Eagle perched along the Skagit River. PHOTO BY ED McKNIGHT

There are several sites in eastern Whatcom and Skagit counties that provide visitors with plenty of views as well as interpretive displays and even speakers. Visit the ranger stations or visitor centers as well along the way on Mount Baker Highway and North Cascades Highway for additional ideas.
Deming Homestead Eagle Park: Located off of Truck Road, on the North Fork of the Nooksack River, the park has some interpretive signs and benches. To get here, travel east on Mt. Baker Highway. After milepost 14, turn right on Truck Road. It’s an easy .3 mile one-way walk in the park.
Skagit River Bald Eagle Interpretive Center: Follow the signs in Rockport from Highway 20 and Highway 530 to Alfred Street and you’ll find the center open weekends from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through mid February.
Howard Miller Steelhead Park: Located near the Interpretive Center is the Howard Miller Steelhead Park, near the bridge over the Skagit River. The bridge offers the best view point, but there are hiking trails at the west end of the camping areas that lead to more riverside viewing sites. Also nearby is the Bald Eagle Natural Area, a State Fish and Wildlife viewing site on Martin Road, off SR 530, just south of the Skagit River bridge.
Take a rafting trip: A winter rafting trip provides a beautiful, up close way to view eagles as they  are perched above and soar down into the water to feed on salmon.  Check out the local Wild & Scenic River Tours in Glacier, as well as Skagit RIver Adventures, Ackerlund’s Guide Service on the Skagit River, Alpine Adventures, Blue Sky Outfitters and Pacific NW Float Trips.
Milepost 100 Rest Area: The Skagit River runs directly next to this popular site at Sutter Creek on State Route 20, allowing visitors great views of feeding areas on the gravel bars on the south side of the river. Look to the mountainside—a prime eagle night-roosting site. There are interpretive displays here and parking.
Marblemount Fish Hatchery: At Marblemount, cross the Skagit River bridge and proceed past the entrance to the Marblemount Boat Launch (this is the starting place for bald eagle rafting trips and the location of a very nice bird-watching loop walk that follows the Skagit and Cascade Rivers). Go past the boat launch a half mile, then turn right on the Rockport-Cascade Road, cross the Cascade River Bridge, and take the next right to the Fish Hatchery.
Visitors can view and learn about them from volunteers with the Eagle Watchers Program hosted by the US Forest Service. Three viewing stations with off-highway parking along North Cascades Highway 20 provide spotting scopes and binoculars to help you see the birds up close. Volunteers will staff stations Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. through Jan. 29. Eagle Watcher stations are located at Howard Miller Steelhead Park in Rockport, Sutter Creek Rest area (milepost 100) and the Marblemount Fish Hatchery. View a map showing the viewing sites and learn more about Skagit River wildlife. Call (360) 856-5700 ext. 515 for more information.

PHOTO COURTESY OF MT. BAKER SKI AREA

MT. BAKER – A new mid-mountain lodge, expected to open later this week, will offer food, warmth, and comfort to Mount Baker Ski Area visitors.

Raven Hut Lodge sits at the base of chairs 4, 5 and 6 and is only accessible by ski or snowboard. COURTESY PHOTO

Accessible only by ski and snowboard, the new Raven Hut stands at the site of the former Raven Hot Cafe. Full dining service, a rock fireplace, and classic Northwest architecture characterize the new $3.5 million building, which has been designed in the style of the original 1920’s Mount Baker Lodge.

Ski area representative Amy Trowbridge calls the design “timeless,” and expects that the artisan-crafted lodge will rank among the nation’s finest. “It’s very northwest, very classic, very Cascades,” she said.

Ski Area staff had at least two compelling reasons to build a new lodge, according to Trowbridge: first, large crowds at the ski area’s popular White Salmon Lodge needed room to spread out. Second, the old Raven Hot Cafe was suffering the ravages of time and challenging weather, and needed to be replaced.

As for the construction process, it’s been managed during a short warm season. “With the incredible snow pack we had last year,” Trowbridge explained, “things didn’t melt out until well into the summer.” Staff and construction crews managed to cut a road and clear snow to get into the construction site during the spring, while general contractors Wellman & Zuck managed to work through a summer of challenging alpine conditions. Finishing touches are being put on the commercial kitchen now, and final permits should be in on time for an estimated Dec. 9 opening. “We’re hoping,” Trowbridge said of the opening date, “though you never know until you actually open the doors.”

While construction of the lodge is wrapping up, artistic details will be added throughout the season and into next year. “We’ve had some Northwest artists do some beautiful [detailing] for us,” noted Trowbridge, who hopes that visitors will observe such touches as bronze ravens on the door, artful post carvings (yet to be completed), and a stone fireplace which was handcrafted by a local crew.

