. We really enjoyed how private it was, with a great view across Lake Washington to Seattle.

Position: 47°34.80'N, -122°11.61'W

We've already put 1,000 miles on our new car in just 17 days.

Position: 47°37.10'N, -122°20.34'W

While we were having dinner at Thai Ginger in downtown Seattle, several police cars and two large groups of bicycle police sped past. We rarely see police on bikes, and never in these numbers.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Queen Anne Hill to our north nearly engulfed in a thick morning fog.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Spectacular sunset after heavy fog this morning.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

The winter chains for our new car just arrived. Some of the places we'd like to visit in the winter, such as Mount Rainier National Park and Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park, require vehicles to carry chains. And they're good to have anyway in case we get stuck in a storm while crossing one of the local mountain passes.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

MH-47 Chinook from Joint Base Lewis-McChord passing over the city, with soldiers visible through the open hatch—that looks like a great way to see Seattle. The MH-47 is an advanced heavy-lift helicopter designed for Special Operations Forces, with a distinctive in-flight refueling probe.

Position: 47°36.87'N, -122°20.77'W

Enjoying an exceptional meal at Tavolata in Belltown.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Our maintenance list isn't very long these days, but we do have a few items. Here we are changing our furnace filter.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Unpacking a pair of MSR Lightning Ascent snowshoes. We've been enjoying winter hiking, but many of the view hikes are snow-covered right now and snowshoeing will expand our options.

Position: 47°27.19'N, -121°42.33'W

We normally arrive at a trailhead quite early in the morning to get a parking spot. But on a rainy Saturday, we experimented with arriving around noon to learn how crowded it was, anticipating that the rain might keep people away. Although that may have been true, the parking lot still was packed and we barely got a spot after someone else had departed.

Position: 47°27.14'N, -121°42.27'W

At the trailhead for the easy and popular hike to Twin Falls, a 2.6-mile (4 km) round-trip with an elevation gain of 500 ft (152 m).

Position: 47°27.16'N, -121°42.33'W

Reading an interpretive sign describing the Upper Snoqualmie River watershed alongside the river.

Position: 47°27.09'N, -121°42.22'W

Enjoying the view to the Snoqualmie River from a small footbridge along the trail. Although rain is falling, we are reasonably sheltered under the forest canopy.

Position: 47°27.01'N, -121°42.20'W

Fresh sawdust from a recently-cleared trail blockage.

Position: 47°26.98'N, -121°42.19'W

Washington Trails Association (WTA) volunteers maintaining the Twin Falls trail. Flooding regular damages the trial, and it was completely destroyed during record floods in 2006 when the water gauge upstream recorded 9,000 cubic feet per second (255 meters per second). The flow today seems strong, but it's only about 250 cfs (7 mps).

Position: 47°26.82'N, -121°42.13'W

A first glimpse to the lower falls from The Benches, a rest stop along the trail.

Position: 47°26.75'N, -121°41.96'W

A small spur path leads off the main trail to the river's edge for great views to the lower falls. The Big Bridge footbridge crossing above the falls is just visible in the distance (click image for larger view).

Position: 47°26.78'N, -121°41.89'W

An old-growth tree along the staircase down to the Lower Falls viewpoint.

Position: 47°26.76'N, -121°41.89'W

Great view to the lower falls from the viewpoint at the bottom of the 104-step staircase.

Position: 47°26.73'N, -121°41.84'W

Looking downstream from the Big Bridge above the lower falls.

Position: 47°26.72'N, -121°41.85'W

The cascading upper falls, along with the lower falls, are collectively called the "Twin Falls".

Position: 47°29.66'N, -121°47.09'W

A delicious lunch at the North Bend Bar and Grill. The restaurant was completely packed with skiers and snowboarders from nearby Snoqualmie Pass when we arrived. But tables were just starting to open up, so it's good thing we had a late lunch at 1:30. The historic picture above Jennifer's head shows three men on horseback enjoying a beer inside a bar, fortunately no longer the practice (click image for a larger view).

