Travel – Page 12 – Geeky Girl Engineer

Regents Canal

Posted on May 27, 2018 by geek

I posted yesterday about my boat ride on along the Regents Canal from Camden Locks to Little Venice. Today I went for a very short walk along the same canal in the Camden Locks area. It really is a pretty area. It is also a very popular area. There were many people walking along the towpath, and there were also many people just hanging around the area.

Camden Locks

London Water Bus docked near Camden Market

Bridge next to Camden Locks

Homes along Regents Canal

Boats moored on canal

One of many bridges over the canal

London Canals

Posted on May 26, 2018 by geek

London surprises me in several ways. One of those ways is the number of canals, and the number of boats that still use those canals. I don’t think there is a lot of commercial transportation using the canals, but there are at least a couple of boats that run routes from point A to point B. Then there are also people who seem to live on their boat, and of course people who rent them for a short excursion. I took the London Water Bus on the Regents Canal from Camden Locks to Little Venice. The route went past the zoo, stately homes, and apartment buildings. It even went through a tunnel. A nice enjoyable ride, and a very different side of London.

Near the Camden Locks

One of the prettier bridges we went under

Passing and identical boat as the one I was in

Gorgeous homes

Apartment buildings near the tunnel

Inside the tunnel

Near Little Venice

Tower of London

Posted on May 26, 2018 by geek

As part of my trip to London, I felt I needed to see the Tower of London. I kind of wanted to see the grounds, and I really wanted to see the ravens. I saw the crown jewels. They were pretty and extremely expensive looking. I skipped the battlements. Really, I just wanted to look around, and I wanted to find the ravens. Funny thing was, just walking around, I really couldn’t help but think how times have changed. This used to be a grand royal residence, but it also used to be a prison. They used to torture people there. They executed people there. Now it is a beautiful place with fascinating old architecture. People like me pay money to see it. Hundreds of years ago, part of it was the last place some people wanted to be, and the other part of it, the lower class of people would never be admitted. However, it is presented as a place where we can and should learn from history.

Traitors’ gate

The inner wall of the Tower

The White Tower

Innermost ward

Queen’s House and Tower Green

Raven sitting a window

Waterloo Block

The White Tower

Tower Bridge

Posted on May 25, 2018 by geek

I love bridges, so while in London I am visiting as many bridges as possible (although there are quite a few). One bridge that was on my must see list was the iconic Tower Bridge. It is a beautiful bridge. Even better though, you can tour the historic engine room and also go to the top and walk across the upper level walkways that connect the two towers.

Tower Bridge

South tower

Inside the engine room areas, you can see the historic coal burners, steam engines, and the accumulators. The bridge now operates with electricity.

Coal burner

Steam engine

Accumulators

In the south tower, you can see the inside of the tower and all the structural components. They have human figures up in the structure to demonstrate how it was built.

View inside the south tower, looking up

Both the east and west upper walkways have a segment of glass floor, so you can look down onto the river and roadway.

Looking to the road from glass floor of upper level walkway

The views from the upper walkways are wonderful. You can see very far up and down the River Thames.

East view from upper walkway

West view from upper walkway

Charing Cross: Access All Areas

Posted on May 24, 2018 by geek

My vacation in London started with a what some would call a nerd tour. I took a Hidden London tour through London Transport Museum. The tour was of Charing Cross station and included an abandoned platform, where the Jubilee Line used to stop, and also ventilation tunnels. The Jubilee Line platform was abandoned in 1999 when the line’s extension was put into operation, and the line needed rerouting for the extension. The platform is now used for testing station features and also frequently for filming. The tracks are still used to store trains or turn them around. The tour also included accessing ventilation tunnels and viewing the ventilation shafts that allow air from the subway tunnels to escape to the outside. We also got to look down a shaft to the subway tunnel below. The ventilation shafts are massive but needed to allow air to flow through the tunnels. Finally we also got to go under Trafalgar Square via a construction tunnel that was built to bring supplies to the tunnel work and remove spoils from the tunneling.

Escalators down to the abandoned Jubilee Line platform

Abandoned Jubilee Line platform

Abandoned Jubilee Line platform with train running through

Entrance to the abandoned Jubilee Line platform, barely visible sign in background is original, sign in foreground is a fake sign placed there during filming of a James Bond film

Construction tunnel under Trafalgar Square

Ventilation shaft above subway platform

Ventilation shaft above subway platform with train at station (note red and white of train)

Ventilation shaft, looking down as it goes to subway tunnel

Ventilation shaft, looking up to sky

Ventilation tunnel

Doodlebugging in Delaware

Posted on April 27, 2018 by geek

I recently took a rail excursion in Delaware on the Wilmington & Western Railroad in a Doddlebug. What kind of a train is a Doodlebug? It is a self-propelled one car train that was used on less populous branch lines. This particular one is used on Wilmington & Western Railroad’s route though the Red Clay Valley. The tracks follow along the Red Clay Creek, which is a pretty little creek. For our excursion, we stopped and explored Brandywine Springs Park, which is park that is also a bit of a archeological dig of the historic Brandywine Springs Amusement Park, an early 20th Century amusement park. After the park, we just rode along enjoying the valley. It is a lovely ride and a fun train on which to ride.

Doodlebug

Red Clay Creek with Greenbank Mills & Philips Farm in distant right

Brandywine Springs Park

Native orchid

Covered bridge over Red Clay Creek

Red Clay Creek

Chicago

Posted on September 1, 2017 by geek

I’ve never been to Chicago before until I did extended layovers between train rides out west and back. Chicago is a pretty neat city. It has a nice mix of old and new buildings. At least one really neat park. [There are probably more, but I didn’t get to them.] It also has a really nice riverwalk along parts of the Chicago River. It is definitely a city that I need to get back to and explore more. Note to any engineers or geeks reading this: If you are in Chicago, go see the historic water tower. It is a gorgeous building that was built to house a standpipe. Across the street is a pumping station in an equally gorgeous building. You can actually go into the pumping station and walk along a small portion of a balcony to see the pipes and pumps.

Jay Pritzker Pavilion

The “L” goes by a downtown office building

Floating gardens on the river walk

On the river walk underneath a bridge

River walk

Historic water tower near the John Hancock Building

Historic water tower

Pumping station building across from the water tower

Inside the pumping station building

Oak Street Beach

Buckingham Fountain

Cloud Gate

Posted on August 31, 2017 by geek

I’m in Chicago on an extended layover between trains coming back from my trip out west. I spent the day wandering around Chicago, and one the sites on my must see list was Cloud Gate, known more informally as The Bean. This piece of art is lovely to look at, but it is just plain fun to photograph. Everyone there takes selfies of themselves, but really the way it reflects with so many different angles, it is just as fun to photograph everything else.

Cloud Gate (aka The Bean)

Under Cloud Gate (aka The Bean)

Prairie Dogs

Posted on August 29, 2017 by geek

I have visited a lot of parks on my trip out west, and in a lot of those parks were prairie dogs. A lot of prairie dogs were in those parks. I have to admit that I couldn’t get enough of them. They are just so cute. Here is a collection of photos of prairie dogs from several different parks.

Prairie dog

Prairie dogs

Prairie dog

Prairie dogs

Prairie dog

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Posted on August 29, 2017 by geek

From the Black Hills area, I traveled north to North Dakota to go to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Theodore Roosevelt National Park is classic badlands. The coloration of the sedimentary layers are less colorful than Badlands National Park, but Theodore Roosevelt National Park has some unexpected beautiful green areas in the middle of it. It also has some gorgeous views of the Little Missouri River.

Theodore Roosevelt NP south unit

Theodore Roosevelt NP north unit