Black Diamond NOW

The Black River - A Waterway Once Connecting Lake Washington with the Green, White & Duwamish Rivers

In past blogs, I have focused on the long deceased Black River that once connected three major river systems in our area, including the Cedar River via Lake Washington (aka, the Black River), the Green River and White River  - into what was once the confluence of three major river systems that flowed into a single waterway, the Duwamish River that eventually flows into Puget Sound. 

Today, the Black River exists only as a Metro sewage treatment plant outfall.  Construction of the ship canal and locks between Lake Washington and Lake Union dropped the Lake Washington water levels many feet and in essence dried up the Black River - only a swamp and sewer plant discharge today.  To accomodate flooding concerns and county politics, the White River was eventually diverted south by farmers into the Stuck and Puyallup River system.  Hence, today we have just the Green River (and treated sewage) going into the Duwamish - and a superfund site at that thanks mostly to Boeing.

But not to be distracted, the Black River was once a gem.  I recently ran across this photo of the Black River as it was in 1905.  Let's not forget once we came!

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, #UW14514, circa 1905

 

The Sunset Highway Across Snoqualmie Pass Circa 1915

Crossing Snoqualmie Pass in a car has not always been easy.  In fact the first crossing by an automobile didn't occur until 1905 and followed the route of the old wagon road.  1915 saw the completion of the Sunset Highway but calling it a highway may have been a stretch.  Many motorists needing to cross the state opted to ship their car via rail instead of risking what proved to be a very arduous journey.  Those promoting the new highway promised drivers "a fine dirt and gravel highway with dependable bridges".  But it also had a few hairpin curves.

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, #1998.10.15, circa 1910's

The following photo shows a car navigating its way across the pass.  Reminds me of some of today's off-the-grid logging roads.

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, #1983.10.9989.1, Webster & Stevens photographer, circa 1915

Travel in the winter was a whole nother matter.  Beginning in 1931, the State Dept. of Transportation promised to keep the pass open year round.  Oops.

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, #P125280, Seattle Times, circa 1936

With an average of over 45 feet of snow each year, sometimes falling at over 1 foot per hour, avalanches were a constant threat.  And where does the snow go that is plowed to the uphill side of the road?  Looks to be a bit of a safety hazard here.  Can you imagine working in these conditions?  Eventually, snow blowers became the norm.  Though still crude by today's standards, these new blowers did signal progress and improved safety as shown in the following photo taken in 1948.

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, #P125295, Seattle Times, circa 1948

 

Why Don't Ducks' Feet Freeze?

Back from Spokane yesterday, so anxious to get out and about and see what's going on at Lake Sawyer and other natural areas here.  Frog Lake was mostly frozen over in the morning, so no birds here.  But the great thing about our wonderful natural area is that Lake Sawyer is big enough not to freeze, at least most winters (1), so we have great habitat for migrating birds year round  But the water gets really cold!!!  How can ducks and other migrating waterfowl survive these conditions?

It all starts with the fish and what they can withstand, before going deep, deep, deep.  At least based on my observations yesterday, a Kingfisher found plenty of food at or near the surface.

So, these guys feet don't freeze because they only dip into the water for a short period.  How about ducks who paddle around for long periods while migrating south?  Here's a picture taken yesterday at Lake Sawyer Park of some Buffleheads hanging out here right now.

As it turns out, it’s all about heat exchange, and the smaller the temperature difference between two objects, the more slowly heat will be exchanged. Ducks, as well as many other birds, have a counter-current heat exchange system between the arteries and veins in their legs. Warm arterial blood flowing to the feet passes close to cold venous blood returning from the feet. The arterial blood warms up the venous blood, dropping in temperature as it does so. This means that the blood that flows through the feet is relatively cool. This keeps the feet supplied with just enough blood to provide tissues with food and oxygen, and just warm enough to avoid frostbite. But by limiting the temperature difference between the feet and the ice, heat loss is greatly reduced. Scientists who measured it calculated that Mallards lost only about 5% of their body heat through their feet at 0^o C (32^o F) ¹. To put this in perspective, the rest of the duck is covered with feathers and in contact only with air, not ice, but because the body is relatively hot, 95% of the heat loss is from the head and body. Meanwhile, the cool feet sit on ice and give up very little heat.