Position: 47°38.27'N, -121°55.84'W

Crossing the Tolt River Bridge near the town of Carnation. The first bridge built here in 1922 was rehabilitated 1968 and replaced 2008. The native art panels on either side of the bridge are by local artist David Franklin, who has created many striking works of public art in the region.

Position: 47°44.25'N, -121°59.23'W

Passing through the town of Duvall, settled by loggers Francis and James Duvall in 1871.

Position: 47°45.51'N, -122°15.60'W

A brief glimpse to the northern end of Lake Washington at Kenmore, the headquarters of seaplane operator Kenmore Air.

Position: 47°45.35'N, -122°19.37'W

Northgate Station is currently the northernmost limit of the region's light rail system. We're about to pass under the half-complete 8.5-mile (13.5 km) link to Lynnwood that will open in 2023.

Position: 47°36.95'N, -122°20.87'W

A queue around the block for entering The Crocodile, a live-music venue near our apartment. The club, opened in 1991, has long been a fixture in the Seattle music scene. It was named one of the top clubs in the US by Rolling Stone magazine and has hosted bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Alice in Chains. The venue recently re-opened in December of 2021 at a new location a few blocks from the original.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

Delicious and nutritious Apple-Cinnamon Quinoa Bowl for breakfast this morning. We've recently been going big on grain bowls for lunch and are finding many excellent recipes for breakfast too.

Position: 47°36.69'N, -122°20.94'W

Pedestrians crossing Alaska Boulevard as we head out for a late morning Saturday drive to West Seattle. The temperature is barely above freezing, but a bit of winter sunny weather always brings Seattleites out in droves.

Position: 47°35.31'N, -122°20.55'W

Our first stop was Jack Perry Memorial Park, named after a Port of Seattle employee who died on the job. The small shoreline public access point is squeezed in between the port and the USCG Sector Puget Sound properties, with great views to both. Here we are looking across the east Duwamish waterway to the recently-arrived Mearsk Boston container ship at Terminal 18.

Position: 47°35.29'N, -122°20.55'W

The container ship SK Tianjin at Terminal 30, viewed from Jack Perry Memorial Park.

Position: 47°35.29'N, -122°20.55'W

After touring the Metal Shark factory, we love spotting one of their boats. This is a Metal Shark Response Boat—Small (RBS) heading to the docks at nearby USCG Sector Puget Sound. A real trademark of the Metal Shark boats is excellent visibility via large windows that can be opened for comfort or sealed up tight in inclement conditions.

Position: 47°35.31'N, -122°20.55'W

The USCGC Healy at its home port of USCG Sector Puget Sound. The 420-foot (128m) ship is the largest in the Coast Guard fleet, and is one of only two ice breakers. It is designed to break 4.5 feet of ice continuously at three knots and can operate in temperatures as low as -50°F (045°C). For comparison purposes, Dirona is only able to break 2-inch ice at a half-knot :-). The Healy was built in the 1980s and the other ice breaker, Polar Star, was built in the 1970s. Both are scheduled for replacement over the next decade.

Position: 47°35.34'N, -122°20.57'W

Jack Perry Memorial Park isn't as developed as some of the ports other waterfront parks. Many of the views require walking along the edge of the fence at the USCG property, but it's still a pretty cool place to visit.

Position: 47°34.19'N, -122°20.39'W

We had to wait a short time for a train departing the Port of Seattle to pass before we could continue south.

Position: 47°34.08'N, -122°21.01'W

Our next stop was the small Terminal 105 Park in West Seattle, a restored habitat within the Port of Seattle along the west short of the Duwamish River. This is looking south from the park across the river estuary at low tide.

Position: 47°34.08'N, -122°21.01'W

Bird nests on posts with the Port of Seattle Terminal 106 visible in the background.

Position: 47°34.07'N, -122°21.19'W

The aluminum trawler Baltic Sea moored at Harbor Island Marina across the Duwamish River from Terminal 105 Park.

