It’s raining, it’s pouring

Well, folks, we have another Pineapple Express parked on top of us. As usual, the combination of rain and warmth means that the snow is melting off and adding to the already significant rainfall totals.

State Route 7 is closed. WSDOT says:

SR 7 - Mudslide on SR 7 from MP 16.76 after Nisqually River to MP 16.82 before State Route 706 since 10:17 AM, 01/07/09 until further notice

From milepost 16 to milepost 17

Theoretically you could read this and head down to Morton to get out, but reliable sources indicate that 7 is shut down to Morton, trapping the mail, and more importantly, the schoolkids, on the wrong side of the closure. UPDATE: Closure confirmed:

1/7/2009

12:00:PM

SR 7

Morton

MP 1 -16, between Morton and the Lewis County line

Closed for flooding

They’re not coming out around on 12, either, as it is closed in AT LEAST five places, and 508 is closed at Bear Canyon.

If you are a Morton resident who knows a Mineral kid, you might want to call the parents and ask if you can help. bflynn can speak to the time she spent 3 days at the principal’s house because of this type of thing.

If you have any further information, or any questions we might be able to answer as a group, please comment. For the duration of the excitement, I’ll be keeping a close eye out on the blog.

Update, 3:05 PM: Our correspondent reports that from Columbia Crest school down to Mineral, the road is still open, but there is water over the road at Carlson.

Please remember not to drive into water on roads as you may not know how deep it is. Swift water rescue is already very busy today!

Update, 3:31: Mt Rainier entrance gate is closed tonight, according to Lights and Sirens (an excellent blog run by the TNT)

Update, 7:40: I5 is closed, as are all three passes, so there is no north-south route from Seattle to Portland. In fact, there’s no route to Spokane, either, until one of the passes open.

Here are some helpful links:

Twitter stream with #waflood tag — These are “microposts” from people who have included the tag #waflood.

Cliff Mass, a U of W meterologist and all-around smart guy about the weather: http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/

WSDOT road closure information for the area. It’s better to go to the local areas, as the high priority stuff has as much to do with the amount of traffic expected as how bad it is.
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/trafficalerts/default.aspx?route=US%2012&view=main&action=3
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/trafficalerts/SouthWest.aspx

Possible record flooding at National

Road closures in Pierce County
Of interest:
Kernahan Rd – restricted
Alder Cutoff – restricted, use caution
Ohop Valley Rd. @ bottom of hill at creek – Closed
Ohop Extension Rd. – Closed

Road closures in Lewis County

Of interest:

Per WSDOT twitter:

SR 508 Jackson Highway to Morton, Lewis County – MP 2 to 32 closed due to high water over the roadway.

1/7/2009	09:00:AM	Davidson Rd	Morton	At river	3 feet of water over road. Residents being evacuated
1/7/2009	11:15:AM	Davis Lake Rd	Morton	800 Block	Closed due to water and debris
/7/2009	11:45:AM	Highland Valley Rd	Morton	in the middle	is closed
1/7/2009	10:30:AM	Meinars Rd	Morton	at Meinars Rd W intersection	Closed due to slide

New ambulance

Mineral not only now boast a shiny red fire truck, we have a new ambulance. Just in the nick of time, too, the transmission on the old ambulance bit the dust.

Are you excited?

This weekend is Opening Weekend of Fishing Season, that fine festival of fishing, yard sales, craft shows, bake sales, and lemonade stands. If you can’t find something to do in Mineral this weekend, you’re not looking.

At the Mineral Lake Event Center, there is an Extravaganza. Last year it involved lots of bargain-hunting and some neat food.

At Mineral Presbyterian Church, there is the Mineral Arts and Crafts Guild sale (with cookies!).

At the American Legion Hall, there is a pancake breakfast and hot dogs for lunch, and a fish contest.

And in very exciting news, our even-more-local-than-usual steam train has planned a run out to the Divide at 2 on both days. You don’t want to miss the fun of seeing Opening Day from the train! The train departs out of the old Murray Pacific yard. There will be signs, or you can ask a local.

If you have more events you want to publicize, write to mineralledger@gmail.com.

See you soon!

Come meet the new fire truck

The Mineral Fire Department is having an open house for the community to come see the new fire truck. Show up at 6 PM on February 26 and admire the shiny red addition to our town.

The churches are providing coffee and cookies.

Santa and the new fire truck

Mineral got a new fire truck just in time for Santa to borrow it and go around to visit all the kids in Mineral.

Famous, at least in Tacoma

Did you see that The News Tribune had a big picture of the Snowball Express on the front of the local news section?

It’s nice to know that they sent a photographer out to take that picture.

There’s also a long writeup on Eatonville resident Josh Morgan, who was hit by a falling tree during Thursday’s storm. It sounds like Michele and Jeff Canlas saved his life. It pays to know who around you has medical training, because the phones aren’t always available, as we’ve seen. And here in Mineral, when the phones are out, we can’t rely on the cell network.
In other good news, officials up at the park say that the road up to Paradise will look almost the same.  I hope that I will have time to go on the walking tour of damage and get some pictures.

And finally, the Soundlife section had a great story about things to do in Ashford. For instance, did you know that Catt Creek Road has some play potential for families? We’ve always gone up to Paradise, but that is looking difficult this year, so I am happy to have an alternative for all our snowball and kiddie-sledding needs. There’s a plug for Dan Klennert’s sculpture park. If you think that name sounds familiar, he did the gates at the Mineral Lake Storage facility, and the barbeque-thing up at the Event Center, AND the dinosaur outside the McDonald’s across the road from the South Hill Fred Meyer. His onsite stuff is even more fun. My particular favorite is the motorcycle that incorporates an old sewing machine.

