All posts by Troy

Moon Photos–Photography Experiment

March 15, 2014 Troy

It’s time to continue on with the photography experiment. Taking pictures of the moon is not something that I’ve really wanted to do but is something that I tried while taking pictures of sunsets and stars. Using the information in Peter’s post about moon photos, I can attempt to take better pictures of this subject. Here are a couple of my attempts. The first one above was taken shortly after sunset so the sky was still pretty light making the exposure easier to get right for the moon.

This next one was taken a little while later as the darkness grew around the moon. I thought it was interesting to see how the sunlight displays the moon surface with the mountains and valleys which are evident in the uneven shadows. Also, the entire moon is visible in this shot but can be a little difficult to see. Exposure was a little high to really get the details of the moon in this shot. I’m sure I could work with it using editing software but the point of the experiment is to improve the actual taking of the photo.

Playing around with the exposure a little I got this cool moon burst. This was from changing the aperture and leaving all the other parameters (ISO and shutter speed) the same. I also like the lens flare and how it accents the moon burst. While this might be an unique way of capturing the moon, I don’t know if there is a good use for this type of shot. If so, I haven’t found it yet.

There was a partial eclipse of the moon on the night this photo was taken. I actually planned out parts of this night of moon shots. Earlier in the day I researched when the moon rise was and how that would relate to the timing of the eclipse. From that I looked over different places to photograph the moon. Once I chose a spot, I used Google Sky to determine where the moon would rise so I could set up the tripod and get the camera ready. There where many practice shots while checking over the settings. Finally the sun had set and it was time for the moon to rise. Cold was dropping in on me causing me to shiver making it a bit more challenging to make adjustments to the camera but that’s part of the fun isn’t it? Looking just below the top of the trees you can see the moon. Time to go to work. I was hoping to catch some nice moon reflections in the water at this location.

Right as the moon was getting above the trees, clouds moved in preventing clear moon photos right away. I wasn’t certain how long the clouds where going to cover the moon but figured I would wait awhile just in case. Finally the moon was rising higher in the sky and began to clear the clouds leaving a reflection in the water. Just what I was hoping for. Now where’s the eclipse. Where I was the eclipse had a very minor impact on the moon this night. You couldn’t really tell there was one actually. I continued to take pictures trying different shots and exposures. I never really got the correct exposure out in the field. This one is still overexposed to see any details in the moon.

While trying different exposures I did capture the moon burst again. I thought that was kind of interesting as it reflected in the water. In the moons reflection, fog was beginning to float across the water. Unfortunately it didn’t get as pronounced as I was hoping for once I saw it beginning to form. It was interesting to see it form at the shoreline and travel across the water.

In the photo below I wasn’t actually intending on photographing the moon. This was by accident while traveling in the Olympic Mountains in Washington. The purpose was to capture stars in a dark setting but, not doing my homework first, the moon changed that. Just as the sun set and the stars began to shine I had the camera set up and was about to begin shooting away when the sky lit up. Turning around I cold see a full moon rising over the mountains. So much for star pictures. The way the clouds where swirling in the sky lit up by the moon I decided to change my focus a little and take photos of the moon. Still a little overexposed but I wanted to get the clouds and the mountain in the picture so I wasn’t exposing just for the moon. More practice is needed for my moon photography. Eventually I’ll get the exposure right.

New Experiences

Snow Storm Timelapse

March 1, 2014 Troy

During a recent snowstorm in Minnesota I set up a camera and took a timelapse of it and fortunately caught some interesting photos. Put together you have this video of just over 4 minutes. After you watch it through one time there are some interesting things to watch out for. In the first couple of seconds you can see Saturn trailing across the sky. The video is added to show in real time what the snow fall was like. As your watching the snow accumulate, pay attention to the street sign. In the beginning it is easily visable but eventually gets blocked by snow. Also, around 3:20 you can see the snow settling and melting in the bottom, center of the screen. This is surprising as the actual air temperature was only a few degrees above zero fahrenheit. It is due to the reflection off of the building and shows just how powerful the sun can be this time of year even in Minnesota. For those that want to know some of the technical aspects of this video:

-there are over 20,000 images used

-each second of video represents 6 minutes of time as this is compiled at 60 frames a second with photos being taken every 6 seconds.

