On the afternoon of April 15th we drove to the BallardLocks, and once again, so many photos and videos…but I narrowed them right down. It was a cool place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s called the Ballard Locks because it’s in the Ballard section of Seattle, but the official title is the Hiram M. Chittenden Ballard Locks. It’s been a National Historic Site since 1917, and it’s the busiest locking system in the country. I just read about Hiram M. Chittenden<\/a> on wikipedia, and boy, he did so many things, it’s quite incredible. He died at the very young age of 58. If you have an extra three minutes you should read about his wide variety of accomplishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s what they say about the locks on their website:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Priority is given to emergency and commercial vessels. \u00a0Passage\u00a0is free to all vessels.\u00a0 Both large and small locks are open 24\/7 daily, except during annual maintenance or repairs. The Large Lock Chamber is 700 ft. long x 78 ft. wide.\u00a0 The Small Lock Chamber is 100 ft. long\u00a0x 26 ft. wide.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a0On a busy summer weekend, both locks are jammed full of vessels of all sizes including kayaks and large ocean tugs….quite the scene.\u00a0 \u00a0Sometimes the difference in water levels at low tide can be around\u00a03 stories, which is quite dramatic as well.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s a very busy place, and fun to see so much going on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s a video of two dogs on a boat going through the smaller lock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n