Lee and I spent a few hours one day at the locks that lead from Lake Washington to the Puget Sound, near the University of Washington in north Seattle. The locks are small as far as locks go, but fun to watch nonetheless. Here are the gates at one end before water rushes in:
A boat moves in from the lower body of water, the Sound:
A crew member watches as the waters rise:
When the gate opens, water rushes from Lake Washington into the lock:
While we watched, two brand new and colorful tug boats entered the locks from Lake Washington. I suspect they were being delivered to new owners:
They use tires as buffers:
A small boat came in behind the two tugs:
The gates closed, and the water lowered in the lock. It was amazing how fast the lock filled and emptied, taking only about 5 minutes. The water empties and fills from pipes under the locks.
The two tug boats were tied together side-by-side:
The water is still lowering in this photo:
Once the water is low enough, the gates open slowly as the levels of the water on each side equalize:
Movin' out!
In case you couldn't tell, I loved those tug boats!!
There are two sets of locks at this location. The second lock is smaller than the first. The loading begins:
I moved on before the three small boats left the lock. There was a small dam next to the locks to control the level of water in Lake Washington:
and beyond the dam, a fish ladder so that salmon could make their way around the locks and dam:
We saw only one steelhead salmon moving upstream, since October is a bit late in the season.
I took dozens of photos, they were so beautiful! They looked just like the tug boats you would give to a child for the bath tub!
They use tires as buffers:
A small boat came in behind the two tugs:
The gates closed, and the water lowered in the lock. It was amazing how fast the lock filled and emptied, taking only about 5 minutes. The water empties and fills from pipes under the locks.
The two tug boats were tied together side-by-side:
The water is still lowering in this photo:
Once the water is low enough, the gates open slowly as the levels of the water on each side equalize:
Movin' out!
In case you couldn't tell, I loved those tug boats!!
There are two sets of locks at this location. The second lock is smaller than the first. The loading begins:
I moved on before the three small boats left the lock. There was a small dam next to the locks to control the level of water in Lake Washington:
and beyond the dam, a fish ladder so that salmon could make their way around the locks and dam:
We saw only one steelhead salmon moving upstream, since October is a bit late in the season.
I need to show photographs of yet another fabulous sunset. We saw this sunset from Pike Market in downtown Seattle, looking towards the Olympic Mountains on a day when the clouds had cleared just enough to let the mountains come out. Each time we turned away, we would turn back to look and the colors would be even more incredible:
Signing off for now,
Eileen