I didn’t know that Ashford has scheduled a series of holiday events, but I am excited about them:

Saturday: National Park Interpretive Seminar at Wellspring Spa, 7 p.m.

Dec. 26: Comedy and Magic Show at Nisqually Lodge, 7 p.m.

Dec. 27: Mountaineering movie night at Nisqually Lodge, 7 p.m.

Dec. 28: Mountaineering game night at Nisqually Lodge, 7 p.m.

Dec. 30: National Park Interpretive Seminar at Copper Creek Inn, 7 p.m.

Cost: Free.

More info: Go online to mt-rainier.com, or call 1-877-617-9950.

Mineral Festivities, Tree Lighting

I am splitting the posts up because I know that not all of you have fast connections to view photos over. I’ll tell you the story, and then you can click the link below to see the photographs.

At about 4:30, a bunch of people wandered down to the Lion’s Campground to stand by the big Christmas tree. Parents attempted to prevent their children from playing with the guy wires, and Stan distributed firewood for small contained bonfires.

The brand-new fire truck came by. Goodness, it’s shiny and modern. I will try to get a picture for you sometime when it’s not dark. The dedication for it is supposed to be sometime in mid-January.

Then we all wandered down to the lakefront and sang songs while Santa, on his pontoon boat with one reindeer orbited out in the lake. Evidently, the fish are on his good-kid list. The low-boy trailer arrived. Reports indicate that it has 10,000 lights, two real Christmas trees (not counting the one on the grill), and a generator to run it all. It was very impressive. I was also impressed that they could maneuver it into the campground even though someone had parked the entrance in a bit.

All the kids hung out by the lake, and the grown-ups slightly further back. Santa finally docked, and we followed him back up to the tree. The tree was lit, and then Santa spent some time talking to the kids. Afterwards, a bunch of us climbed onto the low-boy and got to ride back to the school. Kids got to take turns saying Merry Christmas over the PA system. All the lights at the school Event Center were on, and it was a very festive sight.

Reports from the brunch on Saturday at the Event Center indicate that the Alaskan Grill is up to its usual excellent standards. You can go this weeked and sample for yourself, and do some shopping at the Holiday Bazaar.

Follow this link for pictures:

Report on the Christmas festivities in Mineral

Did you all see that Mineral’s tree-lighting made the front page of the Eatonville Dispatch. They have pictures, so go look!

Before that, it was the first day for the Snowball Express to run out of Mineral.

Here is the train as it arrives down by the lake:

Santa passes out candy canes to all the kids waiting to talk to him:

We all loaded up on the train, and steamed out toward Murray yard, then backed up to go out to the Divide. You could see a lot of the flooding damage on the Cowlitz.

Rumor has it that the afternoon trains are selling out quickly, so if you and your kids want to spend a pleasant couple hours, contact the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad soon!

Oh, and I should mention for people who have been on it before that I think MRSR has pulled out every piece of rolling stock they have that rolls! I had never seen the plushy 40’s era car that we were in before. It is, as scenic trains go, pretty long. For those of you with kids like mine, this is a blessing, because you can be inside and far away from the whistle, so they don’t spend the whole trip with their hands over their ears.

Christmas in the Mountains

The second annual Christmas in the Mountains arts and crafts sale was a big success. Local artists and crafters earned a total of $2,925.50. Wow! And locals and visitors alike got a chance to buy unique handmade Christmas gifts.

The raffle basket with gifts from the crafters earned $111.oo for the Morton Teen Center. The winner of the raffle was the youngest participant, Katherine S.

The Mineral Arts and Crafts Guild would like to remind everyone who missed buying or selling at this show that their next show is Fishing Opener Weekend.

In the meantime, if you are still looking for unique gifts, the Mineral Lake Event Center is having a sale the weekends of the 9th and 10th and the 16th and 17th. There is also a sale down in Elbe the 9th and 10th.

Christmas is coming!

Now that we are all fat and happy from our Thanksgiving feasts, it’s time to look forward to our December festivities.

Dec. 2: All over Mineral, you can hear the whir of sewing machines, the hum of potter’s wheels, and the last-minute mumbling of crafters getting ready for the Second Annual Mineral Arts and Crafts Sale. Local artists and crafters are going to bring out the best of their goodies for sale at the Mineral Presbyterian Church, December 2, from 10 AM to 4 PM. This is a great chance to eat cookies and get your gift-shopping done while supporting locals.

December 9:

• The Snowball Express starts running on the 9th. This is always a popular attraction. This year, the steam train will not be leaving from Elbe because of the floods. Instead, passengers will board the holiday train in Mineral, and take a snowy ride up to the Divide and back. For information on tickets, see the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad site.
• Old Time Christmas at Mineral Lake — At 5 PM down at the Lion’s campground, Santa will arrive by boat and supervise the lighting of Mineral’s community Christmas tree, donated by Hale’s Tree Farm. There will be caroling and a chance to meet your neighbors. I saw the tree being decorated, and I am looking forward to the official lighting.
• First Annual Christmas Market at the Mineral Lake Event Center — Local vendors with products to tempt everyone. Brunch provided by the delicious Alaskan Grill out of Morton. The Christmas Market is open from 10 AM to 8 PM December 9, 10, 16, and 17.

December 10: Christmas Market at the Mineral Lake Event Center, 10 AM to 8 PM

December 16: Christmas Market at the Mineral Lake Event Center, 10 AM to 8 PM

December 17:

• Christmas Market at the Mineral Lake Event Center, 10 AM to 8 PM
• Choir from Shepherd on the Hill in Puyallup to visit Mineral Presbyterian Church. Music at 7 PM, refreshments to follow.

December 22: Carol Singing at the Mineral Assembly of God Church at 4:30 PM.