Saturday, June 3, 1:30 p.m. - I'm BACK!!  And welcome back to this page to all of you! I was gone for a week and couldn't wait to get home and see what they've been up to.  The picture on the right is today's picture. There has been a lot of clearing and a lot more rocks and a lot more piles driven in.  The far southwest corner where the last of the rubble was cleared away is now totally flat.  The piles of smaller crushed rock are now as big as the uncrushed rock.   Sean Watts gave me the idea of reposting the last picture I took before I left on my vacation so you can easily compare! Back now to daily updates.  Oh!  And, I got a voice mail message from John Yaegar at Q13 Reports that plans are to air the story about the construction tomorrow night.   So everyone who can get KCPQ should tune in to the 10 p.m. news on Sunday.  And, maybe, the morning report on Tuesday.  Yep, I'm milking this for everything I can! <grin>

Sunday, June 4, 2 p.m. - Quiet day on the site but the crowd at Safeco is doing their best to make up for the noise shortfall.  It looks like things are really ready for the major construction to get underway.  There are different kinds of trucks on the site than there were before I left.  I'll be interested to see what the action is tomorrow.

Monday, June 5, 4 p.m. - I was on TV last night and they ran the story again this morning.  And a whole lot of people watch Q13 Reports!  I learned watching the story that they are driving 1,800 piles and they have 600 more to go.  They drive some of them in as deep as 80 feet.  That is amazing to me.  The story said that the pile driving should go on for about another month.

Tuesday, June 6, 4 p.m. - Well, they are driving the piles today!  As I type this, there are at least three going.  And, they obviously got a new one - it's bright blue and it's smack in the middle of today's picture.  Steve Majewski sent a note asking for pictures of what the stadium will look like.  I found a couple of good ones and put them here.  Looks to me like they have a bit of a ways to go yet.

Wednesday, June 7, 4 p.m. - Today's story is rocks.  You can see in today's picture how the pile of little rocks is overtaking the pile of big rocks.  I caught one of the big machines on top of the rock pile and just behind it you can see the rock grinder spitting out more little rock onto the pile.  It's a quiet day on the site, though.  Guess the pile drivers have the day off.

Thursday, June 8, 4 p.m. - The cement truck is back in view.  I'm thinking there may be some stuff going on behind the rock piles that I cannot see.  Today there is pile driving and a bunch of different noises.  It's kind of interesting to hear.  Sean Watts found this link - http://mfsd.com/webcam/live.jpg which shows the Denver Bronco's new stadium.  The Bronco's stadium is due to be completed almost exactly a year before ours.  Sean's thinking that my pictures might look more like this one this time next year... an interesting thought!

Friday, June 9, 4 p.m. - Well, today's circle highlights an interesting development...  They've placed a large square of wood on the site.  It looks like a room size piece of plywood.  Wonder what's going on there??

Saturday, June 10, 2:30 p.m. - Some days pictures are just pictures and some days - like today - they are a whole story unto themselves.  First of all, look at that sky.  Isn't it amazing?  It looks like a watercolor!  Big rock news.  In the circle you can see the wagon train of rock hauling trucks.  They have been parading in front of that smaller rock pile in the middle of the site and the scoopers have been dumping rocks into them and away they go.  I cannot believe how much rock they have hauled off just today.  The arrow at the left of the picture points to the continuing crunching of the big rock pile into the little rock pile - that's the cruncher itself spitting out the little rock.  And the arrow on the right just points out some of the construction that is really coming along.  It's been coming along for a while now, but I haven't pointed it out.  What a day.  Saturdays are fun cause I can check on the progress all day.

Sunday, June 11, 1 p.m. - Not a creature is stirring on the site today.  And, there has been a light, gentle rain all day.  So we have to trade in a beautiful sky for the clean, crisp smell of a rainy day. Today's circle shows a new little pile farm that went up last week.  Interesting how they group the piles in various places.

Monday, June 12, 4 p.m. - Monday's always seem so much busier and noisier than any other day of the week but I've come to the conclusion that this is mainly because Sunday's are so still and quiet.  Today there seem to be a number of mini-projects getting started and the two east side towers are growing taller and taller.

Tuesday, June 13, 4 p.m. - Ok, now we're getting some definition here.  Unless I am totally guessing wrong, the three things I've circled have got to be three of the four corners of the new stadium.  And I didn't notice yesterday with all the action, but sometime between Sunday afternoon and Monday afternoon the pile of rocks that was where the arrow is pointing left the building.  Of course, we still have my now close personal friends the pile of big rocks and the big pile of little rocks.

Wednesday, June 14, 4 p.m. - Tonight's picture is more clear and crisp than most and I'm not sure why.  I do know that about 5 minutes after I snapped the shot, it got very gray and then started a good, steady rain.  I just got lucky, because if I had taken the photo now, about 20 minutes after the rain started, you wouldn't have been able to see much.

Thursday, June 15, 4 p.m. - A lot of action today and a lot of different noises.  There are little mini projects growing up all over the site.  Today's photo was taken by perching the camera on the terrace rail to steady it.  I'm thinking it might be time for a tripod.  Today's picture is another really crisp and clear one.

Friday, June 16, 4:30 p.m.  I can't find the story on their website but last night on KING TV, they reported that the piles will all be driven in by July 1 and the more quiet concrete pouring will begin then.  Today's picture is taken from my new tripod and, frankly, I don't think it's any clearer than the ones before Wednesday.  Obviously, photography is not my forté.  But the new tripod is very cool.  I found it on the internet - delivered overnight (some 18 hours after I clicked 'buy') all for under $20!  Talk about instant gratification...