Position: 47°34.08'N, -122°21.11'W

The fishing pier at Terminal 105 Park had several signs warning of toxic chemical levels for seafood caught here. The languages used give an indication of the varied ethnicity of the people commonly fishing here: English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian, Laotian, Cambodian and Somali.

Position: 47°35.09'N, -122°22.08'W

A short distance from Terminal 105 Park is Jack Block Park. Here Jennifer is taking in the wonderful view to the Seattle skyline from park viewing platform. This is a wonderful little park that we're surprised we hadn't found before.

Position: 47°35.09'N, -122°22.08'W

The Seattle Space Needle, viewed from Jack Block Park.

Position: 47°35.07'N, -122°22.10'W

Pocket beach at Jack Block Park, at the north end of Terminal 5 in the Port of Seattle.

Position: 47°35.07'N, -122°22.10'W

The 27-acre property of Vigor Industrial within the Port of Seattle, viewed from Jack Block Park. Vigor has three dry docks ranging in capacity from 528-640 ft (160m-195m) and 12 cranes with up to 150-tonne capacity. They build and maintains large commercial vessels and marine infrastructure such as dams, and handles maintenance and repair for the Navy and Coast Guard in Seattle, Bremerton, and Everett. Vigor built the 362-ft (110 m) Washington State ferry Chimacum that we rode from Seattle to Bremerton a few weeks ago.

Position: 47°34.96'N, -122°22.31'W

A day sailor enjoying the sunny weather off Jack Block Park.

Position: 47°34.96'N, -122°22.28'W

This buoy likely washed up from the popular scuba diving area at nearby Seacrest Park. That is where we first dove when taking our PADI course back in the late 1990s.

Position: 47°35.09'N, -122°22.07'W

Port of Seattle top loader lifting a shipping container into place at Terminal 5. The containers are stacked five-high throughout the port, higher than we've ever seen, due to the logistics backlog.

Position: 47°35.09'N, -122°22.08'W

Four train segments ready for loading of unloading at Terminal 5.

Position: 47°35.09'N, -122°22.08'W

The King County ferry Sally Fox, getting underway from West Seattle. The ship is named for Vashon Island resident Sally Fox, who was a strong advocate for a passenger-only ferry service. The ferry is especially important now, with the West Seattle bridge closed since March of 2020 for a two-year repair project to address cracks in the structure.

Position: 47°34.85'N, -122°23.21'W

A great lunch at Circa Grill and Alehouse in West Seattle.

Position: 47°35.64'N, -122°23.17'W

How could we not stop at Hamilton Viewpoint Park, even if it didn't have a spectacular view to the Seattle skyline? The twin towers of our condominium complex, Insignia, are visible in the left third of the picture.

Position: 47°35.64'N, -122°23.17'W

A close-up to our home from Hamilton Viewpoint Park in West Seattle. Our apartment is the unit with the balcony closest to the center of the picture.

Position: 47°35.27'N, -122°23.57'W

Taking narrow and wooded Bonair Drive back down to sea level.

Position: 47°34.99'N, -122°24.09'W

Alki Beach is always busy at the least hint of sun. On a sunny summer weekend it can get really packed.

Position: 47°34.66'N, -122°24.95'W

One of many beautiful modern homes in the Alki Beach area, this one right on the beach.

Position: 47°34.53'N, -122°25.15'W

The still-operational Alki Point Lighthouse was constructed in 1913 and automated in 1984. The original lightkeeper's quarters now serve as the residence for the 13th District Commander, the most senior Coast Guard officer in the Pacific Northwest.

Position: 47°31.53'N, -122°23.57'W

Cars in line for the ferry from Fauntleroy to Southworth on Kitsap Peninsula and Vashon Island.

