Snoqualmie Falls

The Seattle newspaper had an article this morning stating "Ash fell like snow in the Seattle area Tuesday morning as Washington’s wildfires sent plumes of smoke into the atmosphere."  The air was so thick today that dispatchers serving Seattle Fire and Rescue received concerned calls about smoke in the area and ash settling on cars.  I woke up this morning with a layer of ash on my truck.  Many of the roads out here in the west are being closed because of the fires.  Last Thursday we rode a gondola at the Crystal Mountain Resort.  The resort is now closed because of a forest fire.  Even though there are many fires around, we decided to drive to the Snoqualmie Falls today.  It is a 268-foot waterfall located east of Seattle on the Snoqualmie River.  Much of the water that would be going over the falls is diverted for hydroelectric power plants.  The Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Plant is operated by Puget Sound Energy.  It is made of two power houses, Plant 1 and Plant 2. Plant 1 was built in 1899 and operates at the base of the falls embedded in the rock 270 feet below the surface. It was the world's first completely underground power plant.  Plant 2 was built in 1910 and is located a short distance downstream of the falls.  Approximately 1% of Puget Sound Energy sales comes from the plants.

Snoqualmie Falls

Pretty flowers that we purchased from a nice lady that had a temporary roadside flower stand.