Alaskan Adventure, Exploring, Troy's Blog

A Drive to the Yukon

February 16, 2014 Troy

It is often said that it’s the journey that’s more important, not the destination. In this case I would say both were amazing. While stopping in Skagway, Alaska (see post: A Day in Skagway) we chose to rent a car to tour the sights. It was more economical than taking a tour and offered more freedom to see the sights we wanted to take in. From Skagway you take the Klondike Highway out of towards Canada and let the amazing views take over from there. Ultimately our destination was Carcross, Yukon with the option to continue a little further into the Yukon if time permitted

The day started shortly after arriving in port on our cruise ship with walking to the car rental shop and picking up our car. It was a dreary morning with fog covering the mountainous landscape and providing a slight mist from time to time. Weather is certainly a consideration in this part of Alaska which receives on average 27 inches of precipitation a year and cooler temperatures combined with drastic changes in elevation. As we began our climb into the mountains the fog became so heavy it was difficult to see much of the road and certainly the views were drastically reduced. Eventually our route brought us to the Canadian border and a stop at the customs facility. Remember to bring your passport if you decide to take this potentially scenic drive.

At this point we pulled off the road to get out of the car for a few minutes and discussed whether we should continue on or not. If all we’re going to see is clouds covering the mountains then maybe our time would be better spent returning to Skagway and exploring some of the sights in that area. I’m sure from the top photograph you can tell what we decided. Our decision was to continue on a little further and see how things looked. The clouds and fog were a little lighter here than they were when we started, let’s see if it gets any better down the road. What did we have to lose? Very soon after getting back into our cars and continue down the Klondike Highway the skies cleared opening up the magnificent views.

Warning: if you decide to go for a drive into the Yukon from Skagway, pay attention to the road. There are so many distractions from the landscape that you could forget you’re driving for a moment. If you’ve never seen an area like this before, be prepared for your senses to be overwhelmed with the beauty. For the next several miles to Carcross, all you could hear in the car was “look at that over there!” and “did you see that?”. But the most frequent sound was “WOW!”. Every corner in the road brought a different view that was just as beautiful as the last just begging for another picture. That’s if you can remember you have a camera and decide to give up a moment of these views to look through it. Unfortunately most of the photos are disappointing compared to the actual views which is fairly typical of most landscape pictures. Still, you have to try. A majestic mountain over there, a waterfall right near the road, or a lake that continues for miles.

Soon we came upon our destination and stopped for lunch in Carcross. At first there was little conversation as we were all still taking in the surroundings here in the Yukon. As we approached Carcross there were signs for the Alaska Highway. One of my friends had taken a trip through this area many years earlier and described the amazing sights. I couldn’t imagine them very well at that time but now here I was in the same area seeing some of the same sights. For a short time I contemplated foregoing the rest of the cruise and just continuing on to take in more of this area. The consequences were greater than I was willing to take on so back to the days plan it was.

After lunch it was decided there was enough time to continue on towards Emerald Lake just 8 miles up the road before turning around and heading back to Skagway. This lake is not very large but it is extremely colorful and doesn’t look like it belongs among the mountains. It belongs in a tropical paradise somewhere else. There was a larger desire to climb down to the lake and just test the water with a toe to confirm it’s too cold to jump into. Taking a glance at the time told us it was time to head back to the cruise ship without needing to rush giving us more time to look over these vast vistas on the way back.

Our return trip came with a few stops along the way to take in a view or two and then came the U.S. Customs stop requiring another view of your passport. As we continued on down the mountain we encountered the views missed earlier that day because of the heavy fog hiding them. Some of the areas were probably ok to miss as the drop a short distance from the road was steep and endless unless you got caught up in a grove of tree tops keeping you from a terminal drop to the bottom. Most of the missed views were a continuation of the incredible sights we’d been fortunate to see much of the day.