Position: 47°31.38'N, -122°23.60'W

Piles of driftwood thrown high on this beach near the Fauntleroy Ferry terminal indicate this area sees some reasonably large storm waves. The "No Trespassing" sign visible at left states that the beach and tidelands are privately owned to the extreme low tide level. Fortunately there is a tiny park with public access on the other side of the terminal.

Position: 47°31.39'N, -122°23.65'W

Rock carving of the brig R.H. Fauntleroy at a small public beach at Fauntleroy Cove. Geographer George Davidson anchored here in 1857 in the brig he'd named for his future father-in-law Robert Henry Fauntleroy. Davidson continued this theme and named several area features after his family-to-be.

Position: 47°31.39'N, -122°23.65'W

Northwest sculptor Tom Jay created this steel and copper sculpture at Fauntleroy Cove of a Nootka sealing canoe.

Position: 47°30.69'N, -122°23.40'W

View to Three Tree Point through a maze of wires as we descend along Marine View Drive. The point is a popular scuba-diving area—we dove here by car in the late 1990s.

Position: 47°29.52'N, -122°21.81'W

The distinctive green bioreactors of Salmon Creek Treatment Plant has a capacity of 15 million gallons (68 million L), but typically treats a half to two-thirds that amount.

Position: 47°26.99'N, -122°22.60'W

When boating in the area, we frequently passed this distinctive community of waterfront houses crowded beneath a cliff south of Three Tree Point. Waterfront property is very popular.

Position: 47°28.15'N, -122°19.91'W

The day's nice weather ended just after we decided to return home.

Position: 47°32.90'N, -122°20.05'W

The Georgetown Morgue is a haunted house attraction built into an old morgue in Seattle's Georgetown neighborhood.

Position: 47°34.11'N, -122°20.36'W

Another view to the Port of Seattle from the elevated road on Washington State Route 99.

Position: 47°34.95'N, -122°20.36'W

Our first time driving through the new SR 99 tunnel, completed in 2019. The double-decker tunnel replaced the Alaskan Way Viaduct that deemed at risk of collapsing in the next major earthquake. The six-year construction project began in 2013, using what was then the largest diameter tunnel-boring machine in the world at 57.5-foot-diameter (17.5 m). Norway seems able to crank out tunnels like this in mere weeks.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

We've already put 1,207 miles on our new car in less than a month. That doesn't seem like much, except we only use it on weekends.

Position: 47°36.89'N, -122°20.57'W

A delicious meal at Kanak Indian Cuisine. The pakaros, a spiced fritter, were especially good. It's a little amazing this is our first meal here, given the restaurant is only a couple of blocks from our apartment.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

A light dusting of snow on our deck this morning.

Position: 47°37.01'N, -122°20.79'W

An excellent meal at another recent local discovery, Petra Mediterranean Bistro. We'd walked past literally dozens of times, but hadn't yet stopped in. We're glad we did—the food is excellent and we've since returned many times.

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

We don't use poles when hiking, but we will use them when snowshoeing. We ordered a couple of pairs by TrailBuddy and so far are quite happy with them. They extend and collapse easily, are super-lightweight and have big snow baskets and sharp tips for ice. For stowing, we cover the tips with screw-on rubber tips as pictured. And, most important of all, they come in a variety of colors to match your gear :-).

Position: 47°37.00'N, -122°20.55'W

The overnight temperatures have been below freezing for the past few days and it's a chilly 28°F (-2.2°C) this morning.

Position: 47°37.76'N, -122°21.56'W

The cold temperatures combined with clear skies provided some excellent view opportunities, so we made a walking tour to 456 feet (139 m) Queen Anne Hill. It's the highest hill in Seattle and easily visible from our apartment. Here is the amazing view from Kerry Park in Queen Anne to the Space Needle, downtown Seattle, and Mt. Rainier. The north tower of the apartment complex where we live is the tall building fully visible at the left edge of the picture.

Position: 47°37.77'N, -122°21.69'W

Queen Anne is one of the more expensive housing neighborhoods in Seattle, with some really big houses built to take advantage of the views such as this one on Highland Drive.

