Monday, November 17, 2008

Snoqualmie Weekend

There's a new casino in Snoqualmie and they needed lots of help this weekend.  As catering temps, Dom and I headed out to the reservation to see how we could help in the dining room.  Before our shift on Sunday, we went into town and stopped to see Snoqualmie Falls.  The town's adorable and the waterfall was huge!


This mountain looks just like Armenia.

Snoqualmie was built on the route of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway.  It operated as a branch line until the 70s, carrying passengers, supplies, millions of feet of logs to local mills and finished lumber to world markets.  

There was a Lumber Company that handled huge Douglas-fir, sitka spruce, western hemlock and western red cedar trees that cover the hills in this area.  They would wheel them in on these enormous carriers (for 10-15-foot diameter logs).  

The lumber company mill became outdated and was dismantled with the increase in engineered woods products like plywood, laminated beams and chipboard.  Apparently these require smaller trees.  

The other week we were talking with a friend who mentioned the value of the wood in older homes.  He deconstructs homes and buildings and collects reusable materials for a ReStore (check it out, they're doing a cool thing) in Seattle.  Wooden beam, floors and supports make not only a more structurally sound home, but also less squeaky floor.  I didn't appreciate this conversation much until I saw this log and realized the potential for lumber this size. 

Sometimes you just can't beat the old fashioned way of doing things.  

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think we need more ReStores around this country. Great idea. The waterfalls are beautiful.
Mom