I definitely wasn’t the only person with my own laptop taking advantage of the quiet area and typing furiously! And though it’s always my intent to be very observant during these jaunts, the two hours flew by as I lost myself in my work and listened to the rain come down on the nearby window.
This six-acre park overlooks the mud flats of Skagit Bay, and has 900 feet of waterfront. The park contains a scenic trail that wind through a salt marsh. The habitat is perfect for supporting diverse bird life, including eagles, herons, and falcons. Not surprisingly, this is a favorite place for birdwatching groups. Looking north and west on a clear day, you can see Mount Baker and Mount Pilchuck. Weathered pilings remain from the old log booms.
If you're lucky you might come across shorebirds such as the killdeer. The most noticeable characteristic about the killdeer is its high, plaintive shrill cry, which you can listen to here.
Getting There
To get to English Boom Historical Park take Hwy 532 onto Camano Island, and turn north on Good Rd, which becomes Utsalady Rd. Turn right on Moore Rd (at Camano Island Airfield) and follow the road to the end.
At the park entrance, there's a picnic shelter and parking for about a dozen vehicles.
In the 1920s and 30s the English Lumber Company logged the upland forests east of Stanwood and Mt. Vernon, transporting the timber by rail to the Tom Moore Slough at Milltown. There the Tom Moore Boom Company sorted, graded, and rafted the logs so that tugboats could haul them to sawmills all over Puget Sound.
For a time, the Tom Moore Boom Company employed up to 20 men and stored as many as 15 million board feet of logs in booms. The log boom was closed in 1945 when the English Lumber Company was sold to the Puget Sound Pulp & Timber Company.
Purchase of the land for the English Boom Historical Park was made possible through the efforts and sponsorship of Friends of Camano Island Parks. The property was acquired in 1997 and was the first public park property on Camano Island purchased with Island County Conservation Futures Funds.
Other Day Trips
Join us for an evening of humor and humanity with award-winning author and entertainer Joe “Metal Cowboy” Kurmaskie. Joe never just reads from his books-instead, the Metal Cowboy takes over a room with a multimedia performance that’s by turns stand-up comedy, stunning digital slideshow, social commentary, audience interaction, Irish Bard style storytelling, bicycle advocacy and something the whole family will be talking about. There will be prizes, raffles, a book signing and more. For more info, see Mud, Sweat, and Gears.
About Joe Kurmaskie
Joe Kurmaskie, dubbed the “Metal Cowboy” by a blind rancher he encountered one icy morning in Idaho, has been addicted to the intoxicating freedom and power of the bicycle ever since he "borrowed" his big sister's banana-seat bike at the age of five.
| The Interurban Trail: A Ride Along the Rails |
| The Tolt Pipeline Trail |
| Snohomish County Bike Trails: Centennial Trail |
| King County Bike Trails: Sammamish River Trail |
| King County Bike Trail Maps |
Another Sunday jaunt required libraries a little bit closer to home again! The bonus to these jaunts is that they don’t start until a little bit later as many libraries, if they are open on Sundays, sleepily wake up between Noon and 2 p.m.
However, Lorin and I were out the door a little bit earlier to fill our late morning with our community adventure. . .involving food, of course! We had reservations at Preservation Kitchen – a delightful restaurant in the renovated 1916 Kaysner Estate in Bothell. The ambience and breakfast foods were wonderful! The service was also delightfully friendly – I’d love to go back to their Happy Hour!
The librarian nice enough to humor us and answer our questions, Patty, noted that people are often waiting outside for the computers and within minutes they are all booked! The patio makes a great place to step out for people needing to make a call or children that need a little room to roam more noisily.
We wondered to the librarian we met inside, Darcy, if educational programs ever took place outside in their environs! She also mentioned one of the things that makes Woodinville unique - patrons – you get 2, 2 hour sessions on the computer instead of 1, 2 hour session like at other branches!
In the next few weeks, incredibly, I should log enough libraries to be half-way through my jaunts. I can’t believe it’s already practically half-over!
The Wild Horse Wind Farm is a 273-megawatt wind farm built by Puget Sound Energy that consists of 149 turbines on a 8,600-acre site 15 miles east of Ellensburg, Washington. Click here for directions.
The turbines can produce electricity with wind speeds as low as 9 mph and reach full production at 31 mph. They shut down at sustained wind speeds of 56 mph.
During my visit, the rotor blades took five seconds to complete a full rotation. There was a dramatic swooshing sound as the blades carved through the air.
