Sturdy Gurdy has a sister (July 07)

Many of you probably have never heard of the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, dubbed "Galloping Gurdy" after its collapse in the 1940's. If you ever took an engineering course, however, you've probably seen the footage of the ill-fated bridge. Ten or so years later the existing bridge, "Sturdy Gurdy", was built on the sight of the collapsed bridge, and over 50 years after that the demands of a rising population required a new bridge to be built next to the existing one. As a one-time good deal, John and I got to run across the new bridge, along with 9,998 strangers, before it was opened to the public. The pictures we took are of the "open house" on the bridge later that day. It was truly amazing to get an up close look at the bridge, not to mention the gorgeous view. The first picture is of the hoards of people on the bridge, the second is of the midspan section, and the third is of John walking Anna as we make our way back across to safety. Did I mention the bridge cost $1 billion???