The new Raven Hut Lodge is designed in the 1920s-30s Cascadia style architecture and features the work of numerous local woodworkers and artisans. COURTESY PHOTO, Nov. 2011

The Raven Hut sits at the base of chairs 4, 5, and 6, opening after what has been a great start to the season. “We’ve had a bit of a roller coaster with the weather this week,” Trowbridge said, “but what a fantastic opening day we had.” She described their opening weekend as boasting “some of the best conditions we’ve ever had.” The weekend allowed for the establishment of a great base, which will serve skiers and snowboarders well as the season goes on.

In other news, Santa and Mrs. Claus will visit the ski area on Dec. 10-11.

For more information and snow conditions, visit www.mtbaker.us or call (360) 734-6771.

The weekend forecast calls for cold temperatures and clear skies with no additional precipitation, however an incoming storm is expected early next week. Riders are encouraged to pay attention to early season snow conditions.

The new $3.5 million mid-mountain lodge called Raven Hut, accessible only by ski or snowboard, will open in mid-December. The facility features 1920s and 30s-style Cascadia architecture. A number of local woodworkers and artists have been involved in construction. Additional details will be in the next Foothills Gazette.

Last  year, the ski area opened on Nov. 20.  Other regional ski areas are expected to open this weekend.

WEATHER CONDITIONS

The National Weather Service forecast indicates cold temperatures and clear skies for the weekend. Into the week, rain and winds are likely, while temperatures will increase into the 40s and possibly low 50s during the day. For up to date snow conditions at the Mt. Baker Ski Area, visit mtbaker.us and click on Snow Report.

Following are some of the tree farms in eastern Whatcom County area, most open through Dec. 23 or Christmas Eve.

• Alpine Meadows Tree Farm: 3585 Valley Highway, south of Van Zandt, 595-1019. Open through Dec. 22. Hours are 9 a.m. to dark, Monday through Saturday. Trees include Noble Fir, Douglas Fir, Grand Fir, Fraser Fir and Nordmann. U-cut, pre-cut and live trees are available, as well as kids’ trees and wreaths and garland. There is an indoor warm-up area with free coffee and hot chocolate.

• Bell Creek Trees: 5669 Mount Baker Highway, Deming, 592-5061 or 592-4005. Open through Dec. 23. Hours are 9 a.m. to dusk on the weekends, as well as by appointment. Trees include Grand Fir, Noble Fir and Fraser Fir, Cedar, and both u-cut and we-cut are available, as well as wreaths and cut greenery. Coffee and light refreshments available.

• Fullner U-Cut Christmas Trees: 3765 E. Hoff Road, 592-5820. Open through Dec. 24. Hours are 9 a.m. to dark, daily. Trees include Douglas, Grand and Concolor Firs, Norway Spruce, and Fraser. A gift shop is also on site. Coffee, tea, hot chocolate and candy canes available.

• Kelly Road Christmas Tree Farm: 1129 E. Kelly Road, 510-9198, www.kellyrdtreefarm.com.  Open through Dec. 18. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Trees include u-cut or we-cut Noble Fir, Grand Fir and Fraser Fir. Gift shop on site. Refreshments available.

A couple cuts a tree at Alpine Meadows Farm. PHOTO BY KELLY MAKARAVAGE

• Misty Meadows Farm: 6197 Everson Goshen Road, Everson, 312-3554, www.mistymeadowsfarm.com. Trees are certified organic and include Grand Fir, Douglas Fir, Noble Fir and Nordmann Fir.

• Noon Road Trees: 7188 Noon Road, Lynden, 354-8689. Open through Dec. 24. Hours are dawn to dusk, daily. Trees include u-cut Douglas, Grand, Noble, Colorado Blue, Norway and others.

• Pete Pederson Christmas Trees: 4035 Mount Baker Highway, Deming, 592-2639. Trees include Noble Fir, Grand Fir, Fraser Fir and Douglas Fir.

• Red Mountain Tree Farm: Located on Mount Baker Highway  between Kendall and Maple Falls, 599-1765, www.redmountaintrees.com. Open through Dec. 23. Hours are 10 a.m. to dusk, daily. Trees include Noble, Open Noble, Grand Fir, Douglas Fir, Fraser Fir, Spruce, Blue Spruce, and Nordmann. U-cut, we-cut, potted trees and wreaths available, as well as garland, ornaments and other items.

• River’s Edge U-Cut Christmas Tree Farm: 4773 Deming Road, Deming, 592-5220, www.riversedgeucut.com. Open through Dec. 24. Hours are 9 a.m. to dark, daily. Trees include Noble Fir, Grand Fir, Fraser Fir, pre-cut Douglas Fir, and live trees, as well as garlands and wreaths. Free wagon rides Dec. 3-4 and 10-11. Coffee, cider, hot chocolate and candy canes available.

• Sisters Tree Farm: 3771 Valley Highway, a mile south of Van Zandt, 592-5614. Open through Dec. 24. Hours are 1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to dark on Saturday and Sunday. Trees include Douglas Fir, Nordmann Fir, Fraser Fir and more. U-cut, we-cut and wreaths available. Sisters Gift Shoppe on site includes crafts, ornaments, handmade dolls, stockings and more. Cookies and coffee available.