 

(1) I have had the opportunity to visit many regional wildllife areas over the last year.  At least based on my experience, Lake Sawyer Park has it all.  Great for hiking, great for walking your dog, great for birding, and great for just getting out into nature.  And for the record, the trail through the park down to the lake is only 2,168 feet, or less than 1/2 mile.  And guess what, once you get here, you can see one of only 500 active bald eagles nests in the entire country.  More about this in later posts.

 

Narada Falls Then & Now

One of our favorite snowshoeing venues is Narada Falls in Mount Rainier National Park.  In the winter, the falls freeze into a solid sheet of ice, dropping 188 feet to the canyon floor and the Paradise River below.  With snow covering the bridge, it's hard to get very good views in the winter, so I made it a point to stop here last September on one of those wonderful sunny days.  Following is a picture of the falls taken in 1902.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, #WAS1468, circa 1902

The falls was named in 1893 by Frederick Plummer after a branch of the Narada Theosophical Society in Tacoma.  This branch apparently got its name from the Hindu word Narada, which means "pure".  The view looking southwest is also beautiful.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, #WAS3062, R.L. Glison photograpcher, circa 1905

Here's are two photos of the falls I took in October.

Hidden in the shadows, the colors were amazingly vivid.  Not as much water flowing in September, but still impressive and the biggest in the Park.

To get there, take the Nisqually entrance into Mt. Rainier National Park and look for a sign on your right.  Plenty of parking here.  If you reach Longmire, you've gone too far.  For those interested in snowshoeing, two great trips from here.  One trail takes you to Reflection Lakes and the other all the way up to Paradise.  Great trips.

More Early Carbonado

I'm not sure why I seem so fixated on Carbonado this past couple of weeks, except that the conditions here in the late 1800's illustrate well the lengths to which mining companies would go in pursuit of Black Diamond "gold".  This was not an easy path.  The coal mines in Carbonado, Wilkeson and Fairfax were all located down on the Carbon River with a deep canyon to navigate both up and down - many transport challenges with both miners and coal cars.  And as shown in the following photo, landslides were not uncommon.  Not easy terrain.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, #WAS1966, circa 1890-1905

And then to build a bridge across the river, this was not easy and washouts were common.  Here is the number 7 bridge at Carbonado during this same period.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, #WAS1965, circa 1890-1905

You obviously won't find these bridges today.  I wonder what the load carrying capacity for this bridge may have been.  Big timbers though.

For more on Carbonado and Fairfax in their early days, follow these links to Exploring the Ghost Town of Fairfax, Fairfax, Bee-Hive Ovens and the Production of Coking Coal, and Carbonado - Company Town Dating Back to 1890.

 

 

Rails to Trails - One of the Best Pieces of Legislation Enacted in the 1960's

As a child of the 60's experiencing the turbulence of the times - from Viet Nam, to the Civil Rights movement, the Berlin Wall, Cuban Missle Crisis, Kennedy Assassination, Haight Ashbury and more - it's interesting to reflect on what were some of the more long lasting accomplishments of this period.  In addition to great music, how about Rails to Trails?  You bet!  One of the more enduring and important pieces of legislation passed during this period was the National Trails System Act signed into law Oct. 2, 1968.  Black Diamond is blessed with so many great trails and the core corridor in most cases is provided by rails to trails along both the Green River and Cedar River.  Prior to this legislation, arcane provisions of previous railroad acts prohibited such conversion of use.  After all, you never know when you might need to reopen the coal mines in Black Diamond or Franklin to protect national securiity - right.

The net result is that we now have many miles of trails well worth enjoying in their own right and that feed many other local trails too.  This picture along the Cedar River Trail this fall is due testiment.