If ever there was a place to help relieve the stresses of the world, this is definitely one of them. Although I don’t think the winter time would be as enjoyable simply because of the driving on snowy roads. I’m sure the views, however, would be just as magnificent if not even better.

New Experiences

The Seashore of Olympic National Park

January 26, 2014 Troy 6 Comments

Often a national park will have multiple ecosystems to explore allowing for a more diverse experience. Olympic National Park definitely fits into this concept with three different systems – mountains, forests, and a coastal ecosystem. It’s always interesting to find freshwater environments near the coast so you can contrast and compare them. A small distance apart can make a tremendous difference in the wildlife that visit each and in some cases both types of water. Gulls, eagles, and bears will visit both freshwater and saltwater in search of food while salmon will only enter freshwater during spawning season and ducks and deer remain near the freshwater. Pelicans will primarily stay near saltwater along with so many other sea creatures (urchins, sea stars, ect…).

Those of us that don’t live near saltwater are not use to seeing the diversity of both these ecosystems and how similar they are as well as how different they are. After visiting the interior of the Olympic Peninsula for a couple of days it was time to venture to the coast and enjoy another environment. Two things on our list of things to see here were the sea stacks which are basically large boulder or small islands of rock out in the ocean not far from land and tide pools containing urchins, anemones, and other sea creatures caught during low tide.

We started out at Beach 1 near the Kalaloch Lodge to start our coastal adventure. After a short hike down to the beach you notice it is full of logs piled everywhere and Dungeness Crabs laying all over the beach being picked at by gulls. Being there in late August may provide a different encounter with the crabs as I’m sure they don’t litter the beach here year around. Working to get over the logs you land on the soft sand often desired with a beautiful beach. Unfortunately, there where no sea stacks and no tide pools to peer into. After a little more exploring, it was time to find our next meal and another vantage point to explore the ocean coast.

Since we were near the Kalaloch Lodge, and there aren’t a lot of dining options in this area, we opted to eat there and enjoy a great view of Kalaloch Creek entering the ocean. We enjoyed our meal and then a quick hike down to the ocean for another touch of the soft sand before venturing off towards Ruby Beach. This beach was recommended as the best location to see the sea stacks closest to us. There are better beaches for this which also offer nice tide pools but they were several hours away and our day was dwindling as it was.

Getting out of the car at Ruby Beach you can’t see the ocean but there is definitely a strange sound. Another short hike to get to the water and now this sound makes more sense. There is no sand here, just small, smooth, flat rocks making a unique sound as the water washes onto them. Finally a view of sea stacks. I’m sure they are more impressive on sunny evenings as the sun wanes behind them but this day was cloudy with heavy mist all around us. Still they were fun to see. Due to our timing, the tide pools would not be visible as it was near high tide. That was a little disappointing as pictures we’ve looked at provide a lot of colorful creatures. To see a post by Lee Rentz displaying some beautiful photos of the tide pools click here.

After enjoying this stone beach for awhile, rain moved in making the decision to call it a day and head back to the hotel pretty easy. Three days of exploring this national park left me exhausted so an early night at the hotel was just right in order to recoup before returning to Seattle for another long day’s adventure.

Photography Experiment, Troy's Blog

Low Angles

January 5, 2014 Troy 4 Comments

What better way to kick off the new year than by continuing on the photography experiment, I’ve been working on using a different perspective for some of my shots – a low angle. Playing around with using low angles has really helped change my perspective when trying to setup a shot. Fortunately there have been some amazing sunsets recently encouraging me to get out in the cold and snow to play with the camera. The photo above caught my attention as the sun was rising higher in the sky one morning reflecting on some freshly fallen snow. A perfect time to practice a low angle to see if I could capture the scene in a little different view. I really like the leaf and it’s shadow in contrast to the white shimmering snow and the detail this angle presents. Centering the leaf in the shot probably was not the best choice but that’s what practicing is for, right?