Saturday, June 17, 11:45 a.m. - Today there is work going on but it is quiet work.  The pile drivers must have Saturday off.  The circle shows some curious concrete stair-like things at the far south end.  I'm wondering if those are the first of the seats.  On days when the 'mountain is out'* I can still get a peek behind that tower next to the Safeco Field roof.  Yesterday's photo really shows it better but today you can see it better.  *Here in Seattle, people often describe the clarity of the atmosphere by saying 'the mountain is out' - meaning you can see Mt. Rainier.  When the mountain is out, it is really an amazing site.

Sunday, June 18, 11 a.m. - It's a gray, misty day.  And, a very quiet day.  I'm sure that somewhere along in this project they will be working nights and Sundays but so far, Sundays are 'dark' on the site.  It's also strangely quiet in town - very few cars on the streets and almost no regular city sounds.  Everybody must be resting up from the warm, sunny weather of yesterday.

Monday, June 19, 4 p.m. - I was home briefly during the day today and heard some pile driving but by the time I got home after work, they had finished.  And, when they aren't driving piles, it's hard to hear anything.  To know they are working, I have to go look!  I looked, they were working.

Tuesday, June 20, 4 p.m. - Today's red arrow points to an interesting thing going on... There's a really long set of rails which is about waist high.  I was home during the middle of the day and saw men putting these large, long coil things on them and doing something to them and then moving them off to a stack.  They aren't doing it now.  It's quite curious.

Wednesday, June 21, 4 p.m. - It's official.  I can't see the trees for the forest but fortunately, I've got you guys looking for what I can't see!  About an hour after I posted yesterday's photo, Colin Walker sent me a note saying that he noticed that they had taken out the HVAC boxes that have lined the west side of rock pile (closest to my condo) for months and months now.  They are in the Monday photo and gone from Tuesday.  I had no idea until I got Colin's note.  (Even then, I went right to the terrace to see for myself.)  Then, today, I got a note from Doug Brown who speculated that the rail things might have been used to somehow move those HVAC boxes out and that made me go back and check the photos.  I Think those rail things have been there for a while but I couldn't see them because of those HVAC boxes.  And, a note just came in from Mike Go who noticed they were gone, too.  You guys are the best!!  I just checked myself and they first put those boxes there on February 17.

Thursday, June 22, 4 p.m. - They are pouring more seats or whatever those stairstep thingies are.  The red arrow points to it.  Michael Go wrote to suggest I use the timer on my camera to get the shot with no human jiggling of even the tripod.  So today's photo is totally jiggleless.  John Schweers from Houston, TX, sent a note about the stadium they are building there and even sent a link to their live cam.  We can now have a stadium building race!

Friday, June 23, 5:30 p.m. - Today you get two photos!  The one on the right shows the coil operation.  The coils are taken from pile 1 and put on the rails, marked by 2 and then stretched out with rods.  The 3 shows one of the finished rods (not the short poles on the rock hill).  An anonymous visitor left a message in my guest book that they looked like rebar.  I'm thinking that's probably exactly right.pSean Watts sent me a note after checking out the Houston cam and the Denver cam.  He says that their cams only show one stadium and if you understand that the rock piles are left-over Kingdome, my shots show three stadiums!

Saturday, June 24, 1:30 p.m. - The site isn't totally quiet today but there isn't a whole lot going on.  There are some cranes moving but everyone else seems to have taken the day off.  They might be at the game being played right now Safeco Field.

Sunday, June 25, 2:15 p.m. - Typical Sunday... no work on the site.  There's a sold out game at Safeco and before the game the perimeter of the site was lined with fans taking photos.  I'm not sure why today it was so popular except maybe it's a crowd that hasn't been by in a while.  And, there is more to see now than there has been before.

Monday, June 26, 4:15 p.m. - Today's circle shows one of the pile drivers - this one and some other are, right this minute, driving piles with a vengeance.  But, it is also hot enough here for the air conditioner (I have portable unit that I roll out during the 10 days or so a year that we really need it.) and the air conditioner noise is drowning out the pile driving.  In about an hour, the pile driving will shut down for the day and it will be cool enough in here to shut down the air conditioner.  Some days things just work together!

Tuesday, June 27, 4:30 p.m. - This picture sure doesn't show it but it is a hot and really dusty day.  When I look out my terrace, I can see the dust in the air but somehow the camera filtered it all out.  I know now what they did with all those coils.  I have an arrow showing where they all went.  They are making up the northwest tower of the new stadium!

Wednesday, June 28, 4:15 p.m. - Today's arrows point to support structures of some kind that have been in the making for several days.  They are beginning to look to me like they will be holding up the tier of seats that will face west.  It's another really really hot day here.  I was raised in the southeast and I know this isn't really hot but, boy, when you are used to Seattle's nice, cool weather, these days can really melt you down.  We're supposed to be back to Seattle weather (high's in the 60's) tomorrow.  I'm sure the workers on the site will welcome a little relief.

Thursday, June 29, 4:30 p.m. - Relief!  Today's high was a wonderful, glorious 63 degrees.  And, the Mariners took back their rightful ownership of the American League West in an afternoon game.  Life is good.  And work on the site continues with more pile driving as I type this.  Wonder if they are on schedule to finish that up this week?

Friday, June 30, 4:30 p.m. - Lots of pile driving this afternoon.  I skipped out of work early and they are driving like crazy.  I did find out - from a newsletter about the new stadium - that the pile driving is now scheduled to be done in mid-July.  The pile of bigger rocks is also expected to be totally crushed into little rocks by mid-July.  65% of that little rock will be used on the site to raise the level of the playing field.  The rest, according to the newsletter, will be recycled.