The list of trails created/enabled by this legislation here in Western Washington include:

• Burke Gilman Trail
• Cascade Trail - Skagit County
• Cedar River Trail - King County
• Cedar to Green River Trail - King County
• Centennial Trail - Snohomish County
• Chehalis Western Trail - Thurston County
• East Lake Sammamish Trail - King County
• Eastside Rail Corridor - King County
• Foothills Trail - Pierce County
• Interurban Trail (King County) - King County
• Interurban Trail (Snohomish County) - Snohomish County
• Interurban Trail (Whatcom County) - Bellingham & Whatcom County
• Issaquah-Preston Trail and Preston-Snoqualmie Trail - eastern King County
• Olympic Discovery Trail
• Sammamish River Trail - King County
• Snoqualmie Valley Regional Trail - King County
• Yelm-Tenino Trail - Thurston County
• Whitehorse Trail - Snohomish County - ties into the Centennial Trail
• Willapa Hills Trail - Chehalis to South Bend

I'm not sure how many miles of trails this amounts to but it's a lot and we are enjoying the benefits today.  Great lesson in the importance of thinking ahead and not just reacting to what is currently expedient.

Laying Pavement Circa 1913

Sitting in one of our local coffee shops, I had an opportunity to observe a road crew with a private contractor laying down new asphalt  pavement at 4 Corners.  The road base had been graveled and graded.  Up drives a paver followed by several trucks carrying asphalt hot and ready.  Within about an hour, over 100 feet of paving was laid down and all the equipment was gone.  Job done.  It's interesting how the technology has evolved  even in this most mundane of construction activities.  So, I thought I would check with King County and see what equipment their road crews were using these days.  As you can see in the photos that follow, its better equipment than the Road Graders previously used.  Progress.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, #WAS0875, circa 1913

The above photo was taken of highway construction between South Puyallup and Sumner in 1913.

The following photo was taken of Kaiser Paving Company paving the Auburn - Enumclaw highway in the 1917 - 1919 period.  This one is quite the contraption.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, King County Museum Collections

A Bird's Eye View of Carbonado - circa 1890

In a previous post, I explored the mining history of Carbonado, a coal mining Company town much like Black Diamond that dates back to 1880.  The photos I found and posted were all related to the coal mine, not the town itself which was located above the river.  Following is a photo with a bird's eye view of Carbonado as it was in 1890 - 1905.  This was a true boom town and certainly much larger than it is today.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, #WAS1961, circa 1890 - 1905

It doesn't appear that miner's homes had the same 4 sided peaked roof that was more common here.  I can see just one in the above picture.  Any ideas as to what might have accounted for these different roof structures?

Migratory Birds - Now Arriving At Lake Sawyer

If you enjoy birding in the northwest, this is a time of year to celebrate.  Based on my limited experience, we see more waterfowl during this seasonal period than at any other time of year - many of them fairly rare.  Buffleheads are among my favorites.  I love their distinctive markings.

As best I can tell, the following duck is a Canvasback.  Very unusual eye.

These Ring Necked ducks also have very distinctive markings.

Two Common Mergansers hanging out on a rock in the river.  Funny to watch them float along in the current.

One of the more spectacular ducks is a Hooded Merganser, here hanging out with a bufflehead.

For great views, take your binoculars (and umbrella) to Lake Sawyer Park and follow the trail around Frog Lake.  Lots of buffleheads on Lake Sawyer near where Ravensdale Creek enters.  Mornings and evenings are the best times.  In addition to those pictured above, have also seen American Wigeons and Common Goldeneyes so far.  Expecting our two families of Wood Ducks back soon along with Gadwalls, Eurasian Wigeons, Blue Winged Teals, American Shovelers and more.  They are very skittish right now so proceed with caution.  Please foregive the grainyness of several photos.  Each taken earlier this week, some sans much sun and at long distance. 

