Bridge lifts and Fleet Week, 2015

So, this morning at my break, I walked around on the rooftop garden for a bit of exercise, and I noticed the Broadway Bridge up, then I noticed the Steel Bridge up. That meant the US Navy ships in town for Fleet Week, a part of the Portland Rose Festival, were leaving Portland as scheduled. I took this photo, hoping to be able to label it accordingly and use it on the blog. The two bridges are more than two miles from my work building. I'm surprised that I got decent photos with my iPhone 5, zoomed in. The labels on the photos don't show up as well as I'd like, but I'm too tired to fool with them again.



At my afternoon break, I took this photo for comparison purposes.



Also for comparison, here's a photo that I took of the Broadway Bridge from the MAX Yellow Line while on the Steel Bridge. The Broadway Bridge is a Rall-type bascule bridge spanning the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States, built in 1913.



Also for comparison, here's a photo that I took of the Steel Bridge in 2011 when I got to be on a boat with the ships came in for Fleet Week. See the wavy looking bridge behind it, close to the bottom of the Steel Bridge? That's the Broadway Bridge which is north of the Steel Bridge. The Steel Bridge is a through truss, double-deck vertical-lift bridge across the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States, opened in 1912. Its lower deck carries railroad and bicycle/pedestrian traffic, while the upper deck carries road traffic (on the Pacific Highway West No. 1W, former Oregon Route 99W) and light rail (MAX), making the bridge one of the most multimodal in the world. It is the only double-deck bridge with independent lifts in the world and the second oldest vertical-lift bridge in North America, after the nearby Hawthorne Bridge. The bridge links the Rose Quarter and Lloyd District in the east to Old Town Chinatown neighborhood in the west.



During Fleet Week, 2011, I got to be on a boat on the river, taking loads of photos. Here's one of the completely open Broadway Bridge with one of the ships passing through it during the bridge lift. This is how a bascule bridge looks when it is open. The boat to its left is one of the River Patrol boats, part of the Multnomah County Sheriff's Office.



And here's the Steel Bridge with one of the ships passing through it, headed to dock for Fleet Week. This is how a double-deck, vertical lift bridge looks when the ship going through means that both decks have to be lifted. Sometimes only the lower deck has to be lifted, when the ship is much shorter than this one.

Seen through the 19 bus windows, on the way home from the PSU Farmers Market, June 6, 2015

Saturday I got up in time to get ready, including placing empty, lidded, plastic containers inside a small red rolling suitcase and cash in my coin purse. My backpack I made empty by hanging my camera across my right shoulder, along with my purse. I wore a lightweight, long, wide, fringed black scarf to ward off the delicate breezes which I knew would hit my somewhat sweaty self here and there and make me sneeze my head off--something that always happens to me with a vengeance when beset by allergies. On the way back home after a successful outing, I managed to witness tiny morsels of the Portland Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade. Alas, no grand florals, but parade-worthy sightings, nonetheless. I wiggled around, zoomed in, and took these photos. Luckily, I perused all of the more than 300 photos posted online the The Oregonian and learned the identity of each sight I managed to see. Hooray! Here they are in the order I saw them. Enjoy!



Columbia River High School Marching Band Vancouver during the 2015 Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade on June 6, 2015. I took these photos of Columbia River High School's folks on SW 6th, heading north, stopped at the intersection with SW Salmon. The bus driver joked, "Should I open up my folding chair right here?" and pointed just inside the doorway of the bus.



Columbia River High School Marching Band Vancouver during the 2015 Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade on June 6, 2015. Same site.



Columbia River High School Marching Band Vancouver during the 2015 Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade on June 6, 2015. Same site.



Columbia River High School Marching Band Vancouver during the 2015 Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade on June 6, 2015. Same site.



The 40 Something Cowgirls (Wrinkled Wranglers Vancouver Chapter) ride during the 2015 Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade on June 6, 2015. Yes, they're blurry there through the bus window across the aisle from me, that's them--I looked through the photosfor riders in vivid pink shirts, then verified by the markings on the horses' faces. Not sure which cross street this is--we're still on SW 6th Avenue.



