No. 28 2012 Pacific Northwest Air Show Calendar

Its getting warmer and the skies are getting bluer...so that means the sights, sounds and smells of airshow season 2012 is about to begin. This is a great time of year for #avgeek such as myself interested in viewing vintage World War II era aircraft showing off their capabilities. One of the first dates for the 2012 season is happening tomorrow at Arlington Municipal Airport. If your in the Arlington area on Saturday swing on by to see the displays.

Participating museums

http://historicflight.org/hf/
http://www.flyingheritage.com/TemplateHome.aspx?contentId=1
http://www.heritageflight.org/

 2012 Vintage Airshow Circuit in the Pacific Northwest  
May 5th Arlington Airport Appreciation Day, KAWO
May 12th Alaska Airlines Day, KSEA
May 19th Paine Field Aviation Day, KPAE
May 26th Bremerton Pilot association Day 70th Anniversary KPWT
May 28th Memorial Day Flights, KPAE
June 2nd & 3rd War Bird Weekend, KPAE
June 9th Historic Flight Day, KPAE (ZERO Deput)
June 15th-18th Collins Foundation, KPAE (IL2 Deput)
June 16th Olympia Airshow, KOLM
June 30th Historic Fligh-Over, Open House Naval Station Everett
June 30th Pacific Legends Day, KPAE
July 11th ~ July 15th EAA Arlington Fly-In, KAWO
July 14th Flying Heroes , Museum of Flight KBFI
July 21/22nd JBLM Expo
July 21st Princeton Airshow British Columbia, CYDC
July 21st Friday Harbor Fly-in, KFHR
July 24th Rolls Royce Demo, KPAE
July 27th~July 29th Concrete Fly-In
July 28th Fighter Evolution Day, KPAE
August 1st Meet the Fleet, Seattle Water front
August 11th Luftwaffe Day, KPAE
August 17th&18th Props and Ponies, KPAE
August 25th Battle of Britain, KPAE
August 31st~September 1st Vintage Aircraft Weekend, KPAE
September 8th Rolls Royce, KPAE
September 15th American Air Power Day, KPAE
September 29th Ground Attack Day, KPAE




 #vintage #airshows #pacificnorthwest #airplanes #paine #everett #mukilteo #2012

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No. 27 Little Mountain Park ~ Mount Vernon, WA

Walk: Little Mountain Park

Location: Mount Vernon, WA

Why Visit? If your headed to the Tulips just down the road this spot will give you an aerial view of the fields and help you find the best spots to take pictures. Once on ground level it might be hard to find them. For more information on the Skagit Valley Tulips click here

Trail length: About four miles of trails; elevation gain 934 feet. Print out a trail map from the website at the end of this column; maps are not yet posted at the park.

Level of difficulty: Flat-to-moderate dirt/gravel trails (short paved path at parking lot to vault toilet and pavilion overlook).

Setting: This aptly named park rises up from the Skagit Valley southeast of downtown Mount Vernon. Logged between 1914 and 1920, a portion of this park has been part of this park system since 1929, and trail and signage improvements are under way.

A narrow, paved road winds 1.5 miles up to the parking lot and two overlooks, while forested trails lace the park's 517 acres. Volunteers are giving the park's well-loved trails some TLC. For a good two-mile loop that traverses some of the reconditioned trails, park at the top, then walk down the road to the short paved path to the north viewpoint. From here, follow the path away from the road and take the first right onto the Sidewinder trail (per the trail map). Here you'll see signs of old shortcuts being blocked off by logs. Signs describe how shortcutting tramples plants and erodes hillsides. After about 0.75 mile, at the fork, go left, then immediately take the right branch (the Huff N Puff trail per the map; signed as a multipurpose trail). After a half-mile, you'll come out on the main road. You can walk back up the road (go right), or — if you have a map — take an older trail across the road that climbs back up to the parking lot.

Highlights: If possible, time your visit for a clear day when you can see the stupendous views. (The Saturday farmers market in downtown Mount Vernon next to the river runs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Oct. 16). The park's covered viewpoint looks out to the south and west over Skagit Valley fields, the Olympic Mountains, Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands. The north viewpoint, just below the parking lot, looks toward Mount Baker and sports a long ramp with a striking parasail-shaped arch.

