Who were early northwest pioneers in the use of electric powered vehicles? Lumbermen? Apparently so. The following photo of the Snoqualmie Falls Lumber Co. sawmill in 1921 shows the electric transfer cars used for moving lumber around the mill. Photo courtesy University of Washington Libraries, CKK0811, Clark Kinsey photographer, circa 1921 The drivers cab is not the most aerodynamic but it does provide shelter from the rain. Why use electric power and not diesel power at sawmills during this period? Note the size of the load - very heavy but not a problem for electric power, which could easily out... Continue reading

Long before the days of crypto currency, banks in the U.S. could print their own money and make it look like the real thing. Here's legal tender issued in the early 1900's by the Bank of Kent. At first, bank notes clearly obligated the banks and not the fed, to make good on the currency, but as time wore on in the late 1920's and early 1930's, they came to look just like federally back currency with virtually no oversight. Sure looks like the real thing. Although banks had to receive approval from the U.S. Treasury Department, I guess we... Continue reading

One last post regarding the mysteries of Lake Sawyer water levels - I promise. We all know that Lake Sawyer water levels fluctuate significantly throughout the year, rising in wet winter months and falling during dry summer months. But why does it fall so much? Granted, both Ravensdale Creek and Rock Creek no longer provide significant inflow during summer and early fall. However, we do have a weir to help keep from draining the lake during this time of year. We do get some rainfall in the lake even though the creeks may stop flowing, but it's not sufficient to... Continue reading

It's going to be a great week with lots of sunshine. A perfect time to go birding in the Samish Flats along Bayview Edison Road near the town of Edison in Skagit County. Salmon runs up the Nooksack and Skagit rivers have ended and a large number of eagles head west to feed on migrating birds that congregate here. I saw over 30 eagles perched in one tree. What caught my attention was the large number of immature juveniles under 4 years of age. At least two thirds were juveniles. How can you tell a juvenile from mature bald eagles?... Continue reading

Why do lake levels seem to be getting lower each summer and higher in the winter? The following graphic, updated daily at Lake Sawyer Weather, shows how big the fluctuations have been in recent years. As discussed in my recent post The Mysteries of Lake Sawyer Hydrology, there appear to be no easy answers to our many questions. We know that water enters the lake from three main sources, direct precipitation and stream flow from both Ravensdale Creek and Rock Creek, and exits the lake over the weir into Covington Creek, through lake evaporation and groundwater outflows. But where do... Continue reading

Have you ever wondered why Lake Sawyer and other area lake levels fluctuate up and down the way they do? Is there something nefarious going on? Are the Covington and/or Kent Water Districts pumping water from our lake? Unfortunately, when dealing with lake hydrology, there are no simple answers. For perspective, let's take a quick look at Horseshoe Lake, Lake Wilderness and Lake Sawyer. Simplest is Horseshoe Lake. It has no inlet, no outlet and aside from a little rain, it's water levels are essentially 100% dependent on groundwater. The underlying soil is highly permeable and as groundwater levels rise,... Continue reading

Did our Goodwin clan actually have a shingle mill at one time? But alas, as far as I can tell, no shingle mills in our branch of the Goodwin clan. Pretty impressive looking shingle mill though! Image courtesy University of Washington Libraries, log mill 021, North Olympic Library Digital Collection, circa 1910 The above mill was apparently located on the Olympic Peninsula in Clallam county. It's a pretty significant mill for being in such a remote region of the state. Perhaps they shipped their shingles to Puget Sound area markets via the Mosquito fleet? Any ideas as to why they... Continue reading

Not exactly a blockbuster headline, but there certainly has been a lot of rain over the past several days. Fortunately, we have not faced the flooding that other communities in our area have seen. I took a drive around town earlier today and found very heavy stormwater flows but no flooding, except perhaps at the bridge along Abrams Ave. The most visible sign of heavy rains are the high water levels in Lake Sawyer. According to Lake Sawyer Weather, the local website maintained by Bob Edelman, lake levels peaked earlier this morning at 15.9" above the weir. Definitely covering our... Continue reading

About 5 years ago, Judy and I made our first hiking trip to the trails around Mount St. Helens National Monument and have been hooked since. Forest service roads providing access to the east side are now closed but the Visitors Center at Castle Rock and the Forest Learning Center further up the road continue to be open on weekends. And if you want to go all the way to the Johnston Ridge Observatory, you can do that too if you are ready for a 12 mile hike/snowshoe trek this time of year. The gate is currently closed at Coldwater... Continue reading

True enough, we have an official FAA recognized airport here in Black Diamond. You may have a tough time making connections for a flight to Hawaii, however. With runways 18 and 36 having a runway length of just 2,100 feet long by 40 feet wide and with no radar or ground communications, the airport's use is limited to single engine private planes. You would also need approval of the private owner, Darrell Bryant, before landing here. Following is an aerial map from King County showing the runway's location (the label and arrow were inserted by myself).. Though the FAA officially... Continue reading

This past week, I went for a hike along Ravensdale Creek that took me from Lake Sawyer to Ravensdale Lake and back. Good exercise but no luck in spotting any Coho salmon making their way upstream just yet. Here's a photo of what we're looking for taken a few years ago. Let us know if you spot any. So much fun to watch them spawn. Continue reading

