All posts by Scott Hunter

Scott has been living in the Grand Coulee Dam area since 1988 and loving it.
Astounding Facts, Places to See, To Dos, Uncategorized

Take a tour on a bridge

Take a tour on a bridge.
Porcelain enamel signs on either side of the bridge across the Columbia River provide a history of the dam and the area’s geology. Parking is available on the streets on the west side of the river.

You can take a unique tour on the bridge across the Columbia River, simply by walking across it and reading several signs depicting history and geology.

The tour is self-guided and free.

It takes advantage of the four-foot-wide sidewalks along each side of the 950-foot span across the river to tell the story, on the upstream side of the bridge, of the building of the dam.

Cross over to the downstream side and you’ll find out just how the site was formed geologically. Its fascinating prehistory led to this being the perfect site to build the Grand Coulee Dam. (Hint: humans weren’t the first to make a dam here.)

Depending on how fast you read, walk and absorb the fantastic story, the tour could take from a half hour to an hour.

Or, if you just want a brisk walk in a unique location with an unobstructed view of the dam, this is a good one.

It’s an exciting walk for most people, and safe, but if you’re extremely queasy about heights, this could be a little too exciting.

The bridge itself rests on two monolithic piers that rest securely on bedrock, each 150 feet high. Approximately 300 tons of structural carbon and silicon steel makes up the cantilever truss bridge that the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation began to build in late 1934.

It was designed by the Washington Department of Highways for the Columbia Basin Commission to serve a dual purpose, according to documents on file with the Historic American Engineering Record. It would initially serve in the transport of heavy equipment during construction of the dam, then as a permanent highway bridge for State Route 155. That meant the bridge was built to a heavier specification than normally would have been used for a highway bridge.

But as construction of the bridge neared completion, the east pier tilted nine inches, probably because of a deposit of fine glacial material that lay beneath the 20 or 30 feet of gravel at the surface layer.

The incident delayed completion of the bridge for several months, while a 50-ton jack, cables and 72-foot deadman steel beams on the shore kept all in place until the foundation was secured through the construction of pneumatic caissons.

Uncategorized

Campfire Ban Partially Lifted At Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area

Fire frame

 

As of Oct. 1, 2015, campfires are allowed in established fire rings in campgrounds and day-use areas throughout Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. Charcoal grills are also allowed; however, other forms of open flame, such as tiki torches and lakebed campfires, are still banned.

Regulations require your campfire to be less than three feet in diameter within the established fire ring. Fires must be attended at all times and completely extinguished with water before you go to bed or leave your campsite.

It is also illegal to burn chemically treated wood, painted wood, wood with staples as well as household garbage including plastic and cans.

For more information, check the Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area website at www.nps.gov/laro.

Events, Soon

Foos You!

Life-size fun with human foosball.
Life-size fun with human foosball.

Lots of fun set for this weekend’s (9/18-20/2015) Harvest Festival includes human foosball, for those who like to literally get into their games!

Teams of six square off in a life-size foosball court, holding onto the cross bars. Should be a hoot.
The Grand Coulee Dam Area Chamber of Commerce-sponsored Harvest Festival will feature a live, human-size foosball competition at Banks Lake Park from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m ., Saturday, Sept. 19.

It’s a case of humans becoming the pins in a real foosball shootout.

“It’s the newest, and most hilariously fun, addition to our ever-popular Harvest Festival!” the chamber’s website says.

Teams of six can enter the challenge with a registration fee of $30. To register, contact the chamber office, at 633-3074 or register online at the chamber website.

Gameplay rules, sample video and the registration form can be reached here.

The chamber is encouraging people to contact friends and relatives and organize a team for a lot of fun and action on Sept. 19.

And that’s just part of the activities planned. Others include:

• Sumo Wrestling

• Three-Legged Racing

• Pumpkin Decorating

• Bubble Station and

• Water Balloons!

Plus, arts and crafts and food vendors, a sanctioned barbecue competition (tasting available), a quilt show, a community yard sale and a poker run for biker types.

And a beer garden is ready to accept the weary or the waiting!

 

Events, To Dos

Native art show in Grand Coulee

IMG_0782

An outdoor native American art exhibit and sale is happening this weekend on Midway Ave. across from Coulee Hardware in the parking lot of Body by Dam.

The judged show and market features several artists from across the northwest and a style not often seen.

You may be familiar with the art of coastal tribes with stylized whale images, for example. Or you might readily recognize the art of Southwest tribes, with prominent turquoise and silver.

But this show is called The First Ever Platuea Native Art Exhibit. Entries can win up to $400 for first place.

The event is being coordinated by the Northwest Native Development Fund