Facilities: Accessible vault toilet at parking lot; restrooms at Hillcrest Park off Blackburn Road.

Restrictions: Leash and scoop laws in effect. Bikes not permitted on certain trails (marked). Watch for stinging nettles.

Directions: From Interstate 5, take Exit 225, and at the end of the exit ramp, turn east on Anderson Road. Immediately take the first left onto Cedarvale Road, which heads north alongside I-5. Turn right on Blackburn Road, go up the hill, and in 1.2 mile, get in the right turn lane and turn right on Little Mountain Road. In 0.5-mile, turn right into the well-marked park, and drive to the top










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No. 26 Lake Stevens ~ Lundeen Park

Lundeen Park A lovely city park at 10020 Lundeen Parkway on the Lake Stevens north side. Lundeen Park has playground equipment, a grassy play field and a large shallow swimming area with beach and L-shaped dock.

For Dogs Leash Law and poop scoop in effect.

This park offers swimming, a covered picnic area, playground, and wetland viewing areas.

The covered picnic area is available for a rental fee for family gatherings and other groups that are looking for a covered picnic area with barbecue and power outlets. The summer dates fill up fast so make your reservations early in the year. Contact City Hall at (425) 334-1012 for reservations.

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No. 25 Gas Works Park

Gas Works Park in Seattle, Washington is a 19.1 acre (77,000 m²) public park on the site of the former Seattle Gas Light Company gasification plant, located on the north shore of Lake Union at the south end of the Wallingford neighborhood. Gas Works park contains remnants of the sole remaining coal gasification plant in the US. The plant operated from 1906 to 1956, and was bought by the City of Seattle for park purposes in 1962. The park opened to the public in 1975. The park was designed by Seattle landscape architect Richard Haag, who won the American Society of Landscape Architects Presidents Award of Design Excellence for the project. It was originally named Myrtle Edwards Park, after the city councilwoman who had spearheaded the drive to acquire the site and who died in a car crash in 1969. In 1972, the Edwards family requested that her name be taken off the park because the design called for the retention of much of the plant. In 1976, Elliott Bay Park was renamed Myrtle Edwards Park.
 More info on the park

Great Mound Silhouette

Aurora Bridge Sunset

Cleated Space Needle

Tuesday Night Duck Dodge Sailboat Rave, Lake Union

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No. 05 2012 Mount Vernon, WA - Skagit Valley Tulips

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Distance from Seattle: 62miles 1hr 10min
Rating: 3 out 5
Reason to go: Short drive from Seattle to see hundreds of acres of tulips in all sizes and colors. The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival is one of the most fantastic events in the state of Washington.  It runs from April 1 to April 30 every single year. Its worth it to start your day really early or go during the week. The word is out and weekends the tulip route will be packed with young kids and families. If your into Landscape or Flower photography this festival will give you great subjects to photograph.

TIPS: Although the Tulip Festival runs from April 1st through April 30th the actual blooming of the tulips varies with weather conditions. Short or long winter weather can cause tulips to bloom earlr or be delayed a few weeks. Check http://www.tulipfestival.orgTulip Festival / for current field conditions.

 If you do plan on going to the Tulip Festival. LEAVE EARLY in the morning to avoid the traffic mess, easier to find parking, setup your camera in a field looking east for a nice sunrise shot. Shoot by yourself and not have many people will be walking through your shot. The best light is in the morning and towards the evening.
It can be cloudy in Seattle but bright and sunny in Mount Vernon. Once the sun gets up over the cascade mountains the sky becomes a huge baby blue light box and it will be harder to find the right exposure for the flowers.
Tulips grow on raised mounds of dirt. Depending on previous days weather you could be walking on soft dirt or trekking through mud puddles, so bring shoes and pants that you don't mind getting dirty.

Every year the layout of fields change, to find out where things are  you can download a field map from Tulip Festival. Some of the growers charge a parking fee of $3-$5 to visit their grounds. Most of the streets that run between Mount Vernon and La Conner are 2 lane rural roads with NO SHOULDER PARKING.  There are ropes and signs all over the place telling people not to park on the side of the road, but as the day goes on and the mass of weekenders start to roll in you will see backups building up because people will stop in the middle of the road to admire the fields.

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