Well, I may have gotten a bit carried away with this post's headline, but it's not that far off either. Living in Black Diamond and at Lake Sawyer, we certainly fly below the radar screen of the photography community in the northwest. What makes our location so cool is that at this time of year, particularly in December, January and February, the sun rises and sets as far south as it gets. The angle of the sun is also at it's lowest which results in particularly intense colors. With Lake Sawyer waters often calm like glass and given spectacular views... Continue reading

Having spent the first 5 years of my life living on a houseboat at Lake Tapps (no water, sewer or electricity), I keep trying to find out where on Lake Tapps our family's little heaven on earth might have been. With all of the development since then, it's very difficult to figure out. I recently ran across an aerial photo of Lake Tapps taken in the 1950's that might prove helpful. Here's my best guess based on this aerial photo. Image courtesy White River Valley Museum, PO-02919, circa 1950's (red arrow inserted by me) The location seems to best fit... Continue reading

With all of the building going on around here, it seems we can't go anywhere without running across one or more survey teams setting new lot lines or utilities markers. Living now in the digital age, the skill set for being a surveyor has certainly changed over time. What was it like if we reset the clock back to 1890? Under regulations established by Congress, Washington State was divided into 71,362 sections, each section encompassing 1 square mile or 640 acres. The state was further divided into survey townships of 36 sections in the form of rectangular grids. Homesteads were... Continue reading

Though there continue to be decided growing pains and much of our waste still goes to landfill, recycling today is more the norm than the exception. And these days, even the size of recycle bins significantly exceed that of our garbage bins. If anything, we need even larger recycle bins. Perhaps the best sign of progress is the growth of local companies that are using recycled plastics in their manufacturing processes - producing salable products out of waste material. China and other Asian countries shut the door to our export of waste and this may turn out to be a... Continue reading

Next time you go for a hike in one of our northwest forests, keep an eye out for Pacific Yee trees. They are unique in many ways - an evergreen with red bark and also the source of a natural life saving compound called paclitaxel. Now known as the cancer fighting drug Taxol, this natural compound has been found to be effective at destroying cancer cells and is now used as a treatment option for patients with breast and ovarian cancer. In addition, Taxol is also used in the treatment of non small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and AIDS-related... Continue reading

The early days of using steam donkeys to aid in yarding and loading logs onto railcars was a time requiring lots of experimentation. Hopefully, few people got hurt in the process. The following photo was taken near Sedro Wooley where famed photographer and chronicler of the northwest logging industry Darius Kinsey lived. As we can see, loading a railcar with big timber was quite the chore. Image courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 1994.123.76, Darius Kinsey photographer, circa 1899 Rolling, rather than lifting, seems to have been winning technique. Look at the size of these logs! Continue reading

How many bridges were built in Washington State during the late 1800's and early 1900's? I would think certainly in the thousands and most built without help of an engineer or heavy duty machinery. Image courtesy Washington State Historical Society, C1948.18X.24, circa 1900 Only in the northwest! Continue reading

For those of us who live at the north end of Lake Sawyer, this last year has seen a significant change in traffic volumes, flow patterns and safety, including two very serious accidents at the intersection of 288th and SR 169 (Maple Valley Highway). Construction activity around the lake and a new subdivision in the city of Maple Valley along 288th have certainly contributed. Even more so, we see a lot more vehicles using 288th as a bypass to avoid traffic bottlenecks in both Covington and Maple Valley. And when the railroad crossing along 216th (Lake Sawyer Road) was closed... Continue reading

Issuance of the first patent for steam powered Donkey Engines in 1881 marked the beginning of major technological innovation in Pacific Northwest forests. It started with a very simple goal - replace those darn teams of oxen. Oxen (also known as "hay burners") may be strong, but they sure were slow and stubborn. Teams of horses were faster but still difficult. Image courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 2004.0.507.40, Darius Kinsey photographer, circa 1912 Like most new fangled equipment, it took some time for industry wide adoption and wide spread use of steam donkeys, but as forests close to water became... Continue reading

According to the book "More Deadly than War! Pacific Coast Logging, 1827 - 1981" written by Andrew Mason Prouty and published by the University of Washington, logging was indeed a dangerous job - and perhaps THE most dangerous job in modern history. Image courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 1974.35.12.49, Virna Haffer photographer, n.d. Following are some rather shocking statistics. 1 in 150 loggers in Washington State died each year, much higher than even in coal mining 1/3 of all 18 year old loggers would not live to the age 65 as a result of logging accidents Every year, almost 1... Continue reading

Short days, dreary skies and wet. Sounds like January in the pacific northwest. Rather than mope around complaining, it's time to get outside and go exploring. When was the last time you hiked down into the Green River Gorge, visited the Seymour Botanical Conservatory at Wright Park in Tacoma or went for a walk in the Washington Arboretum in Seattle? We have boundless choices that will put a smile on your face. For me, being a Cougar, I had never before been to the Washington Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens just south of the UW campus. So, on a wet... Continue reading

What wages did loggers earn during the 1890's here in the northwest and which jobs paid the most? After all, men worked 10 hour days six days a week. Their jobs were physically demanding and at the top of the list for workplace danger. So, it stands to reason that wage scales were relatively high and the most skilled and dangerous jobs paid the most. Right? Nope! For perspective, following are several photo's of the Veazie & Russel logging operation located in Enumclaw and South Prairie. Image courtesy Washington State Historical Society, 1986.11.1.2, Edward Sather photographer, circa 1890 The "big"... Continue reading