This is the lodge - my what a place and what a view.

The word is out, just a few miles away in Easton are hamburgers like no other. Mountain High Hamburgers - our neighbor Barb swears by them as does this writer:

You cannot get a better burger. I love this place. The meat must be chopped sirloin, its just delicious. The milkshakes are everything you remember from your youth. Stop by, you will not be sorry and you will not be able to drive past it again without stopping. Please they did not pay me for this, I really mean it, and I am fussy as heck.”

Whidbey Navy helicopter helps in ice cave rescue

Today, 11:49 AM ·  From http PNWLocalNews.com, click this link.

A search and rescue crew from NAS Whidbey Island assisted in yesterday’s rescue of two boys trapped under snow and ice on Snoqualmie Pass.

The five-person crew, made up of two pilots, two aviation warfare systems operators and one hospital corpsman, launched from the air station at 6:30 p.m. in Firewood 2, an MH-60S Knighthawk. After a short transit, they were on scene and made a few passes through the area to locate a safe area for pickup.

In early July it is one of the few snow-free trails in the Mount Baker – Snoqualmie National Forest.Karen writes about Bandera here.

The hike can lead you to Mason Lake.

Take Interstate 90 east and get off at Exit 45 (Road No. 9030). At the stop sign, turn left, go under the freeway to Forest Service Road No. 9030. Drive about a half-mile to a road junction and continue straight about three miles on Road No. 9031 to trailhead parking and facilities, elevation about 2,300 feet. Allow about an hour drive time from Seattle. A Northwest Forest Pass is required.

Some photos from Flickr to entice you: by grliepixie

Tags: free+home

Oh, its 9:20PM, big help eh?

On many of our blogs our real estate agents post links to the local DOT cameras in the right side bar. http://IssaquahUndressed.com/ as an example.

from Karen’s article: Four of us squeezed into Bob’s car and headed over Snoqualmie Pass in November-like weather. It felt like winter when we stopped at the Cle Elum ranger station for an update on the Jungle Creek Road….

…….there is hope for hikers tired of the snow. Most of the snow should be gone within a couple of weeks of good weather, at least in the Teanaway. Then experienced hikers with route-finding skills can study the map for loops, obscure summits and one-way hikes with a car shuttle; there are options aplenty.

click here for the P I website and the article on “Hiking In The Teanway With Summer Weather”.

Getting there — From Seattle drive east on Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass to Exit 85, east of Cle Elum. Cross over the freeway overpass and turn right onto state Route 970 (north). Continue about five miles and turn left onto Teanaway River Road and continue until the pavement ends (about 13 miles) at 29 Pines Campground. Turn left just beyond the campground on Road 9701 (Jungle Creek Road) and continue to the Way Creek trailhead at 3,600 feet (no facilities). If the slump before the Jungle Creek trailhead concerns you, park beside the road and continue on foot to the trailhead. From the slump it is about a half-mile to the Jungle Creek trailhead (3,000 feet) and 2 miles to the Way Creek trailhead at 3,600 feet (there is 600 feet of elevation gain between the trailheads).

It was the typical Snoqualmie Pass structure with 2 levels above the Garage and entry area. It had great mountain views as it sat high on the street.

It was in walking distance to skiing or hiking the mountain.

Currently there are no homes in pending or contingent sold status.

There are 21 homes listed for sale and 5 condominiums. The two most expensive are listed at $2,100,000 and $1,620,000.

The lower priced of the two is 5167 square feet 5 bedroom 6 baths. The listing agent describes it as artfully designed and built green by an outstanding builder. It was built in 2005. An elegant custom home.

Take these two out of the mix and the average price is $631,372. The low price is $345,000. It has only been on the market 8 days.

homes+sold, homes+for+sale, snoqualmie+pass, realtor

How about a 100 mile relay race? Sure. Snoqualmie pass has it all.

About 15 athletes from Sammamish are scheduled to compete Sunday morning in one of the fastest-growing athletic events in Washington.

The Mountains to Sound Relay is a 3-year-old race that combines biking, running and rowing into a 100-mile jaunt. The event is part of the annual Greenway Days festival. Learn more by clicking to the Sammamish Review.

It will begin at Snoqualmie Pass at 8 a.m. June 25^th and end at Golden Gardens Park in Seattle later that day.

From Snoqualmie Pass, the mountain bikes go to Rattlesnake Lake.

From there, road bikes travel through North Bend and Fall City, just north of Sammamish, through Marymoor Park and finally to Redmond.

The rowing portion begins with a paddle through Sammamish Slough, before the marathon gets the hand-off in Kenmore.

The final six miles are from Gas Works Park in Seattle to Golden Gardens Park. The winners typically finish the race in about six hours.

photo courtesy of Flickr and p1ggyw1g.

The Wild Horse Wind Farm provides approximately 230 megawatts (MW) of affordable, pollution-free electricity to the Northwest, which is equal to the annual energy requirements of 69,000 homes.

The turbines are placed on the high open ridge tops of Whiskey Dick Mountain, which was chosen for its energetic wind resource, remote location, and access to nearby power transmission lines. The towers are 221 feet tall, and the diameter of each rotor is 264 feet, larger than the wingspan of a Boeing 747. The turbines can begin producing electricity with wind speeds as low as 9 mph and reach full production at 31 mph. They shut down at sustained wind speeds of 56 mph.

The Wind farm is located 15 miles west of Ellensburg, WA.

Here is a cool Flickr Slide Show on the Wild Horse Wind Farm

and another by Steve Bisig

Some Questions and answers from the Puget Sound Energy Site:

How many wind turbines will be built?

Wild Horse will consist of approximately 130 wind turbines. The final number of turbines and

rated output will be finalized during the public permitting process.

How big are the wind turbines?

The wind turbines will be approximately 350 feet tall from base to tip.

How much land will be impacted by the Wild Horse Project?

The project’s footprint is approximately 165 acres spread across the 8,600-acre site.

You can visit the wind farm as part of the Greenway Days Challenge. Do it.

Tags: wild+horse, wind+farms, ellensburg