Reunions

On Sunday it was time to visit Gig Harbor, for dinner with Barbara and Martin Neeb. I had visited the area once or twice before, but today allowed sufficient time to go exploring for a few good views of Mt. Rainier.

Maps showed that the best view of Mt. Rainier would be on the northern headland of the harbour. So a bit of following your nose navigation ended with this view. Perhaps not the best view, but it was a narrow road, with few places to pull off. Although there was little traffic, Murphy's Law dictates that stopping in the middle of the road would invoke an exodus of locals!

The tall buildings between the two trees are located in Tacoma.

Mt. Rainier is over 14,000 feet (4200 metres). And it's roughly 50 miles (80 km) away.

After trying a few other roads, I found this great view. Again, nowhere to park at the top of the hill, but there was a place a very short walk away, so I parked and walked to take this view. And, of course, as the picture was taken from the middle of the road, a car came along!

And from yet a third location is this view of Mt. Rainier. And also some Sunday afternoon boaters.

Balcony Views

But the appointed hour had arrived, so I made my way around the harbour to locate my hosts for the afternoon/evening.

As the sun is beginning to set, shadows begin creeping up the other side of the Tacoma Narrows. The bridge crossing The Narrows is to the right of the photo (and not visible from here at all). It's famous as the bridge, known as "Galloping Gertie", which had a catastrophic failure during a wind storm; the failure was recorded as the bridge's problem were being recorded for analysis and fixing.

That bridge was replaced (perhaps requiring no more than a new deck, this time one not in the shape of an aircraft wing!), and recently an additional bridge was built next to it. And there's a toll on the new bridge.

As the day is winding down, Mt. Rainier is turning evening pink. And it was time to head out for dinner - refill the stomach as the night descends.

We enjoyed a very pleasant dinner before I dropped the Neeb's back home and headed back to Bothell.