The area around Fall City, where we are\ncurrently staying, is gorgeous and we ventured out to ogle some of it\ntoday. Before we even got our of our campsite, we noted some spotted\ntowhees had been seduced by our bird feeder and have become regular\nvisitors. There are also western tanagers, big Steller’s blue jays\nand a variety of little songbirds too quick for us to accurately\nidentify. Unfortunately, a squirrel has also noted our bird feeder\nand he spends quite a bit of time jumping from adjacent vegetation\nonto the feeder in an attempt to get some of the goodies. He can’t\nhold on but his impacts with the feeder drain out a rain of seeds\nthat he subsequently browses after hitting the ground. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tWe headed up some two-lane roads\nparallel to I-90 passing by Snoqualmie Falls and into the pretty town\nof Snoqualmie. There is an abundance of very spiffy architecture here\nand we stalked the back streets admiring the pretty buildings. The\nold train station is gorgeous and the flower pots attached to all the\ndowntown streetlights are quite appealing. After a bit, we continued\ngoing east and soon came to North Bend, another pretty community that\nhas really been built to serve their local folks. There are parks and\nbike trails, green spaces and a gorgeous library building. The town\nis built at the foot of Mount Si, a giant cliff rising more than\n3,000 feet abruptly from the flat valley floor. I could be quite\nhappy loafing here and enjoying the dramatic scenery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tPeggy and I used to eat at a\npedestrian fast food Mexican restaurant called Taco Time in Coos Bay,\nOR, back when we were young. That Taco Time is now gone but there is\none in North Bend so we headed over for some highly whiteyized\nMexican cuisine. We noted that the drive-through lane menu had an\nitem listed as \u201cCrustos.\u201d We didn’t have the necessary intestinal\nfortitude to sample these things, particularly with that name. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\tAfter Taco Time and the mystery food,\nwe headed a bit further east on I-90 until we turned off at a place\ncalled the Watershed Education Center. Our initial reason for going\nthere was to find a restroom. I was not optimistic about a place with\nthat name but, as usual, I was delighted when we got there. Seattle’s\nwater comes from this watershed and the water authority has built a\nbeautiful museum\/research facility\/garden here and attending is free.\nThey also have very nice restrooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we walked into the facility from the\nparking lot, we noted a barely-audible drumming sound coming from\nsomewhere. As we approached the interactive center, we came across a\nyard filled with lush plants, grasses and drums. They have arranged\nthe drums beneath concealed tiny rubber tubes that squirt water in\nlittle short bursts that fall down and land on the drum heads. It\nsounds like the drums I used to hear in old western movies when the\nabsolutely white good guy would blunder into the Indian village\nduring a big powwow. We sat down and enjoyed several different drum\nsequences that change every couple minutes. The views from this\ngarden of the surrounding area are magical. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This garden is right next to the interpretive museum where there are unique displays about the watershed. As the story of the area plays on two wide-screens and and the speakers, a topographic representation lights up to show how the mountains, rivers, lakes and valleys are affected and controlled to provide the best public use. They stated three-fourths of the water released from their system is to keep the salmon breeding here while about one-quarter goes to thirsty Seattleites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This place closes at 5:00 PM so we were gently evicted at closing time and headed back to Tall Chief. We give the Watershed Education Center five stars on our scale of nifty spots. Five is the highest we can award according to the complete lack of rules and protocols we have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There’s a few pictures. Click the link. https:\/\/photos.app.goo.gl\/RKfMNMcAjevwxKab9<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The area around Fall City, where we are currently staying, is gorgeous and we ventured out to ogle some of it today. Before we even got our of our campsite, we noted some spotted towhees had been seduced by our … Continue reading