By now we were nearing Seattle, and had been descending since about Portland.
In order from the top are the Olympic Mountains, the bottom end of Hood Canal and part of Puget Sound are all visible here.
From about Olympia, showing Puget Sound at the bottom, and Hood Canal in the upper half, with the Olympic Mountains fading into the haze.
Part of the complex passages at the south end of Puget Sound, around Olympia. There appears to be some low level fog near the top of the image; this is probably the Strait of Juan de Fuca, around Sequim.
Gig Harbour, with SR 16 on the left. This is a nice area, not very far from Tacoma, which would be located below the aircraft at this stage (I was sitting on the left).
Point Defiance in Tacoma - it's a zoo, and there's also a ferry wharf, with a ferry in there too, on the right hand side of the peninsula, about 3/4 of the way down.
The Tacoma Narrows, and the famous bridge - "Galloping Gerty", the one which self destructed due to resonance during one of the windy periods. It's probably more famous because the collapse was filmed - by the University of Washington, which was investigating its problems. The Gig Harbour airport is also visible here.
North Sound and Hood Canal
Bremerton
The low level cloud in the left image is likely fog on the Strait of Juan de Fuca, running up against the Olympic Mountains. Bremerton is the naval base and city about mid right of the left image and middle of the right image.
The town of Kingston is on the eastern side of the Kitsap Peninsula, near the northern end.
File matching: NOTHING MATCHES: 'dsc_0411-detail.%' There is a ferry dock with service to Edmonds, which is in northern Greater Seattle. This was a convenient route for me when travelling along the northern end of the Olympic Peninsula.
As the plane makes a 180 degree turn to land, this view of Mt. Baker appears. As is often the case, the top of the mountain is covered in cloud. The road on the left is probably I-5.
The northern end of Lake Washington, with Finn Hill on the far side. This is the area where I lived for 16 years. I have located the area where I lived on the full resolution image, but it's not possible to find my former home(s).
The Juanita Area, specifically the bay and swimming enclosure. Kirkland is a little to the right, Bothell to the left.
Kirkland area, with the downtown area being located on the left end of the lake shore.
The high rise buildings are in downtown Bellevue. The mid image body of water is Lake Sammamish, and the mountain off to the left is probably Mt. Si, one of the "Twin Peaks" of the TV series, and located near Snoqualmie Falls.
Majestic Mt. Rainier in the distance, with the I-90 floating bridge, and Mercer Island in Lake Washington.
The south end of Lake Washington, with Mercer Island coming in from the left; Seward Park is the appendage on the bottom. Boeing's Renton plant is about mid image, on the shores of Lake Washington - it's where the narrow body jets, the 757 and 737, are built. And, of course, Mt. Rainier.
The I-90 floating bridge, crossing Lake Washington to Mercer Island, with another bridge back to the "mainland" at the top of the photo.
Closer to landing, Mt. Rainier seems even more impressive, as we are now close enough to see cars on I-5 as it leaves downtown Seattle.
The northern approach to Seatac flies just a little west of Boeing Field, and the Museum of Flight. The group of five planes parked outside are (top to bottom, left row) a 737, 727 and 747; top to bottom, right row are a British Airways Concorde and a 707, which was Air Force 1 during the Kennedy administration.
The Museum of Flight's original building is in the top middle, with green roof. Outside it, to the left, is a B47 bomber. The squarish grey building to the lower left is the new extension, featuring war planes of both World Wars.
And shortly after the plane landed, Bill McKinley was kind enough to pick me up and drive me home. Overall it was a sad and enjoyable trip. Sad as I sold a bike, and saw friends whom I do not expect to see for a while. But it was a nice ride down!
Heading North