Last week we had some really nice weather in Seattle for the Thanksgiving Holiday, and lots of family visiting from various places around the country. Juggling family commitments meant I couldn’t always get outside as much as I wanted, but I was still able to sneak out here and there, and we all went on some really nice trips to local spots both in and outside the city.
Thursday morning, with fog settling overnight thanks to our stable inversion, I got up early before picking Eric up from the airport and headed across Lake Washington to Newcastle Hill, hoping to catch a view of the skyscrapers in downtown Seattle poking through the fog, with sunrise light on the Olympics across Puget Sound to the West. Unfortunately, the fog was a bit too thick, with only the top few floors of the Columbia Tower (the tallest building downtown) poking out. The view of the Brothers above the fog was still lovely, though.
The Olympics at sunrise from Newcastle, with The Brothers at the left, and Mount Constance on the right. Downtown Seattle is hidden in the fog at the lower right. If you look closely, you can see the very top of the Columbia Tower poking out of the fog, below Mount Townsend.
The Brothers at sunrise on Thanksgiving morning, above fog filling the Puget Sound basin.
Fog swirling through the woods of suburban Bellevue.
On Friday, Luc kindly took us up the Smith Tower, the oldest skyscraper in Seattle (and at one point, the tallest building west of the Mississippi) for a view of the city - we were super lucky with the weather, and watching the light come on in all the buildings downtown as the sun set was remarkable. It was also fun to watch all the activity in Elliot Bay: ferries coming and going, tugboats maneuvering ships, and lots more.
The Columbia Tower and the rest of Downtown Seattle from the Smith Tower, looking to the North.
Beacon Hill, Sodo, the Port of Seattle, and West Seattle lit up at dusk from the Smith Tower, looking to the South.
Finally, on Saturday, we took a family trip down to the Green River Gorge, outside of Enumclaw. We stopped in a few spots, including seeing the 1,300 vertical foot deep mineshaft at the ghost town of Franklin, which plunges straight down to well below sea level. We walked through the gorge as well, and saw the last of the Fall’s salmon run, with plenty of carcasses lining the banks of the river, and a few stragglers still swimming in eddies and the like.
The Green River flowing through its eponymous gorge, with lovely banks full of moss, ferns, and maples.
The Green River Gorge
Salmon carcasses on the shore of the Green River