Wordless Wednesday: Balloons Under the Space Needle
Travel Theme: Cities
Alisa’s newest Travel Theme: Cities is a great excuse to post another photo from our recent visit to the top of the Space Needle. This view is looking south towards the Downtown area over Elliott Bay and one shot manages to show you a gray spring day, the Port of Seattle, a Washington State Ferry and the lower part of Downtown.
1 Day 1 World Project: 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
For the 1:00 pm entry in my new 1 Day 1 World Project I have this stormy view of Seattle taken from our Sky City table at the top of the Space Needle. The restaurant makes a complete 360 degree rotation every 47 minutes and John, Ryan and I recently spent a fantastic 2 1/2 hours celebrating Ryan’s birthday while enjoying the incredible views. You might remember we spent Ryan’s actual 13th birthday giving away free books as part of World Book Night 2014 and even though he was incredibly generous with his special day I promised we would plan something fun later that was all about him. Well, this lunch was definitely in his honor but John and I enjoyed it as much as he did!
Our first 1 Day 1 World posts captured noontime moments from Germany, Canada, England, Singapore and the American states of California, Illinois, Oregon, Texas and Washington. If you have a photo or story to share about your 1:00 pm hour I’d love to see it! Please tag your post 1 Day 1 World Project for easy reader searches and/or link your post in a comment below so we can all enjoy your view and together we’ll build a virtual 24 hour day filled with images from around the world.
If you’re new to the 1 Day 1 World Project please take a look at my introductory post here. This 1:00 pm post will remain open for new submissions until the end of Saturday, May 17th and a new post for the 2:00 pm hour will open for entries Sunday, May 18th.
Participants:
OneDayOneWorld – Hour Two – 1pm
http://smallbluegreenwords.wordpress.com/2014/05/11/1-day-1-world-project-1300-to-1400-hours/
http://nagpanaoan.com/2014/05/11/1-day-1-world-project-100-pm-200-pm/
http://sukiesoriginal.wordpress.com/2014/05/13/1-day-1-world-100-200pm/
http://redneckgarage.wordpress.com/2014/05/13/1-day-1-world-project-hour-2/
http://shareandconnect.wordpress.com/2014/05/14/1-day-1-world-project-100-pm-200-pm/
http://justanothernatureenthusiast.org/2014/05/26/1-day-1-world-100-200/
Wordless Wednesday: 5-7-14
Weekly Photo Challenge: Monument
In this week’s challenge, show us your take on a monument (broadly defined). It could be a fresh angle on a well-known tourist site, or a place nobody knows outside your community— anything can be monumental as long as it’s imbued with a shared sense of importance.
Ben – The Daily Post
The Space Needle has to be one of the most photographed monuments in the Pacific Northwest and whenever I’m at Seattle Center I can’t resist snapping my fair share of pictures but along with the typical tourist shots I always try to capture a new angle so I can share a view of Seattle most of my readers haven’t seen before.
This image is from the bottom of a steep stairway outside the Experience Music Project Museum. EMP’s curvy siding is visible on the left, the Space Needle is front and center and at the top of the stairs is a poster of Seattle native Jimi Hendrix. Three monuments in one shot!
Posted as part of the Weekly Photo Challenge: Monument.
iPhoneography Monday: 3-24-14
The fourth Monday of every month is Challenger’s Choice over at Lens and Pen by Sally. This week marks the debut of a new challenge title, Phoneography and Non-SLR Digital Devices Photo Challenge, encouraging all non-traditional photographers using a smart phone, digital music device like an iPod, tablet or even a scanner to participate. This is an ever changing photography movement and experimentation is celebrated.
My March Challenger’s Choice is Architecture and today’s image is one of the most recognizable architectural features in the Seattle landscape, The Space Needle.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Up
If you look up in Seattle there is a pretty good chance you will see The Space Needle. At the time of its completion in 1962 it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi River.
The Pacific Science Center is also on the site of the 1962 World’s Fair, close to the Space Needle, and the arches of the pavilion are a favorite stop for my family when we check out the latest exhibits.
To see other creative interpretations of “up” please visit The Weekly Photo Challenge: UP.
My Favorite places in Washington (State) Part One – The Puget Sound
If your view of Washington State begins with Sleepless in Seattle and ends with Grey’s Anatomy you’ve seen some beautiful scenery but happily my home state has a lot more to offer. As the population center, Seattle receives most of the publicity but did you know there are six distinct geographic regions within the state borders? Through my next several posts I want to take you on a road trip across the Evergreen State to see the Puget Sound, the Pacific Coast, the Hoh Rainforest, Olympic, Cascade and Rocky Mountains and the Columbia Basin.
Located in the Puget Sound region, Seattle is a beautiful city with a thriving waterfront and just a few short hours from mountains, the Pacific Coast and The San Juan Islands. This is the home of Microsoft, Starbucks, Amazon and Costco and iconic landmarks include The Space Needle, a legacy from the 1962 Worlds Fair and the Pike Place Market which has been open since 1907 and is the longest continuously operating farmers market in the US.
A few Seattle fun facts:
- Seattle is ranked the most Literate City in the US by Central Connecticut State University and the Seattle Public Library System has the highest percentage of library card holders per capita in the country.
- Seattleites buy more sunglasses per capita than any other city in the nation.
- While the city has more than its fair share of cloudy days Chicago, Dallas and Miami all get more rain per year.
- The worlds first gas station opened in Seattle in 1907 on East Marginal Way.
Pike Place Market
Space Needle
A short trip North brings you to one of my all time favorite vacation destinations, The San Juan Islands. The San Juan archipelago includes 172 islands, 4 of which are accessible by the Washington State Ferry System. Most others can by reached by plane, charter and private boats or if you are feeling adventurous, by Kayak.
Island fun facts:
- There are no traffic lights on the Islands.
- San Juan County has more miles of shoreline (375) than any other County in the US.
- The Islands receive half the annual rainfall of Seattle or Portland.
- Lime Kiln Point State Park on San Juan Island holds the only Whale watching park in the world.
Decatur Island
Sucia Island
San Juan Island
Roche Harbor, San Juan Island
If you make an early spring trip to the Islands you could be one of the one million annual visitors to the tulip fields in the Skagit Valley or travel a little farther and see Mt. Baker which holds the record for the most snowfall ever measured in the US in a single season; 1,140 inches during the 1998-1999 snowfall season.
View from Mt. Baker Highway
View from Heather Meadows Mt. Baker
Artist Point trail Mt. Baker
A few hours south of Seattle is the beautiful Mt. Rainier National Park. With an elevation rise of 14,411 feet above sea level Mt. Rainier is the highest mountain in the lower 48 states and the 21st most prominent mountain in the world. President William McKinley established Mt. Rainier National Park in 1899 and every year between 8,000 – 13,000 people attempt to climb Rainier. About one half successfully reach the top.
Mt. Rainier
Mt. Rainier
Mt. Rainier
I would love to hear your stories of travels in Washington . Let me know if you like what you see, I’m looking forward to sharing more pictures soon!
Northwest Frame of Mind 