Position: 47°37.78'N, -122°21.98'W

View to West Seattle from Marshall Park in Queen Anne.

Position: 47°37.80'N, -122°22.02'W

A striking, modern view home in Queen Anne just below Marshall Park.

Position: 47°37.85'N, -122°22.06'W

View from 8th Ave in Queen Anne to the Magnolia Bridge, with the Olympic Mountains in the background.

Position: 47°37.85'N, -122°22.06'W

Elliott Bay Marina is where we kept our first boat for a decade, and currently is home to Nordhavn Northwest, the builder of our second boat.

Position: 47°38.09'N, -122°21.96'W

It's only February, but the crocuses are already in bloom. At our house in Toronto, the crocuses didn't bloom until March or April.

Position: 47°38.20'N, -122°21.67'W

It's not clear if this bumper sticker is a warning about climate change or a complaint about overreaching government restrictions, but it did catch our attention.

Position: 47°38.29'N, -122°21.66'W

We didn't see any snow on the ground in Queen Anne, except in this yard that must see little sun.

Position: 47°38.28'N, -122°21.43'W

Delicious IPAs and food, with a wonderful neighborhood pub atmosphere, at Hilltop Ale House in Queen Anne.

Position: 47°38.28'N, -122°21.43'W

Among the few positive aspects of the pandemic is the increase in outdoor restaurant seating options. These outdoor rooms with tabletop fireplaces at Paragon in Queen Anne look fabulous—we'll have to try them sometime.

Position: 47°37.94'N, -122°21.30'W

One of three television broadcasting towers standing on Queen Anne Hill. The distinctive towers, visible for miles, are a landmark in the city.

Position: 47°37.94'N, -122°21.28'W

A charming free library box in Queen Anne, part of the Little Free Library non-profit organization.

Position: 47°37.88'N, -122°21.27'W

Two-million gallon (4.5 million L) water tank outside Fire Station No. 8 in Queen Anne. The tank was built in the late 2000s to replace two century-old tanks that were at risk of collapse in one of the few cases where a designated Seattle landmark was purposely destroyed.

Position: 47°37.74'N, -122°21.11'W

Dusk looking south from Queen Anne Hill as we return home.

Position: 47°37.25'N, -122°20.86'W

View to the Space Needle from below as we walk through Seattle Center on our way home.

Position: 47°37.09'N, -122°20.86'W

We were tempted to stop in for a quick beer at the Queen Anne Zeeks Pizza when we walked past, but opted instead to visit our neighborhood Zekes in Belltown. We go there a lot and really enjoy the pizza and the atmosphere.

Position: 47°28.40'N, -121°45.57'W

Suprisingly heavy traffic at 7:40am as we head towards Snoqualmie Pass to hike into Franklin Falls. Hopefully everyone else is heading to the ski resort, as trailhead parking is limited.

Position: 47°25.51'N, -121°36.02'W

6,259-foot (1,908m) Kaleetan Peak in the Cascade Range, viewed from I-90 as we near Snoqualmie Pass.

Position: 47°23.70'N, -121°28.46'W

The summer trailhead for the hike to Franklin Falls is about three miles down the road. But the road is closed to all but local traffic in the winter, so we'll need to walk from here.

Position: 47°23.72'N, -121°28.37'W

Washington State maintains a number of winter recreation Sno-Parks that require a special permit to park in. The permits are relatively expensive at $25 for a day pass and up to $120 for an annual pass. We just went with a day pass as we're not likely to use that many Sno-Parks this season.

Position: 47°23.71'N, -121°28.43'W

Besides the winter trail to Franklin Falls, the Asahel Curtis Sno-Park also provides access to several miles of snowshoe trails.

Position: 47°23.71'N, -121°28.44'W

We were expecting to need snowshoes to reach the falls, but the road was well-plowed and walking was pretty easy just in our boots.

Position: 47°24.24'N, -121°26.70'W

We reached the end of the plowed area about 1.5 miles in.

