Monday, July 13, 2009

The lamp post.


The North Cascades are one of the last great wilderness areas of the lower 48 states, sure a highway runs through the middle of it - but to the north and south of that highway are huge, impenitrable tracts of high high peaks and hidden valleys, and incredibly, over 300 glaciers... after summer the air grows cooler, the tourists drift away, and the huge amount of snow and diminishing returns on clearing the road close the highway for 8 months of the year. No one gets in here then, no one... leaving the wild mountains and valleys to only the wildlife...
But even in the heart of the wilderness, America throws up the occasional architechtural treat. Diablo dam was built in the early part of last century to help power the city of Seattle, its completion in the 1920s leaves it with some very nice art deco touches - my favourite being these totally out of place lamp posts that line the top of the dam, delivering their soft glow into the cold wilderness every evening at dusk, a string of lights in the middle of the wild dark...

Of course its not that wild, well not the part we visited anyhoo... Lib and I had some nice beers and hot dogs and the girls snacked on marshmallows and chocolate chip cookies just 6 miles down the road in the company town of Newhalem - and it *is* a company town - the only people that live their work for the utility company. Its kinda quaint, antiquated and also nostalgic at the same time - they're a dying breed.

And speaking of beer, I reckon the poor old US has been given a bum rap over the quality of their brews. I've had some very nice times, relaxing in our campgrounds, listening the the happy cry of nearby kids or the rush of a glacier fed river while sipping a local brew. That said, dont try any of the mainstream stuff (Miller, Budweiser, Coors) that stuff is ABSOLUTE RUBBISH and they deserve all the bashing they get.

One thing that deserves kudos though is the camping system and facilities over here, there's been literally hundreds of campgrounds we've passed with a wistful look wishing we had longer to stay and experience them, a lot with rangers in attendance who would give nightly informative talks around a campfire while sleeping bag snuggled families listen on... we dont really get that in Australia to the extent it is over here.. like New Zealand, the yanks really know how to make the most of their outdoors. Must be why we love it so much over here.

Its not all wilderness though, one of my favourite parts of our stay in Seattle was a trip underground, to the old forgotten parts of the city, abandonded after the city was rebuilt in the early 1900's after a disaterous fire. To rise above the tidal flats (and the associated problems they had with sewerage!) a series of sea walls were built, and the city roads all raised by 12 to 30 feet on landfill and stone walls. Thats right - the road only... the buildings weren't raised, you can imagine the difficulties this led to with horses and drunkards falling to their doom almost daily... finally at the completion of the plan, sidewalks were built from the roads to the edge of every building, much like a bridge, leaving what was the ground floor now a basement and the space below the sidewalk an empty hollow... what an exciting place to explore! We loved it - the corridors are thick with ageing detritus from times past, ancient graffiti insulting long dead sailors, huge rusting cogs, pumps and cables from disused and dismembered utility machinery... theres ghost stories, bordello stories, black market and crime stories, hot-dog stories - but you'll have to experience it for yourself if you ever get here...

One last thing -its our wonderful little nephew Louis' birthday today - HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOUIS! We all hope you have a wonderful day - here's a picture of Jammy with a squirrel! Did you see any when you were in America? Did you see any chipmunks too? Jammy and Lucy love squirrels and chipmunks. They wish they could give you a hug today but instead say "we love you LOUIS!"