Sunset High School Marching Band Beaverton during the 2015 Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade on June 6, 2015. These next photos are a glimpse of parade goings on seen on MLK as the parade goes south towards the Burnside Bridge where it ends up in downtown, going to both locations which I photographed at the top of this post.



Sunset High School Marching Band Beaverton during the 2015 Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade on June 6, 2015.



Pearson Field Education Center Mini-Planes during the 2015 Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade on June 6, 2015.



Pearson Field Education Center Mini-Planes during the 2015 Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade on June 6, 2015.



Pearson Field Education Center Mini-Planes during the 2015 Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade on June 6, 2015.



Pearson Field Education Center Mini-Planes during the 2015 Spirit Mountain Casino Grand Floral Parade on June 6, 2015.

Huh? No. 1

When I came across the original of this photo in my Flickr album entitled Quirky, I had to take a close look to discover why I had put it in that particular folder. To tell you the truth, if I hadn't looked closely, I would have been hard-pressed to remember why I had taken the photo in the first place on July 29, 2012. So, I decided to crop it so that you could see what caught my eye--that little dog perched on the stroller, personifying determination and balance as the woman pushed it across the wet grass, almost muddy in spots. Surely those conditions meant a bumpy ride for that pup, but you'd never know it from that stance. And we'll never know if there was another occupant in the stroller, drat it.



This is how I cropped the photo at first, trying to keep you guessing where I stood to take the photo, what with the proximity of the streetlight's globe. Any idea where I'm standing?



Here's the original photo. I'm standing on the west end of the Hawthorne Bridge where it turns into an approach to the streets of downtown. I'm looking north at part of Tom McCall Waterfront Park. The teal-colored building is home to the Portland Rose Festival, in the historic John Yeon Building, built in 1948. Found on Wikipedia: In this, his only major non-residential commission, Yeon combined the principles of the International style with strong influences of the Northwest Regional style, which he pioneered. Northwest Regional elements include the naturally-inspired color scheme, the use of plywood walls and louvered ventilation panels, and concern for the site's unique views.

Portland Rose Festival Fleet Week, June 7, 2012, more photos No. 1

Once the USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) completely cleared both the Broadway Bridge and the Steel Bridge, two tugboats went to work, turning the destroyer around right in the middle of the Willamette River! The tug at the back pushed; the tug at the front pulled,using a blue strap, and in no time at all the 510 foot long ship went from pointing south to pointing west.
 

Not that the tugs stopped there. The goal, to turn the ship completely so that it pointed north, the direction that would it would go on Monday, headed to the mouth of the Willamette River where it meets the Columbia River. That's the route the ship would take back to Astoria so that it could reach the Pacific Ocean and head on home. It's totally amazing to watch, fascinating enough that time literally flies by!
 

I took all of these photos through the openings in a chain link fence erected along the seawall to keep the ships, except at boarding areas, separate from folks walking along in Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

Portland Rose Festival Fleet Week, June 7, 2012

Both of these photos have been altered at PicMonkey with the HDR special effect.
 

As much as I love parades, my favorite event connected with the Portland Rose Festival is the arrival of the fleet. I took this photo of the Portland Fire Bureau's fireboat as it passed under the Broadway Bridge which is in full open position during a bridge lift. The bridge lift means that not too far north of the fireboat there must be a United States Navy vessel on its way to dock at the west seawall, right in downtown Portland.

Turned out that the guided-missle destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) was the first to arrive.

The destroyer's dimensions: length, 510 feet; beam, 66 feet; and draught, 31 feet. It's surface speed can reach 37 mph. The engines are 4 x General Electric LM2500-30 gasoline turbines developing 100,000 shaft horsepower to 2 x shafts.

Here are two interesting articles about the destroyer which I found on the Internet at Navy dot mil. 

Navy Welcomes William P. Lawrence To The Fleet Story Number: NNS110604-08Release Date: 6/4/2011 9:23:00 PM A A A By Mass Communication Specialist First Class Brian S. Finney MOBILE, Ala. (NNS) --

The Navy welcomed guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) into the fleet during a commissioning ceremony in Mobile, Ala., June 4.

The newest Arleigh Burke-class ship, the 60th of its class, is named in honor of the late Vice Adm. William P. Lawrence, a highly-decorated Naval aviator and Vietname prisoner of war.