Telegraph Poles - Circa 1911

As I scan my smart phone for the latest email, text messages and web page favorites, it's worth remembering that wifi and cellular technology are pretty recent - just don't try and point this out to our grandchildren, big yawns, where's my IPad?.  "Back in the day", as they say, telegraphs were the best way to communicate long distances.  Many of the railroad stations and small towns like the Historic Ghost Town of Lester that developed in the early 1900's were located there to facilitate telegraphs and related railroad services.  But this technology too required the hand of man with big tall telegraph poles that often followed along the railroad tracks. Once again relying on our seemingly endless forest resources, these poles came tall, strong, straight and narrow from the woods around here.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, #CUR833, Asahel Curtis photographer, circa 1911

The above photo taken in 1911 shows a landing area where poles were being yarded by loggers for transport by horses, dragging them along Skid Row to get them to where they could be finished and then installed.

Big Logs - Enumclaw circa 1918

In a previous post about Enumclaw in the Early Days, I focused on why and how the community developed, including the importance of logging and sawmilling.  Nearby mining communities such as Black Diamond and Franklin needed lumber to build homes and timbers for mine shafts.  Enumclaw supplied it, and these were milled from BIG LOGS.  The following photo shows how it happened early on - logs on rail to ease transport but horse power to deliver them to the mills.  Not unlike the use of mules to pull railcars full of coal out of the mines before the Advent of Electric Coal Cars.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, #UW11910, Joseph Obergfell photographer, n.d.

As technology continued to evolve, including the development of the internal combustion engine and logging trucks, many of these BIG LOGS moved from rail to log trucks on roads.  Following is a photo of a log truck in Enumclaw loaded with a big Doug Fir log in 1918.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, UW8459, circa 1918

Can you imagine trying to drive this truck with such a huge weight behind you?  Better have hercules brakes if going down hill.  And the tires.  Be ready for a pretty bumpy ride.  I don't think that you had to wear a tie to drive a log truck.

 

Mining With Mules & The Advent of Electric Coal Cars

In the early days of coal mining here in Black Diamond, coal in coal cars was hauled on rail to the surface using either man power or animal power.  Mules, with their stubborn steadiness seemed to do better than horses or man power - predicable and dependable.  And most mules were cared for far better than were the miners.  After all, the coal company had to buy a mule, but could just hire a miner.  Following is a photo of the Renton Mine taken in 1915 showing Mules and Drivers.

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, #1997.20.13, circa 1915

I've read many an article describing the great affection miners had with these animals,  But technology continued it's advance and economics/efficiency was paramount.  After all, electric motors required no time to rest and didn't require stables or veteranarians to keep them running.  And one donkey might be able to haul 4 to 8 coal cars up out of the mine, while an electric car had 3 to 4 times this capacity.

Following are several pictures of electric coal cars that pretty much became the norm by the 1920's.  Even going back to 1909, the Pacific Coast Coal Company appears to have been ahead of the technology curve with this photo taken of a mine in the Newcasle area.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, #CUR1693, Asahel Curtis photographer, circa 1909

Here is a photo of the Black Diamond Indian Mine, also known as the Indian Mine, taken in 1927.

Photo courtesy of Museum of History & Industry, #1983.10.647.1, Webster & Stevens photographer, circa 1927

And one more photo taken in 1909 of the morning shift at a mine near Newcastle - and their electric cars used for transport.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, #CUR1694, Asahel Curtis photographer, circa 1909

For more information about the New Black Diamond, please read Bill Kombol's comments.  Very interesting.

Lake Sawyer Watershed - A Picture

To say that improving water quality and wildlife habitat in and around Lake Sawyer and the broader Green River watershed is a long-standing passion of mine would be to dramatically understate how important this truly is to me.  Many of us have lived here long enough to see the worst and experience how bad it can really get - when algae blooms regularly occur, where birds and other wildlife don't live or migrate through here because of the inhospitable environment, where fishing is limited and seeing the bottom of the lake just 6 feet down takes lots of imagination. 