While the sun was setting one winter evening I loved how the clouds and colors were interacting giving a beautiful view. Taking several pictures of the surrounding landscape at the normal photographic view gave some nice photos but something we’re used to seeing. Trying something a little different such as a low angle shot provides a little different picture. I’m undecided if I like the sky in the background out of focus or not. Using a low angle meant I could either focus on the sky or the snow but not really both. While out practicing I didn’t take multiple shots changing the focus and then deciding which I liked better. I guess there’s a reason to get out again and spend a little more time changing the focus. Ultimately this picture highlights the clouds and colors in the sky more because all of the mid-ground elements are hidden putting the sky against the snow.

Changing locations I tried this technique again to see how it would look at a different perspective. Walking out on a frozen lake covered in snow I didn’t like how the picture looked while placing the camera at snow level. It wasn’t low enough to capture enough of the snow covered lake. Fortunately the camera I use has a flip screen so I can see how things look before taking the picture. To try and improve things I kicked out the snow to get the camera lower giving a more balanced picture. At least I thought it did. As a side benefit some of the snowballs from kicking out this snow gave some great shapes to enhance the overall shot. In fact, I believe they make this photo. Without them the whole scene loses something. It becomes a little boring to me even though the clouds were reflecting off some great color in interesting shapes. Again, the snow is out of focus and I’m uncertain if it should have been more in focus. More to practice with on the next outing.

Low angles aren’t just for a wintery landscape. While in Victoria, British Columbia this past fall this couple wanted their picture taken in front of the Empress Hotel. Unfortunately the best photo opportunity is from the sidewalk in front of the hotel which is fairly close to the hotel. The choice is to cut off part of the hotel or part of the couple unless you’re using a wide-angle lens which I don’t currently have. Wait, a low angle just might provide another option which is what I used hear. A low angle shot can be for more than just a different perspective I guess. A technique definitely worth using. There are very few pictures using it that I found uninteresting.

Family Ramblings, Troy's Blog

2013 in Review

January 1, 2014 Troy

It’s always interesting to look over the last year to see where you were so that you figure out where you’re going. We choose what point we call a year in order to do this. It doesn’t have to be when the year changes. Maybe there’s an anniversary of something meaningful or another date in the year that makes more sense for you. Most people decide to do this as the year comes to a close on the calendar and a new one is beginning. I guess mentally it gives us a sense of finality and an opportunity to start fresh with the change of a number in the year.

Questions I like to ask are: Did the goals set get achieved ? If so, were they beneficial goals? Was there satisfaction in achieving them? If not, why not? Should those goals be extended another year? Where there other achievements that weren’t set as goals but happened anyway? How did those unexpected achievements affect you? There are a number of other questions you can use to analyze the year and how you used it but these will get me started.

My goals for 2013:

-Complete the Photography Experiment Monopoly Board

-Explore Olympic National Park

-Cruise to Alaska traveling through Glacier Bay National Park and hiking on the Chilkoot Trail.

-Share these travel experiences with others creating life long memories they can reflect on.

Well, how did these come out?

I completed over half of the Photography Monopoly Board but have yet to finish it. I will continue this in 2014. While working on this I got involved with photography so much that I spent quite a bit of time out and about taking pictures. Just to give you an idea of what I’m referring to, I took over 55,000 photos in 2013. While this seems like an incredible number to me, 48,000 of them are from a time-lapse project covering our entire Alaskan Cruise. That leaves 7,000 images taken while working on photography this year. Still a lot of images to go through for a year. Many of these are not great pictures but I still like looking through them as they remind me of the adventures taken in order to get the images. As I’m sure you can imagine there are a number of really nice photos as well. Just the laws of probability suggest that if you take enough pictures, some of them will turn out. This has created an unexpected issue for me. How do I display the number of images I really like? There are too many and not enough wall space. This photography experiment will continue into 2014 because it has helped me improve and I enjoy it a lot.

