Washingtonians

[hallerlake]

Quote:
Thanks. Too bad there is a line and character limit that doesn't allow me to credit it.

Oh, that is good. I hadn't read it before.

It's from The Chicken Book By Page Smith, Charles Daniel

 

[VelvettFog]

Quote:
Explain to the flat lander please. Avalanche Control, do they stop traffic, cause an avalanche, clean it up and make everyone wait? That could take hours. Don't they detour the traffic?

You post this at 4:25 why would they do this during rush hour?




Edit - added a question.

Here's a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Keiy6AibMpA

The avalanche is triggered by an explosion. Most of the time WS-DOT uses a howitzer to launch an explosive shell into the snowbank. At times they a helicopter to put someone close enough to drop a satchel charge on the snow bank. When the pass is closed, the Seattle economy loses close to one million dollars an hour. Closure of the pass causes backups at the Port's where the container ships are being off-loaded.


Oh -- I wish I had that snowblower to take care of my driveway

 

[Stumpfarmer]

Quote:
Ayup: the manchild needs to be at work in E'burg at midnight tomorrow, though and he doesn't have a car to do it

He expects his Dad to drive: he hasn't lived here in a long while.

Sounds like my sister may not make it from Ellensburg for tomorrow. I keep telling her she needs to get a vehicle better suited to the passes.

Oh, it's bare and wet now, and the next storm is supposed to be warmer. And windier. UGH.

(I need to figure out a way to introduce that tall person with the silly Tshirts to your sister: he needs friends over there) (and as you know, he speaks grown-up).

 

[Stumpfarmer]

Quote:
Explain to the flat lander please. Avalanche Control, do they stop traffic, cause an avalanche, clean it up and make everyone wait? That could take hours. Don't they detour the traffic?

You post this at 4:25 why would they do this during rush hour?




Edit - added a question.

Here's a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Keiy6AibMpA

The avalanche is triggered by an explosion. Most of the time WS-DOT uses a howitzer to launch an explosive shell into the snowbank. At times they a helicopter to put someone close enough to drop a satchel charge on the snow bank. When the pass is closed, the Seattle economy loses close to one million dollars an hour. Closure of the pass causes backups at the Port's where the container ships are being off-loaded.


Oh -- I wish I had that snowblower to take care of my driveway

Did you here they're replacing the snow shed in that photo with one that will cover both directions of traffic?

The amount of money that goes into building and maintaining Snoqualmie is mind-numbing, and the snow-control part can mess up DOT for a biennium with one really bad storm.

 

[hallerlake]

I've got a bunch of people coming tomorrow, so I need to get moving. A twenty pound bird will pretty much tie up the oven all day, so I've got to bake anything else that requires the oven today.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

Quote:
We've had a devil of a lot of rain/snow recently and they cause avalanches on purpose (with explosives) before things get too heavy on the slopes over the freeway. It's much better that way than all that snow coming down on cars when IT wants to and killing people. It's something that just happens in the winter when there is bad weather. As others have said - there is no (easy) detour. You could drive all the way down to the river and go back up the other side but that would probably take a lot longer than waiting.

Well, there's Stevens or White, but White is higher and for the rest of the winter the best you can count on "packed snow and ice" as the best road conditions, and to take Stevens from Ellensburg you either have to drive ANOTHER mountain pass (Blewitt) or take WA97, which yesterday was a sheet of ice from George to Wenatchee and THEN get to drive to Olympia via all of Seattle, which hallerlake can tell you is its own kind of joy.

Satus Pass to the Columbia Gorge is another kettle of fish: says something that the first time (in my life of visiting relatives an the Eastside and going to WSU) I ever took Satus was on my 25th wedding anniversary. There was that jolly time a few years ago when all of the easy passes from Vancouver to Vancouver were closed by a nightmare storm (the one that also wiped out the road up to Paradise) and basically nobody went anywhere.

Satus is barely a pass more like a big hump in the road. Rarely if ever closed.

 

[Chicken Rustler]

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It may seam so but what about the buyer who doesn't know what seasoned is or the size of a cord. While I agree with your outlook on the oak I would challenge the theory on maple. and in fact would like to see it proven. You get one stick match and your maple build a fire ! not gonna happen and you know it!

 

[Cowgirlgrace]

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It's just the 4 of us here so my 'young hen' is only 10 lbs. We had 3 families of mine up here when we moved and all have since moved back down South. We got tired of driving down to Cali for Thanksgiving and no one ever came up here. Anyway, I have a stove with a smaller second oven mostly for pizza and broiling but it works great for casseroles and stuff. I am planning on making my pies tonight though.

 

[Cowgirlgrace]

Our wood stove heats the house VERY well and if we fill the box we are roasting! If we fill it packed on a medium bed of coals at night before bed it will go all nite on fir but it has to be REALLY cold outside so we aren't cooking. We are usually opening windows to cool things off but not a bad idea since the air in the house can get stale with the windows closed. Nice to get some fresh winter air! We have a Regency. It's very pretty with it's gold brass around the door and an etched scene on the glass. We got the flat top so we could cook on it when the power goes out except now we just turn on the generator!

 

[Stumpfarmer]

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Thanks for all the answers. Kansas being the 3rd on the list of state with the most roads, only California and Texas have more roads than Kansas, there is always detours and if you don't like the one that KDOT marked it is easy to go down country dirt roads and make your own.

I guess I take for granite driving in Kansas. To drive to Kansas City (60 mile) will take less then an hour, Wichita (130 Miles) less then 2 hours and driving to Denver (542 miles) will take about 7 hours without potty and food breaks.

This may make a little more sense to ya. Imagine a very large river that only has a bridge across it every 100 miles. That is basically what it is like only instead of river it is large mountain range that is being crossed.

Although you've got to admit we've got the river thing going, too.