Hi All,

I am a new member to the site, having just discovered it a few months ago. Since that time, I have become obsessed with the idea of urban exploration. One of my friends suggested a location that I had never heard of in the ten years I have lived in Seattle (OK, OK, I didn't get out much for a few of those years). Anyway, I decided to head down this afternoon and take a walk.

I'm sure almost anyone reading this in the Seattle area is aware of this place, but I thought it was pretty cool. Apparently, there are plans in the works to tear it and its smaller siblings down sometime in the next two years.

This is my first post, so please feel free to let me know if I am posting anything too obvious or inappropriate. I'd appreciate the feedback.

A view from afar:

Homemade skateboard ramps:

View of a pond (no ducks in sight!):

Some graffiti:

View of the Interstate:

Oh, I found the ducks:

PS... I took all of these using an I-Phone 4's camera and shrunk them down a lot, so they don't look very good. If I use a better camera, does it make much of a difference with the 100k posting size limit?

Not half bad, for a first post! Props to you, my friend. Here's hoping you find some seriously cool sites, and make some nice friends around here. Cheers!

Thanks for the feedback and the good wishes. One thing I am noticing across the site is that I am seeing a lot of full-sized photos that are much higher in resolution than these few I posted. I am thinking they must clearly be above 100k in size. Are people posting larger photos now? Or maybe they just have much better cameras?

Also, I am interested in meeting up with folks from the Seattle area. If anyone sees my postings and is interested, send me a message. A little more information about me can be found in my introduction post here:

http://www.uer.ca/...id=1&msgid=1730778

Posted by TunnelRunner33 Thanks for the feedback and the good wishes.

Hey man, welcome to the hobby! I sent you a message.

Also, as far as pictures go, most people tend to use an external site (e.g. Flickr) and then just embed the image in their posts.

I realized that it would be best to continue posting on one of my current threads rather than to blow the board up with a bunch of small topics.

AROUND, BENEATH, & BETWEEN
I recently made another run to several locations around, beneath, and between the highways of the area. Included here are a few pics of the most interesting things I saw:

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7. I GENERALLY will not photograph people's camps without permission, but this one looked long abandoned and obviously contained a story. I hope nobody was hurt:



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9. I FIRST found this turnstile months ago, when I was just beginning to think about UE:



10. IT TOOK me a few hours of running around to find the way to the other side:

Looks like this is the last summer for one abandoned ramp location.

http://www.thestra...ntent?oid=19885730

I was just thinking about revisiting these ramps, with their unique opportunity for reflection compositions and amphibious exploring. Looks like I'd better hurry.

I read in that linked news story that there will be a public party June 19 to celebrate the Arboretum ramps that are about to be demolished. I haven't been able to find out the hours. Anyway I'm planning to go. It would be great to see some Seattle UE'ers there.

My blog on shrinking photos for posting, http://wp.me/p2PqvR-iK . UER will shrink them for you, and I often take advantage of that feature out of laziness. But UER (and Flickr) has to be doing the same thing I'd do manually. There are only two ways to shrink a .jpeg file; either reduce the pixel count (resample) or increase the data compression. Taken to extremes, each method can have unattractive side effects. Sometimes it's better to take control and shrink the photo yourself.

Thanks for the heads-up on that party guys, I'll be heading over tonight to check it out. I was looking around the web today for info on the ramps, and I found this little gem that I was aware of once but had forgotten:

http://montlaker.c...e-ramp-to-nowhere/

Apparently, someone once installed a tiny little "apartment" on the bottom of one of the ramps, including a rolling platform which could be used to deliver supplies and stuff to the apartment. This had to have taken a substantial amount of time; I am surprised it wasn't discovered and shut down sometime during its construction.

Anyway, if anyone sees a tall dude with glasses and brown Carhartt pants, come over and say hi!

A beautiful structure; thanks for the alert, TR. If only I still had my kayak!

BTW the Foster Island trail is really going to pieces. The east end is no longer passable unless you're willing to wade thru a foot of water.

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I rented a canoe at the U of W boathouse across the ship canal and revisited this site. By water there's more to see; and there are ducks!

1. A tempting landing. But a few of these ramps are live, and this stub quickly leads to one of them.


2. The mama ducks teach their ducklings to beg. Ducks adapt fast. I've read that the ones around here don't bother to migrate any more.


3. Lots of fun playing with the reflections and the swooping freeway curves.

Yesterday I saw new temporary roads and buildings around the west side of the lagoon. Construction equipment is being moved in. Any further exploration of the huge, graceful sculpture with water features that is the 520 interchange had best be done by boat, and sooner rather than later.

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