We did explore Olympic National Park and were joined by 5 other family members as we did so creating some wonderful memories while learning some great information. Also, the Alaskan cruise taking us through Glacier Bay National Park and to the Chilkoot Trail was accomplished. There were a total of 14 friends and family on that part of our adventure, 7 of which had never been on a cruise before. There are a couple of posts yet to come from this trip. So, all in all, 3 out of the 4 goals were accomplished. Why is sharing these experiences a goal of mine? I love seeing and doing things I’ve never seen or done before. Probably the only thing that I enjoy more than that is to watch others as they experience new things. These adventures don’t mean much to me unless I can share them. As an example, while working on photography I found a nearby park reserve that offers many opportunities for some great photos. There have been numerous trips there this fall with many more coming I’m sure. Only a handful of times has there been someone with me. It is those few times that stand out for me more than the others because I get to share that with the people who have been with me.

Some unexpected achievements this past year include a couple of trips to the North Shore of Minnesota along with a few weekends camping with friends. One big one was the opportunity for Lysa to go to Europe during the summer of 2014. That one has definitely altered this next year for all of us both economically and time constraints.

Moving on, what are some goals for 2014?

-Finsh the Photography Experiment Monopoly Board

-Explore Gettysburg, Edison, and the Lewis Falls Trail

-Share these travel experiences with others creating life long memories they can reflect on.

-Send Lysa off on her own European adventure

May you have new life experiences in 2014 and find some great adventures!

Family Ramblings, Fiction, Troy's Blog

On This Christmas

December 24, 2013 Troy

I can’t go any further! How can I stop? This little girl needs to get somewhere warm. We’ve been walking all night in this freezing weather just to keep from freezing to death. I thought I heard someone say it was going to be one of the coldest nights of the year with temperatures below zero. The feeling in my hands and feet left several hours ago. Sara has been shivering for hours. How could we possibly go on? She hasn’t had anything to eat since yesterday at the shelter. I wish they would have had a spot for us so Sara could be comfortable on this Christmas holiday. Just a little bit further. There is a mall near. I just need to get her inside for awhile.

Look at all these people hurrying to finish their Christmas shopping and get home to be with their families. Oh how I would love to be with family but they’re all gone now since the fire destroyed our house and took my mom and sister with it. And then a car accident killed dad a few years ago on his way see Sara at the park. I just don’t think I can go on. Resting in this snow bank wrapped around this child I can feel the snow and cold slowly taking our life. Is there a reason to resist any longer? Of course, she deserves better than this. I need to get up and move again. Just a few more steps. But nothing seems to move.

Ah warmth. Are we dead? I pry my eyes open to see someone has put a jacket around Sara and placed a blanket around me. Why is this person helping us? With the glow above he must have been an angel. There are sounds coming from his mouth but I can’t make out what he is saying. Finally I hear “eat?” and know this child needs some nourishment to continue on. So I accept the offer and with his help get Sara and myself into his car. What a glorious feeling of heat! Still unsure of where we are going I look back towards her and see a small amount of color entering her cheeks. For a quick moment I feel a sigh of relief and offer a prayer of thanks for this angel sent to help us in this time of desperation.

Arriving at a nearby sandwich shop I can begin to feel my fingers tingle. Something I have not felt in hours. Unsure if this was a kind person or cruel individual, we order something to eat. Maybe he should have left us. It would probably all be over now. Has his kindness just extended our misery? A little bit of heat will make it torturous to trudge back into the frozen white earth for another night of wandering just to keep some life. This must have been our fortune at this moment so I will take in some food and get Sara all she can eat to prepare for this night while I continue to figure out what we’re going to do.

Steve began to talk, asking us questions about where we’re going and how we got there. First asking Sara for her name and how old she was and offering the information that he has two daughters of his own. After finding out we had no where to go, he eagerly invited us to stay with his family on this Christmas night. I could possibly accept. He has done so much already and how could I face new people while wearing the same clothes for the last week and in bad need of a shower. No, we just need to get through tonight and hopefully a place will open up at the shelter. We’ll be ok I promised myself. Ouch! what’s that. Hey I can start to feel my tows again. I didn’t think I would ever feel those again. By this time Sara had taken off Steve’s coat and began to bounce around a little as the heat and nourishment entered her body. My face started to get a little wet as I realized we couldn’t give up. She has so much life in her.