When it comes to stormwater management, this is why I continue to work as best I can to inform and promote actions that will benefit our community long term. Much of it starts with conservation buffers, particularly along Ravensdale Creek and in Lake Sawyer Park, but it extends much further.  Reducing toxic runoff from SR169 into Ginder Creek and ultimately Lake Sawyer and the Green River is critical.  Following is a map I posted some time ago that shows just how far and wide we must go  to protect our Lake Sawyer Watershed.

 

 

The Mountaineers - 1906 & Today

Seldom does an organization founded over a century ago both survive and prosper. Such is the legacy of The Mountaineers.  Originally part of the Mazamas, a Portland based organization founded in 1894, a core group of 110 charter members here in the Puget Sound region, nearly half women, decided in 1906 to form their own branch dedicated to "promote the discovery, conservation and documentation of the mountains, forests and watercourses of the Pacific Northwest".  Founding members include many of the who's who of Seattle at the time - Henry Landes (University of Washington geology dean), Edmond Meany (father of the UW Forestry School), famous photographer Asahel Curtis and Seattle photographer and North Cascades guide Lawrence Lindsley.  Henry Landes, first president of the Mountaineers described the mission of the club in 1907 as: "rendering a public service in the battle to preserve our natural scenery from wanton destruction, and yet make our spots of supremest beauty accessible to the largest number of mountain lovers." 

This mission continues today.  Looking for a place to take a great hike, or go snowshoeing, or climb a peak or take a sea kayaking tour or educate our youth and so much more, the Mountaineers is an organization worth learning more about.  Fran Troje, one of our Board members of the Middle Green River Coalition (MGRC) and a long time member of the Mountaineers, represents the values of the organization very well and is a great contributor to MGRC.  Thanks Fran.

Following is a photo taken in 1905 of three men and three women from the then Mazamas just before officially launching the Mountaineers.  They are hiking along the trail to the head of the Nisqually glacier in Mount Rainier National Park.  I don't know about you, but I am afraid of heights and would definitely be needing a change of underwear after hiking along this trail.

 Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, #WAS3071, R.L. Glison photographer, circa 1905

Sports Gear for Women - Early 1900's

Seeing Judy head off to yoga in her modern yoga tights reminds me that such form fitting and "loud" attire was not always considered "appropriate" for women.  Thank goodness times have changed.  We have so many female athletes and outdoor sports enthusiasts in our family, I couldn't help but take notice of "normal" sports attire for the fairer sex early in the 20th century.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries and Museum of HIstory & Industry, #1983.10.PA22.22, Webster & Stevens photographer, circa 1922

Note the bloomers and boots on these lasses fishing in Mt. Rainier National Park.  Believe me, this was NOT normal at the time.  But publicists must have their day.  Gotta love the trout baskets.  Here's another pic showing women pole fishing in 1909 in the Park.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, #SOC0905, Joseph Denny photographer, circa 1909

More "typical" of women's attire at the time?  As we have learned, women played a big role early on in the establishment of the "Mountaineers" - a true iconic organization that has sustained in our area for many years now.

Photo courtesy of University of Washington Libraries, #WAS2005, George Brass photographer, circa 1895

It should be noted that seeing women in baggy pants was rather extra-ordinary at the time. 

One last photo this round of family camping and women at Longmire early in the century - photo day to be sure, but this also seems to show what is equivalent to today's RV.  Oh well.

 

The Lure of Loaves - The Historic Black Diamond Bakery

Few things stand the test of time but the Black Diamond Bakery just keeps on keeping on.  If you ask any of our local Maple Valley/Black Diamond gas stations along SR169, the number one question asked of them - how do I find the Black Diamond Bakery?  A great reputation maintained today.  Following is a photo taken from an article originally published in 1977 by the Black Diamond Historical Society.  It's well worth the read and as current now as it was then.

For the best view of Mt. Rainier in Black Diamond, this is it - and much bigger today than it was in our history.