Mount Rainier & Floating Bridge

Here's a picture of Mount Rainier with Lake Washington in the foreground, taken on the first of our two days in Seattle.

That picture was taken from a car at highway speeds traveling over this bridge on Interstate 90 as it crosses Lake Washington . The bridge floats on the water.

We did a lot of stuff in just two days, so there will be plenty more pictures from the Seattle area in the next few weeks.

Skywatch Friday - Cloudy Colorado and Sunny Seattle

We just took a short trip to Seattle to visit family. When we left Colorado it was cloudy and by the time the plane took off it was snowing heavily. But Seattle was beautiful and sunny the whole time. That's quite the opposite of what I'd expect in February!

This first picture was taken at Denver International Airport, looking at some of the baggage and deicing equipment under a heavy sky. Most of the deicing equipment was in use by the time we took off.

The next one was taken in Seattle, looking up at the branches of a tree which was still in the evening sunlight.

I'll be putting up a pretty picture that includes Mount Rainier in my next post, probably on Sunday.

For more sky-themed photographs from around the world, visit the Skywatch Friday website.

Chicago Subway

My final post from Chicago is of the subway. Some sections of line are elevated, and the first picture is of one of those taken from underneath.

From these elevated lines you can see all the buildings next to the trains - this one was taken on the ride back to the Midway airport.

I wish my city had better public transportation. All we have is a few bus lines and they aren't properly supported, so you've got to have a car to get around.

Skywatch Friday - Icy Tree

Taken early on a recent morning after an icy fog.

For more worldwide icy and tropical Skywatch pictures, visit the Skywatch Friday website.

Tree Roots

Here are a couple of interesting tree roots. The first is from a tree that had fallen, the second was a tree that was spreading its roots around some rocks.

SkyWatch Friday - Maroon Bells

I have no interesting new pictures this week, so I thought I'd post an old one. About a year ago, I scanned in all my old slides and prints, and this is a slide from October 1995. It was taken near Aspen when camping in early October. A snow storm moved in, and in the morning the sun broke through, making for some beautiful pictures. Here's one of them.

You can find many more Skywatch Friday pictures here. I expect there will be many snowy pictures this week.

Chicago At Night

On our last evening in Chicago I went for a walk down the Miracle Mile to the John Hancock building, and went to its observation deck. My family didn't join me, but at least that meant I had plenty of time for photographs. Please bear in mind that all these photos were hand-held as I didn't have a tripod.

One of the oldest buildings in Chicago is the old water tower, and it's well preserved. It was built in 1869, and was one of the few buildings in its district to survive the great Chicago Fire of 1871. It's also rather photogenic.

  

At the top of the John Hancock building, there are many great views. Here's a photo towards the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower).

Here are a couple of views looking down on other buildings.

This view looks north along Lake Shore Drive. It's obvious where Lake Michigan starts.

This is a view of the Navy Pier.

And finally, here are a couple of other city views of the city from the top of the John Hancock Center.

I can't compare the views from this tower and the Willis Tower, but certainly these ones were very impressive.

Skywatch Friday - Fog Moving In

Sometimes it's possible to watch a front moving in from the north, as the clouds and fog move towards us. Here's an example, with the fog covering most of a hill.

To see skies from around the world, visit Skywatch Friday.