After declining a few more offers to join Steve and his family he made another offer. A night at a hotel to recuperate. How could I possibly accept this? Beginning to again turn down his generous proposal I looked at this little child and realized I could not decline again. Hesitantly we joined him in his car and drove towards the nearest hotel. Holding Sara close I could see this gentleman talking with the person at the front desk and then another person entering the lobby. After several minutes Steve was escorting us to our home, carrying Sara, on this Christmas Eve. Unlocking the door, we entered a beautiful room with a bed for Sara and one for me. With all this space I couldn’t tell if this was a dream or if it was really happening.

Sara was laid in her bed and fell fast asleep. Steve wished us a “Merry Christmas” and disappeared through the door. I didn’t know how to thank this kind and generous person. Without him I would not be able to hold my little child again. Just as I was about to take a soothing bath there was a knock at the door. Oh no, it was too good to last. Will we need to leave this place? Slowly answering the door it was Steve again holding several packages. He quickly placed them near each bed explaining which ones where for Sara and even left one for me. Again he wished us a Merry Christmas and disappeared again.

With tears beginning to fill my eyes I glanced towards this beautiful sleeping child and noticed his jacket. Grabbing it I raced down the hall towards the exit to catch this angel. I met him near the door and offered the best hug I could thanking him for saving us tonight on this Christmas Eve. Tears were rolling off of both our faces as we waved good bye. I could hear Christmas music playing in the lobby which I hadn’t noticed before. That helped complete a day I couldn’t have imagined. Better get back to Sara and wait for her to awaken Christmas morning with gifts to open. Yes, Santa brought us both more than words could describe!

Exhausted I couldn’t keep my eyes open any longer. Soon I began to dream – of a house for Sara to grow up in, people to share our lives with, and angels watching over us. A new beginning On This Christmas!

People to People, Troy's Blog

A Student Ambassador–Ten Commandments of a Traveler

December 15, 2013 Troy

I came across this while sorting through some of the preparation materials from the 1990 People to People experience and thought it was interesting. It’s the ten commandments of a traveler. Prague Czechoslovakia.

1. Thou Shalt not expect to find things as thou hast them at home – for thou hast left your home to find things different.

2. Thou shalt not take anything too seriously – for a carefree mind is the beginning of a holiday.

3. Thou shalt not let the other tourists get on thy nerves – for you are paying out good money to have a good time.

4. Remember thy passport.

5. Blessed is the man who can say “thank you” in any language – and it shall be worth more to him than much advice.

6. Blessed is the man who can make change in any currency – he shall not be cheated.

7. Thou shalt not worry, he that worrieth has no pleasure, and few things are ever fatal.

8. Thou shalt not judge people of a country by one person with whom thou hast trouble.

9. Thou shalt when in Rome do somewhat as the Romans do – if in difficulty thou shalt use common sense and friendliness.

10. Remember, thou art a guest in every land and he that treats his host with respect is an honored guest.

Good words to travel by!

Photography Experiment, Troy's Blog

Get Close, Go Wide

December 7, 2013 Troy

This is a technique that looks like it can offer some unique pictures and has given me some interesting shots. Unfortunately I don’t have a wide angle prime lens for my camera as suggested in this article. That doesn’t mean the technique can’t be used. It just needs to be used a little differently such as the camera needs to be further away from the close subject in order to focus on it. The photo above was taken on the shore of Olympic National Park.

Here is another way to use the “Get Close, Go Wide” technique. Using the stones in the foreground add depth to this picture. Not that I was trying to accomplish that. It was more of an accident because the tripod was setup behind this stone wall with the camera just above the stone in order to capture the glacier behind us. Fortunately the settings for this type of picture were correct to get some of the stone in focus along with the group of people all the way out to the mountains. Even though it was not entirely intentional, I like the effect. Now let’s see if I can do this again on purpose.

This was an attempt at photographing a hallow log using this technique. The log is interesting put I don’t think this photo works very well in this situation. I may have to try a different perspective to really capture the essence of this log.

I like the “Get Close, Go Wide” technique for this photo. Can you imagine the lake at the end of this dock? Maybe a kid jumping off the dock into the lake on a hot summers day? Or a dad and his daughter walking on this dock to go fishing? It’s all in your perspective.

