random pics that YOU have taken.......

[LEAKYSEALS951]

[Skip Newsom]

^Wow Leakyseals, you are a lot braver than I^

When it gets that cold I leave my 2 wheelers in a nice warm garage and break out X-country skis, snowshoes and 4 wheel drive.

[LEAKYSEALS951]

Originally Posted by Skip Newsom

HA! The first road looks to have plenty of traction-well- at least over to the right!
The second- Not so much!

Most of my ride was pretty uneventful. In Va, (for the most part) we have to blow snow to make anything slippery- I tried to upload some pics but interweb slow tonight.

[71T Targa]

[IS300]

Ha

[Skip Newsom]

Sunny and cold, time to head up to my favorite playground where the North Cascades highway is closed for winter. I was amazed at how little snow there is... this time of year normally would have at least a couple feet in this area.
Should have brought my kayak!
Minimal wind, no people or other boats up here this time of year.

It was so amazingly silent you cold hear the noise Ravens make with their wings as they flew past. Also heard a rock slide pound its way down a nearby mountain side.

Mighty nice I tell ya!

[Seahawk]

Baker or Ross Lake?

My wife and I are headed that way to look for land for a summer place.

I promise I'll be a good neighbor.

My Daughter early in her horse phase, she is a very accomplished rider. They either get it or they don't.

[71T Targa]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Baker or Ross Lake?

My wife and I are headed that way to look for land for a summer place.

I promise I'll be a good neighbor.

My Daughter early in her horse phase, she is a very accomplished rider. They either get it or they don't.

90% sure it's Ross.

Would love to get together, host you for dinner, (have you move in...) if you get out this way!

Skip, I always love your pictures. And the drone work is amazing!
Do you have any before and after shots of how the Twin Rivers/Haller park has changed? The entire party beach on the east of where the rivers join is gone.

Nashville BBQ last weekend.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by 71T Targa

Would love to get together, host you for dinner,

I'm in!

I fell in love with the eastern part of Washington...looking at Plain and other more rural areas in the Cascades.

Where do farmers come from:

[Skip Newsom]

Thanks!
These shots are Diablo lake and dam, construction started in 1927 finished in 1930.

I took a few of the old incline railway and control shack that was built into solid rock.
It's now defunct and has not been used since 9-11.
A lot of access was shut down after that tragedy on the other side of our country.

It hauled loaded rail cars broadside up Sourdough mountain a total of 600' distance and 338' in elevation carrying concrete, materials and people to build Diablo Dam.
It's still very impressive 93 years later.
At some point they will need to lower the counterweight to town level... if those cables break it's going to leave on heck of a divot down by the old station.

Ross has no direct road access with the exception of a 30 mile dirt road from Hope, Canada to the North end of the lake.

Another drone shot of Diablo Dam.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skagit_River_Hydroelectric_Project

[Skip Newsom]

Incline railway control shack circa 1927. My buddy SteveO is trying to shade his lens, not dive off...


Down toward "town" (not much of it left)


Control cables and dogs to lock the platform


The tallest dam on the planet when it was finished in 1930.


Oh Dam.

[Scott Douglas]

It amazes me at times what was built back in the '30's with the technology available at the time.

[Skip Newsom]

Dam amazing efforts- Ross was built in 3 stages, supposed to have had a 4th but Canada would have been impacted by the flooding raising the dam would create... bureaucratic hooha got the last stage stopped.
I believe BC is still paying some sort of stipend for the "favor" of us not flooding more of their territory.
I'm thankful the project has stopped, it would have drown many many sites that I have fond memories of.

Do you have any before and after shots of how the Twin Rivers/Haller park has changed?
No I don't, I may find an opportunity for some after shots though.

East side Ross spillway, you can see the checkerboard surface left for the 4th phase build to grab onto.


My son and his 2011 adventure crew looking at the 500' drop off the dam edge with the Ross Power house thrumming in the near distance and Colonial, Pyramid peaks and Paul Bunyan's stump in the deep distance.


A fore mentioned RPH & mountain gruppe

[WPOZZZ]

Originally Posted by Skip Newsom

Oh Dam.

The spillway just flows onto the rocks? Did something happen to the concrete?

[Skip Newsom]

The spillway on the North side deposits H2O onto a big rock ledge, then drops another 100' + into the lower gorge... the head of Gorge lake.
South side spillway pretty much just drops off directly into the gorge. It's spectacular when the gates are open!

These were taken March 4th of 2018- a more normal snow accumulation at this location




No kayaking zone... the ride down would be pretty rough

[berettafan]

[wswartzwel]

[URY914]

[Skip Newsom]

A new recruit has appeared in the Newsom Garage for Wayward Motorcycles (NGWM)

My big Brothers beautiful 1983 VF750R Interceptor... he bought it new, the dealership in Everett only got 4 total.







Found an emergency $20 gas money stash in the owner's manual, nice and crisp printed 1990.


It's tabs expired May 1995... only sitting 25 years. All hydraulic systems were toast.
Brought the front calipers and master cylinder home and rebuild them so I'd have brakes to get er moved... that all went swimmingly!

[71T Targa]

That is beautiful Skip, and I suspect will bring some pretty good $$'s when the time comes. I had an '84 700 'back in the day' and loved it.