Seattle cut off....

With the heavy snow then very heavy rains all major highways have been closed due to avalanches and mudslides. US Hwy 2 over Stevens Pass is closed due to 2 avalanches, I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass is closed for the same reasons including US Hwy 12 over White Pass. I-5 through Chehalis is closed due to flooding over the interstate. So this leads us to ask, "Should we be come a part of Canada?" That is after all the only way that we can leave our corner of the world.
Rainfall totals in Seattle as of 10:15am were 3.42" in just 48 hours. Mountain locations received substantially more rain that has wreaked havoc to one small village at the summit of Snoqualmie Pass. An avalanche at "Hyak" the eastern summit of the ski area was considered a "Climax" avalanche. It took all the snow and some soil some 100 yards wide, 2 chair lift towers, trees and even a house and permanently moved them from their comfortable homes. Two people were rescued from the house which was moved some 100 feet off it's foundation. The ski run has a gouge cut into it from all the water that has flowed down the mountain. The run was a black diamond run and the chairlift was the main artery for this particular part of the resort, essentially shutting this part down for the season. Hyak is only operational on the weekends and holidays, so not much revenue should be lost, but many locals in the village of Hyak enjoy this part of the resort.
In other parts of the mountains, many access roads to popular trails can be expected to be washed out or at least damaged. The road along the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River has a mudslide that has trapped local residents in their homes.
Snow levels in the mountains are expected to drop today with snow in the forecast for later in the day.
Many local low lying towns are experiencing localized flooding with river and creeks cresting at some point today. In the last few years that I've been here we have experienced 2 "100 year" floods, amazing how fast 100 years can go by, and I don't feel that much older.

I'm bored......

The weather in the mountains has not been very good lately with all the snow that's been falling. The interstate passes have been closed off and on for avalanche control purposes.
Today marks the last of 3 days off. Sunday I spent some time with Cathy and tried to help a friend of hers get her car running. The car is still not running, but I never claimed to be a mechanic. Later in the day snow started falling again and I spent the evening in Seattle and gave Cathy a ride to work in the Morning.





Yesterday after dropping Cathy off at work, I spent time assembling some furniture for my niece that my sister bought for her from IKEA. I took some pictures later in the day, but I haven't uploaded them onto the internet yet.
Today I headed back to Kirkland and took care of a few last things with the redecorating project in Summer's bedroom and ran a few errands before driving to West Seattle to see how big the waves were since the winds were strong. The waves were about 3-4' high with about the same for the fetch. My UV filter quickly got a salt water haze on it and ruined most of the shots that I took, next time I'll pay more attention to that. I then headed to Interbay and Fishermen's Terminal, followed buy a trip back to Golden Gardens to watch the daylight wane away. The winds were still strong and I got a few shots.









I need to get back into the mountains and soon. Staying in the city so much can drive a person crazy. Gas money is tight but I'll try to make something happen as I have another 3 day weekend coming up next week too.