New Experiences, Troy's Blog

Dinner at the Space Needle

November 23, 2013 Troy 2 Comments

One of the most popular attractions when visiting Seattle is the famous Space Needle. So when planning for a trip to Seattle the first stop was Spaceneedle.com. We knew we wanted to view Seattle from the Needle but didn’t realize the different options available to experience this unique structure. Eating at the Skycity restaurant was very appealing until viewing the menus and seeing the prices. For a family of four to eat there it was going to be over $200. Not sure that was in the budget.

How about some time on the observation deck? That was still a little pricey but how often did we plan on visiting Seattle? Probably this one time so better take advantage of being there and go to the top of this famous attraction. The next question – do we go during the day, the night, or both since all of these options are offered? After figuring out that the observation deck was included with a meal, the cost of eating in the Skycity restaurant was not as bad. Especially if we decided that the day and night was what we wanted to do. How about eating around sunset and then going up to the observation deck before dinner to see Seattle in the waning hours of the sunlight.

Everyone in our group decided dinner around sunset would be a good idea, that is of course, if the sky was relatively clear to see the sun. Let’s take the chance and make reservations! Next, finding out the sunset time of Seattle in late August. For that we used timeanddate.com and then made our reservations around that time. Here’s hoping! It was off to Seattle.

Our day began in the Olympic Mountains with plenty of clouds and fog. A sunset didn’t look very promising giving way to a little disappointment setting in. There was most of the day left for the sky to clear but the forecast didn’t indicate a good chance of it. For a different view of Seattle we took the ferry from the Olympic Mountains to northern Seattle. Driving on a boat was a unique and fun experience for those of us that don’t really get the opportunity to do so. I’m sure it’s old news to those who get to do it on a regular basis. Once we exited the ferry it was off to downtown to explore the fish market, the underground, and eventually end up at the Needle.

As the day continued, and our Seattle adventure taught us about the city, we noticed the sky beginning to clear a little. There is hope! Our reservation time was ticking closer so off to the hotel to clean up, change, and get ready for dinner. We arrived at the Space Needle taking in the uniqueness of this structure that we had seen several times from a far. Where is the entrance? It’s not like there is a definite front to this building. Walking around it we found entrance doors and slipped inside. A huge gift shop is what greats you. How do you check in? Walking around on the inside a reservation desk appeared so we walked up to it and let them know we had arrived for our reservation. Pretty easy once you gain your bearings in this circular building.

We were directed towards a line for restaurant guests to take a specific elevator near your reservation time. After waiting a short time it was into the elevator and quickly up the Needle. The elevator ride itself is fun as they are on the outside of the building and have large windows to view the city as you climb to the top. It was such a smooth ride and went to fast for us as we enjoyed peering out at our surrounding while the elevator climbing higher and higher making the ground look smaller and smaller. Next stop, the observation deck. Going out onto the deck gave a wonderful view of Seattle, the Olympic Mountains, and Mt. Rainier. Unfortunately, this view is impeded by cables taking away from the magnificence of it. Still a nice view. After about 15 minutes we were called for dinner and made our way down one level to the restaurant.

We were quickly seated on this revolving floor and had an even better view of the area because of the complete windowed view giving a panoramic look at Seattle and the nearby mountains without the cables. Everyone in the group had been warned of the prices to be expected for dinner so the shock had was taken care of. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to eat because I was spending most of my time watching the setting sun. Success! Most of the clouds had dissipated leaving a gorgeous sunset over the Olympic Mountains. This plan could not have worked better. What a blessing.

Dinner came and the sun left leaving us with great food to enjoy while Seattle was lit up underneath us. One of the kids dishes comes with noodles in the shape of the Space Needle itself. How fun is that?! And for dessert, how about a smoking bowl of ice cream?

For those who may be questioning whether to eat at the restaurant or just visit the observation deck, I highly recommend taking the opportunity to eat at the Space Needle at least once if nothing else for the unique experience of it. I will certainly do it again if the opportunity presents itself.

For those unable to get to Seattle, here is a live webcam from the Space Needle.

Gaining Life Experience