Position: 47°24.31'N, -121°26.65'W

Lots of footprints heading to the bridge that carries the road over the South Fork Snoqualmie River. The path beyond the plowed section was snow-covered, but very compact and easy to walk on in just our hiking boots.

Position: 47°24.45'N, -121°26.56'W

Snowy scene looking south along the South Fork Snoqualmie River from the road bridge.

Position: 47°24.55'N, -121°26.52'W

Snowman at the Denny Creek Campground sign.

Position: 47°24.60'N, -121°26.51'W

We didn't realize how deep the snow was until we noticed this nearly-buried road barrier.

Position: 47°24.96'N, -121°26.45'W

When we left the road for the actual trail to Franklin Falls, the snow was still well-packed but the surface was quite slippery. Snowshoes seemed like overkill, but we did want some traction, so we put on the microspikes that we purchased in Norway (we later upgraded to Kahootla Exospikes). We didn't expect to wear them again in our North American hiking, but they're very commonly worn here on winter trails and we're happy to be putting them back into use.

Position: 47°25.06'N, -121°26.42'W

The near-frozen surface of Denny Creek with snow all around makes for a beautiful winter scene.

Position: 47°25.09'N, -121°26.35'W

It was wonderful to be out in the snow-covered woods and we really enjoyed the hike. Even if we didn't have the falls as an attraction, this would have been more than enough fun.

Position: 47°25.17'N, -121°26.27'W

Crossing a small snow-covered footbridge.

Position: 47°25.45'N, -121°26.02'W

Descending the final section of the trail to Franklin Falls. With all the spray in the air re-freezing on the path, this section was super-slippery and we really needed the microspikes.

Position: 47°25.47'N, -121°25.99'W

Franklin Falls don't always freeze, but when they do the scene is spectacular. One of the reasons we'd come today is that we'd experienced a week of below-freezing temperatures in Seattle so were confident the falls would be frozen as well.

Position: 47°25.47'N, -121°25.99'W

The temperature is well below freezing here and a snack at the falls with some warm tea was a welcome break.

Position: 47°25.34'N, -121°26.03'W

Leaving the falls, we took a spur trail that brought us out to the snowshoe area. We'd never been snowshoeing before and were really looking forward to trying out our new snowshoes.

Position: 47°25.32'N, -121°26.02'W

We bought snowshoes, MSR Lighting Ascents, for winter hikes and here are testing them climbing a reasonably steep hill. We had no trouble making it up in fairly deep snow, and are really impressed with their traction.

Position: 47°25.32'N, -121°26.01'W

Jennifer climbing up behind James. At this point, we'd only received one one of the two pairs of trekking poles we'd ordered, so are using one each.

Position: 47°25.32'N, -121°26.01'W

We'd climbed up to Forest Service Road 58 which had wonderful mountain views from a bend in the route.

Position: 47°25.24'N, -121°26.03'W

As we started to descend through the woods from the Forest Service Road, Jennifer developed a stabbing pain in her foot. It was sufficiently painful that we had to stop and investigate. We found a fairly large metal sliver that fortunately was easy to remove. We're not sure how it got there.

Position: 47°25.24'N, -121°26.05'W

Continuing our descent from the Forest Service Road. The snowshoes did equally well going down a steep hill. We're really happy with them.

Position: 47°25.02'N, -121°26.20'W

We always giggle whenever we see a cable warning. It reminds us of the time we were gardening in our Bellevue backyard in the late 1990s and James hit a large cable with a shovel. It was only buried a couple of inches deep in our yard, so we presumed it was likely a discarded cable. We later found our phone was down, as was most of the neighborhood.

Position: 47°24.88'N, -121°26.34'W

At the summer parking lot for the trail to Franklin Falls.

Position: 47°24.78'N, -121°26.55'W

The snow is much deeper than it seems. Here we are standing on a bridge looking down to the car barrier.

