Nature's Wrath~

Wrights & the Sauk

Our youngest daughter asked us to take a drive to see what was up with their abandoned property outside Darrington.  My first trip on November 2nd, I was shocked to see how much of the land between the yard & the river had eroded away.  During the course of the month, we made four more trips & with each - the river had taken more & more of the shoreline.  Our last trip,   November 22nd   it was obvious that the course of the river was changing.

Current toward shoreline~

Even though the level of the river was way down, the current was pointed right at the NE corner of what's left of the backyard.

Where the NE corner was~

It was impossible to even get photos from the same spots that I'd stood before - they're now gone!   With several inches of snow on the ground, we were careful not to walk too close to the undercut bank.  

Looking South upriver ~

 The raw look was only accented by the gray, cold December day.  Word is Seattle City Light may take over what's left of the property to include it in their conservation easement & do some planting to try to stop the erosion.  I find it doubtful that anything will stop this river from going where it wants.

Downriver~

Hopefully the house will sell soon & be moved somewhere far away from this river!

Mountain Loop & Darrington~

Up Mountain Loop~

We decided to drive the Mountain Loop to Darrington this morning.  I checked the web site & it showed the loop open.  It was just terrifically beautiful!  The road was Very icy going over all the bridges & anywhere that was in the shade.  At Barlow Pass though - the road closed signs were up :-(  I was really disappointed, we wanted to hike up to see a waterfall friends told us about.  Turn-around, drive back down, beautiful Both directions :-)  Up to Hwy 530 & on to Darrington.

Original trail to the river is just to the left of where Butch is standing~

When we arrived at the Wright property - things had again changed, but not as dramatically as it did during & after the storm.  Quite lot of what was land - is now river.  The rest of the larger trees have fallen in, one big evergreen - leaning last week, I found in the water~

Ever widening view~

 Below is my recorded GPS.  Wouldn't you know that it would decide to glitch today.  My actual start was the same as where I ended -  rather than leaving from the neighbor's to the north.  Otherwise it looks to be accurate.  I put a white pin where the outgoing tract becomes correct.

Photo documenting this dramatic change of an ever-changing landscape has been so interesting.  I walked as close to the edge of the river as possible, without falling in :-)

Looking South - house, left behind the trees~

Grandson Ben spent seven good years of his childhood here - what a lucky kid he was!  Someday, I may put all those photos together for him.  These trips up work out well - it puts Rhodes River Ranch on our return trip home!

Sunset from RRR

 Our timing works out Great too.  Late enough in the afternoon, it's pretty quiet.  Even on, or maybe because - it was a Seahawks Sunday.  We were one of only two tables occupied - that helped with the service & the food is always good!  Sunset - on our way out into the cold early evening, was perfection.

RRR Lights~

Decorating at the ranch is almost completed, such a festive way to end a spectacular late November day~

Lands Lost~

November 2, 2015 The house, now riverfront~

Our youngest daughter & her husband purchased this property in 2007.  When Butch & I went up to see - we thought it was one of the most beautiful places they could have found.  Looking at Google Earth & county plots - it showed a 20-acre piece of property between the kids place & the Sauk River.

April 22, 2007  The work~

There was an incredible amount of work to get the property ready for the house.  We all had So Much fun!  One day Ben & I decided to take the pruners & try to make a path to the river.  We had no idea how far it would be - but it wasn't as far as I'd expected!

Ben at the river~ 4-29-07

When we all realized that the river was so close, it was pretty exciting!  Fishing, wading, swimming, all the wonderful things that would go along with living in such a beautiful spot!  As the years went by, we watched as the river went through yearly changes.  Ben's swimming hole went away, all the logs & driftwood would come & then go...

Originally, the main flow had been on the far side, with a large Delta in the middle & a lesser flow - on the same side as the property.  In November of 2014 - with weeks of heavy rains - things started getting Very Scary!  The course of the river started to change. 

Google Image July 14, 2015 - Twenty acre piece long gone~

Thanksgiving night, the kids woke to the sudden, ripping sound - of a huge piece of land falling into the raging river!  After making calls to all the appropriate agencies, it was suggested that if any more erosion occurred, or if the river continued to rage, the safe thing to do would be to leave...

January 25, 2015  All of this is now gone~

With two tiny little girls & Ben - it was the only prudent thing to do...  It was with great sadness that their home of seven-years was abandoned.

