Canals and bridges
I did an errand this afternoon and then did some urban exploring after – not real exploring, but walking around places I don’t get to every day, so close enough. I walked along the canal in Fremont then under the beautiful Fremont Bridge.
A minute after I crossed under it the bell rang that means it’s about to go up, so I stopped to watch because it’s always fun to watch a bridge go up from below, especially a deep blue one with orange trim. Then I got to watch the Rachel Carson chug through.
Then I walked on a hundred yards or so to under the Aurora Bridge to look up at the engineering marvel.
Exploring is good, even (or perhaps especially) on a grey winter afternoon.
I’m such an obvious tourist because I’m always gawking at the architecture and scenery wherever I go. Even in my own neighborhood! In Italy I was taking so many closeup pictures of the construction of the Colosseum people asked me if I was writing a book.
Same here! It’s absolutely the only way to be. This one time my older brother and I went to Montreal with our mother – I think I was around 15 so he was around 22 – and we must have either teased or chided her for being so obviously touristing, because she firmly explained that being an enthusiastic tourist was a good thing and she didn’t give the tiniest fuck about being uncool. She was so so right. I don’t suppose I was smart enough then to say “Oh yes, you’re right, of course,” but by god it’s my policy.
The colors of the Fremont Bridge are perfect. If I am in my car and get stopped at a drawbridge, I always turn off my engine (as *everyone* should), get out, and watch the boat that the bridge is raised for as it goes through. Sometimes it’s a tug with a barge, sometimes it’s a research vessel, sometimes it’s a pleasure craft, like a sailboat with a tall mast. I have no decent knowledge of watercraft, but I enjoy witnessing the variety in these instances.
Comrade!
I envy any of you who have a bridge that you can watch being raised. But I have my share of that “touristy”, too. I take pictures in my own town…in Lincoln, where I spend a lot of time…I look at the neat things both human made and natural, and don’t worry about gawking. And I take a boat ride on the Missouri every year, even though it’s the same stretch of the Missouri I’ve seen many times before.
Typical Portland! We have 7 drawbridges across the Willamette River – not one uses the same mechanics of any other ;)
We have 4 across the ship canal, along with two elevated highways and a set of locks (which make it possible to walk across the canal via whichever gate is closed). /brag
The high bridge is the second photo carries the oldest of those two elevated highways. The two are weirdly close together – the Fremont drawbridge and the Aurora. But then the freeway bridge is very close to the University drawbridge, too.
Yeah I’m also jealous of the drawbridges, I don’t even know where the nearest one is to me. I think the last one I encountered in any way was Chicago at least 20 years ago. Actually now that I think about it probably Chincoteague VA but it’s long gone (or off the main road) and I was never close enough to appreciate the mechanics when it was in use. ( As a family we went several times in the 70s and it’s still a regular vacation spot for my sister’s family and numerous cousins).
I haven’t been under one that was in action for some time, but I remembered the sound it makes, or the sounds – the heavy clunk as the two edges separate, and the hum of the mechanism. The two pieces rising skywards – that is an exhilarating sight. I need to hang around under the bridges more often.
Of course the other side of this is that if you’re not under them but on a bus or in a car wanting to cross them, the event is not always greeted with eager anticipation.
My favourite bridge remains The Murray Bridge, which bridges The Murray and links the suburbs of Murray Bridge. (The river was named first, then the bridge was named for the river, then the town was named for the bridge.) I wish I had a decent photo of it, but I like how rustic and forlorn it manages to look in the sunset.
This any good?
Yes, and this
https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/storypad-39vj8jKaUgdcscYTXaf65Vt/90b82912-f255-42b9-95cc-7f5e3de7958c.jpg/r0_213_2272_1491_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg
Couldn’t search earlier on my phone, but the two old ones have a charm the new bland concrete thing lacks.