Visitor Center
The visitor center, called the Renewable Energy Center, sits on a ridge above the Kittitas Valley. From this 3,500 foot elevation you can see the entire Wild Horse Wind Farm, Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood, and the Columbia River Basin looking toward Moses Lake.
Weather permitting, the visitor center is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. seven days a week from April through November. For more info on visiting the Wild Horse Wind Farm, see Renewable Energy Center.
Inside a Wind Turbine
Ever wondered what it's like inside a wind turbine? Join PSE's maintenance team for a climb 200' up a wind turbine.
The wind turbines at Wild Horse Wind Farm are Vestas V80 models. A high-voltage transformer is built directly into the turbine housing assembly pictured below.
Wild Horse Wind Farm Expansion
Wind power has proven to be a cost-effective and reliable power source. Dozens more wind turbines are under construction at the southern end of the wind farm, near I-90.
The next time you're driving on I-90 near Ellensburg, consider the long and windy road.
| A long time ago I worked on Mercer Island. Sadly, before the offices moved to Bellevue, I never went farther south on the island than those offices - which were right off the freeway! I certainly didn’t know what I was missing. And truth be told, I wouldn’t have seen as much of Mercer Island on trip number 10 if I hadn’t gotten “lost”. (Though, it’s a 5 mile by 2 mile island, so one really can’t get that lost!) |  |
After a leisurely drive around much of the island due to a missed turn, streets that don’t go through, and only a vague 
As I was on my own, I had planned to find a comfy chair to read my book club book that I would need to discuss later 
My original plan for visiting the library also included a picnic lunch in the park across the street, but since I took a bit of extra time driving around the island and then subsequently lost myself in my book, I ran out of time! My idyllic sunny day picnic turned into a frantic freeway feeding as I headed back to Redmond for my book club meeting. No matter, I know I’ll soon find myself back on Mercer Island, this time with husband and dog in tow, to take advantage of a few of their trails!
The Mesa Public Library Building
AIA Gold Medal Award winning architect Antoine Predock designed the 48,000 square foot Mesa Public Library building which opened to the public on October 5, 1994. Visitors and students of architecture from all over the world are intrigued by the unusual angles and curves of the building.
The kiva-inspired reading rooms add a touch of the Southwest to the library experience.
History of Los Alamos
Los Alamos was founded as a secret planned community to provide housing for the employees of the Manhattan Project during World War II. Although locals were aware of its existence, all information about the town was highly classified until the bombing of Hiroshima, and any outbound correspondence by those working and living in Los Alamos was censored by military officials. At the time, it was referred to as "The Hill" by many in Santa Fe, and as "Site Y" by military personnel.
As you travel around Washington state and beyond, stop by the local public library to savor a true community experience.
For more info, see Backyard Poutrykeeping in a Nutshell.
Eglu: The New Look in Coops
My sister-in-law, Jeanne, has two wonderful egg-laying hens, Mildred and Gertrude. These hens live in a modern, cool looking chicken coop, called an Eglu.
Amazingly, a chicken can lay an egg a day at the peak of her production. 
In general, female chickens, called pullets, start laying eggs at about six months of age. You’ll want to collect the eggs daily to minimize spoilage and breakage. What a great way to get wholesome food! 
The start of the month of May means the Northwest Folklife Festival is just around the corner. This year, Folklife runs from Friday, May 28th thru Monday, May 31st at Seattle Center. The Northwest Folklife Festival is an annual festival of ethnic, folk, and traditional art, crafts, and music that takes place over the Memorial Day weekend in Seattle. It brings together an estimated 250,000 visitors, 1,800 volunteers, and more than 6,000 musicians, dancers, and other performers. Admission is free, but donations are encouraged. The Folklife Performers
The music that Folklife musicians play span an incredible selection of genres. But folk music is everywhere, and you’ll find plenty of musicians playing fiddles, banjos, washtub basses, mandolins, and accordions:
Here’s a video from the group, Madame Flodd, from the 2007 Folklife Festival:
You’ll find interesting groupings of instruments, such as this saxophone trio:
You’ll also find specialty musicians, such as this one playing a musical saw with a violin bow (not sure why he was wearing a fake rabbit nose and teeth):
There’s also plenty of great food to eat, especially ethnic food from around the world:
And finally, there are people with diverse interests at Folklife, such as this woman who was passing out meeting invitations to hear testimonials from people who had re-grown their teeth. The meeting, interestingly, was being held at a neighborhood library.