Feb. 7, 2015  Taken from the rivers edge~

By February, you could see the house from the river's edge, the river taking the bank in large chunks.

Coming over the bank~

We drove away, very relieved - that the kids were no longer living here.  As the winter ended & with it the heavy rains, things settled down.  Neighbors said that the kids were silly to have moved & that the river was done doing it's thing.

It was - at least until our first big rain maker of this season.   The kids are still trying to negotiate with their bank & also with the County.  The County has said that they would only red tag the house if the river came within 150 ft.  With the big storm we had last week, the river levels reached 12 - two feet higher than it takes to crest the banks.  Crest it did, taking away the last acre of trees & buffer between it & the backyard of the house.

Jentry asked me to go up to take a look & get some photos.  It was incredibly scary to come in the drive & see the river!  I paced off the distance from the corner of the house to the river & came up with just about 100 ft.  

What's left of the trail~

Looking upstream~

Downstream~

Directly across~

Roof of the house & river in the same photo now~

It was a fantastically beautiful afternoon, hearing the roar of the river from everywhere on the property was amazing.  I walked the property, then sat out at the edge of the river for a long while, thinking of all the fun times we had here & how the forces of nature can change things~

View from the back deck~

 I doubt that the property will even sell as a recreational lot, since with another storm, what land is left will probably be under water!

Thanksgiving & The River~

The Sauk on Thanksgiving Day~

Thanksgiving Day we were very happy to be invited up to our youngest daughter's home, to share the day & a meal with her family.  One of our fine son-in-laws, two granddaughters & our eldest grandson!   To walk into a house in the woods, smell turkey cooking & feel the warmth of the wood stove made the day perfect.  While we waited for dinner, we took a hike to see what the river was doing.  

Butch & Ben admired the view~  The "Lewis & Clark" look :-)

 It was chilly, with a fresh blanket of snow higher on the surrounding mountains.  What a magnificent day to enjoy a pristine landscape.   We had a "fly-by" by two very large Eagles, but I didn't get a picture quick enough.  

 I got off "light" in the cooking department with only a pie to bake.  That was good, since the day before I had a little incident with Farah.  I was checking a hind foot, when she decided to drop it on the big toe of my left foot!  Not only drop it, but then proceed to scape it across the hard packed dirt floor of the barn isle.  I had on a pretty tough leather shoe, but it was no match...  I beat on her hip & she finally lifted the foot & gave me a look;  "What is your problem?"  I tell you...  I let her know WHAT my problem was!!!  

I spent that night, taking pain pills two at a time just to be able to lay down.  My big toe joint feels smashed, which did not making walking easy, or baking a pie, or enjoying much of the evening.  At least by Thanksgiving Day, the pain was tolerable.  Now the hope is that I'll be able to ride this coming week!  :-) 

Amazing Day in the USA

Flag flying at Glacier View Nursery

To Darrington we go - to do a project at our youngest daughter's home.  It was just a perfect day for what is a beautiful drive east of Arlington.  While Butch was "working" we drove to what has become my favorite nursery.

New buildings!

 We weren't disappointed, two new little buildings & what is becoming the usual selection of unique & healthy bedding plants.  With prices what they are this season, I'd cut back on my flower purchases, but still couldn't resist buying a few that I knew I couldn't do without :-)

Thimbleberry Bloom

 Before heading home, Butch & I took the walk out to the river to see how it had changed & how much water was flowing.  On the way, the woods were punctuated with the beauty of the white fresh blooms of the Thimbleberry.  

 The Sauk~

Once at the bank of the Sauk, the river was down from it's early Spring high levels, but there was still a lot of water & strong current.  It's changed so much since the kids first purchased their property, will be interesting to see if at mid-summer we'll be able to cross over to the delta.

Beautiful way to spend another sunshine Sat. in May!

Wild River

The Wild Sauk River~

I love wild rivers, any time of year -- especially this one, since I'm lucky enough to be close enough to visit it occasionally.   It's also lucky for me that I have access at a relatively remote spot.  Does this look like "Spring" to you?  Behind those clouds hides Whitehorse Mountain.  Last summer this part of the river bed had Alder trees that were 2" around & 6 ft. high!  No more!  The seasonal change over the last three years that I've been watching, has been dramatic to say the least.