Lawrence began his naval career as an academic scholar and athlete at the U.S. Naval Academy, where he later returned to occupy the Chair of Naval Leadership after retiring from active duty, Feb. 1, 1986.

His aircraft was shot down over North Vietnam in June 1967 and he was held captive until March 1973. His dedication and perseverance during that period inspired the ship to claim the motto, "Never Give In."

"[Lawrence] and many others were heroes among heroes by leading a resistance of our prisoners in Vietnam," said Adm. James Winnefeld, commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command and Commander, United States Northern Command. "Indeed we should recognize those men that are with us today because consistent with our ship's motto, they never gave in."

"I assure you we will be ready," said Cmdr. Tom Williams, commanding officer, USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110). "Whatever challenge may be ahead for this crew, we have set a good course and the only course I will accept is toward excellence."

An audience of more than 3,000 attended the ceremony, held at the Alabama State Docks. The crowd consisted of family and friends of USS William P. Lawrence crew members, a host of U.S. military veterans and many others associated with the Lawrence family.

The ship was christened by three women important to Lawrence, his widow, Diane Wilcox Lawrence, and daughters, Dr. Laurie Macpherson Lawrence and U.S. Navy Capt. (ret.) Wendy B. Lawrence, the ship's sponsor.

The ceremony concluded when the Lawrence family said, bring our ship to life!" The Sailors then manned the rails.

"I look at this as a spring board to much greater things, it's my first command and I couldn't be happier," said Sonar Technician Seaman Apprentice Scott Peterson. "I am very proud to be a part of the most technologically advanced warship in the world."

During the ship's brief stop in Mobile, the crew of William P. Lawrence was heartily welcomed by the local community. The city's minor league baseball team hosted a Navy night, during which Williams threw the first pitch. Crew members also donated many service hours to Habitat for Humanities community relations projects.

"The Sailors on this ship has taken [Lawrence's] spirit and his character to heart and they're the real secret to making this the best ship in the fleet, said Williams. "We're named for a modern naval hero who was known as the Sailor's Admiral, and he really took care of people."

And here's one more: Navy's Newest Destroyer To Arrive In San Diego Story Number: NNS110628-16Release Date: 6/28/2011 9:31:00 PM A A A From Naval Surface Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs SAN DIEGO (NNS) --

Sailors on the Navy's newest destroyer are scheduled to arrive with their ship at Naval Base San Diego, July 1.

The guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110), the 60th Arleigh Burke class destroyer, was built in Pascagoula, Miss. and commissioned during a ceremony at the Alabama State Docks in Mobile, Ala. June 4.

After commissioning, the ship departed Mobile and sailed through the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea and Panama Canal into the Pacific Ocean on its voyage to its homeport of San Diego.

Cmdr. Thomas R. Williams II is the first commanding officer of the 9,200-ton warship's 280-person crew.

"It is wonderful to celebrate our homecoming on the 4th of July weekend with our families," said Williams. "Our goal as a command for the past year was to make it home by the 4th, and I'm very proud of the Lawrence warriors who worked so hard to make it possible."

The new destroyer honors the late Vice Adm. William P. Lawrence, an accomplished leader and the first naval aviator to fly twice the speed of sound. During the Vietnam War, as commanding officer of Fighter Squadron 143, Lawrence was awarded the Silver Star for a strike against a heavily defended target in North Vietnam. He completed his mission, but was captured after his aircraft went down in June 1967 and remained a prisoner of war (POW) until March 1973. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership to fellow POWs.

While a POW, Vice Adm. Lawrence composed a poem entitled "Oh Tennessee, My Tennessee," which was subsequently designated as the official poem of the State of Tennessee by the state legislature.

The ship is capable of carrying Tomahawk missiles, anti-submarine torpedoes, surface-to-air missiles, as well as a five-inch gun and two SH-60 helicopters.

William P. Lawrence helps provide deterrence, promote peace and security, preserve freedom of the sea and humanitarian/disaster response within 3rd Fleet's 50-million square mile area of responsibility in the Eastern Pacific, as well as supporting the Navy's Maritime Strategy when forward deployed.