Position: 47°26.73'N, -121°25.54'W

We checked out the Aplental base area at Snoqualmie Pass while we were in the area. Some of the steepest runs in the state are here, where Olympic gold medalist alpine ski racer Debbie Armstrong trained.

Position: 47°25.28'N, -121°24.73'W

Another great lunch at the Commonwealth pub within the Snoqualmie Pass ski area after a great day hiking and snowshoeing.

Position: 43°33.66'N, -121°28.49'W

Flying over the Cascade Range near Crescent, WA en route to Santa Barbara

Position: 37°47.74'N, -120°40.33'W

Don Pedro Reservoir in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The reservoir, created in 1923 with the Don Pedro Dam, is the 7th largest in California with a capacity for 2,030,000 acre-ft (2.50 km3).

Position: 34°37.48'N, -120°6.23'W

The steeply-sloped Santa Ynez Mountains just outside Santa Barbara. The highest peak in the range is Divide Peak at 4,707 ft (1,435 m).

Position: 34°25.73'N, -119°42.48'W

The fabulous wrap-around deck in our room at the Simpson House Inn in Santa Barbara. And there's even more deck behind the camera.

Position: 34°26.03'N, -119°43.23'W

A long-overdue gathering of the Hamilton clan at a rented house in Santa Barbara. Clockwise from left is James' uncle Neil and his wife Jackie, James' cousin Ian and his wife Uzma, and James' uncle Gord and his wife Karen. Neil and Jackie, who visited with us a few months back, live in Victoria, Canada and the rest are from Ottawa. It's been ages since we all gathered together, and we had a wonderful evening.

Position: 34°26.30'N, -119°42.76'W

The capilla (chapel) of the Old Mission Santa Barbara, founded in 1786.

Position: 34°27.88'N, -119°42.77'W

The Western Fence Lizard also is known as "Blue Belly" for its distinctive blue markings.

Position: 34°27.90'N, -119°42.75'W

A multitude of interconnected padlocks on the gate before the service road leading to the Inspiration Point trailhead in Los Padres National Forest,

Position: 34°27.91'N, -119°42.73'W

Turkey Vulture scanning for a meal above Los Padres National Forest.

Position: 34°27.94'N, -119°42.67'W

The Hamiltons walking up the Tunnel Trail to Inspiration Point near Santa Barbara, with the Pacific Ocean visible in the distance.

Position: 34°28.01'N, -119°42.68'W

Wonderful view west across Mission Canyon from the Tunnel Trail at elevation 971 ft (296 m).

Position: 34°28.24'N, -119°42.41'W

The junction of the Tunnel and Jesusita trails as elevation 1,133 ft (345 m).

Position: 34°28.37'N, -119°42.71'W

This drone was holding place above some high-tension power lines for quite some time. This seems a common and efficient way to inspect the lines, as we saw in the Belden Powerhouse in Feather River Canyon, CA.

Position: 34°28.33'N, -119°42.85'W

The Cater Water Treatment Plant viewed from the trail to Inspiration Point. Until recently, the facility provided most of the drinking water for Santa Barbara. In 2017, a desalination plant came online that produces about 30% of the supply.

Position: 34°28.33'N, -119°42.85'W

Sweeping view across Santa Barbara to the Pacific Ocean from Inspiration Point at altitude 1713ft, 522m. The large island visible in the distance is Santa Cruz Island, part of California's Channel Islands (click image for a larger view).

Position: 34°28.32'N, -119°42.86'W

One of several oil/gas rigs along the Santa Barbara coast. Offshore drilling began in California in 1896 and currently provides about 16% of California's petroleum production.

Position: 34°24.86'N, -119°41.30'W

A delicious meal on the patio at Brass Bear Brewing and Bistro in Santa Barbara.

Position: 34°25.73'N, -119°42.70'W

A huge Morton Bay Fig Tree in Santa Barbara, lit up wonderfully at night. The building in the foreground is a restaurant that is built around the tree.