• Stoney Ridge Farm: 2092 Van Dyk Road, Everson, 592-5220, www.stoneyridgefarm.com. Open through Dec. 10. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays, and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Trees include  Fraser Fir, Noble Fir, Douglas Fir, Grand Fir, and Nordmann. We-cut, u-cut, wreaths, garlands, stands and more available. Gift shop, pie shop, animals. Coffee and hot chocolate available.

Cutting areas are located within national forest lands in the eastern portions of Whatcom and Skagit counties, as well as Snohomish, Pierce and King. Permits cost $10 each, one tree per permit, with a tree height limit of 12 feet. Maps and information about cutting areas are provided at the Glacier Public Service Center or the Sedro-Woolley Ranger Station. Trees taller than 12 feet require a special permit at a minimum price of $20. Plan to purchase a parking permit if the trip includes parking in a designated Sno-Park lot.

Due to the incoming snow storms, officials suggest people cut their trees early in the season. High-clearance vehicles are often required on forest roads along with tire chains and a shovel.

Permits are available at the Glacier Public Service Center, just east of Glacier, and the Mt. Baker Ranger Station, located at 810 State Route 20, Sedro-Woolley. The Glacier Public Service Center can be reached at 599-2714. The Mt. Baker Ranger Station can be reached at 856-5700 ext 515. For more information, visit fs.usda.gov.

A large variety of fresh produce, from carrots to sugar pie pumpkins, are available from local farms and growers at the Bellingham Farmers Market on Saturdays (open through Saturday, Dec. 17). East county farmers include Hopewell Farm, Rabbit Fields Farm, Broadleaf Farm, Sumas River Farm, Spring Frog Farm at the Holistic Homestead, Nooksack Nine, Cloud Mountain Farm, Osprey Hill Farm and Growing Washington.

For many, Thanksgiving is not complete without eggnog, and luckily, local dairies have just what you’re looking for (as well as milk and butter). Try selections from Twin Brook Creamery, Breckenridge Farm, Edaleen Dairy and others.

As for local cheese, check out the selection at Everybody’s Store in Van Zandt, as well as offerings from area cheese makers like Appel Farms, Silver Springs Creamery Samish Bay Cheese, Golden Glen Creamery, Gothberg Farms, and Pleasant Valley Dairy.

Need beer or wine for your holiday table? Stop by the North Fork Brewery, Mount Baker Vineyards or Samson Estate Winery.

Coffee and tea selections are available too. Locally roasted coffee is available from Mt. Baker Coffee Roasters, Hammerhead Coffee Roasters, Maniac Roasting, Bellingham Bay Coffee Roasters, and others. Sip-T and North Star Chai create tasty tea varieties, both available at the Bellingham Farmers Market.

For locally raised birds such as turkeys and chickens, contact Osprey Hill Farm in Acme and Growing Washington, based in Everson, or Frianeza Farmstead, in Bellingham. For pork, try Farmer Ben’s, outside of Lynden, and for beef, check out Legacy Herefords, out of Bellingham.

Seasonal decorations – such as harvest wreaths, table centerpieces and other items – can be purchased from locations such as Courtyard Gardens in Everson, Mountainside Gardens on Mount Baker Highway between Kendall and Maple Falls, and Glacier Creations in Glacier. Check out Sumas River Farm and Glacier Glass Works at the Bellingham Farmers Market.

It was our second day on Ross Lake and while most of the gang had cooked their traditional “first night in the woods” steak dinner the night before, I had opted for the quick and easy Hempler bratwurst instead. Satisfying and fast, the only dirty dish was a stick. After a leisurely morning we spent most of midday out in the boats and I hadn’t had any lunch to speak of. So finding myself alone in camp and suddenly hungry, I thought I would cook that big ol’ T-Bone so I’d be done eating before the evening bite.

I carefully seasoned it before prepping my 33-year-old SVEA 123 white gas stove. To “prep” it you have to pour a small amount of highly flammable white gas into the little trough around the stem, then light it. This primes the stove as the heat creates enough pressure to push the fuel up through the stem and out the burner. Once it gets going, its rock on. It is by far the noisiest stove in the woods, but one of the hottest and most efficient as well. And durable, this stove has been through 33 years of hard use and abuse and had never failed me in any circumstances or conditions.
It started fine, and soon my steak was sizzling away but something wasn’t quite right. I wasn’t getting the loud full on four tongues of blue flame from the burner. So I pulled off the steak and tried to turn the stove off. Even as I closed the valve tight orange flames kept coming out seemingly from all around the stove head and stem. Not to mention around the tank cap. I tried again just to make sure it was tight but by now the key was too hot and I burned my fingers in the process.
I was standing inside a wood shelter with the stove on a wood table. I now knew the valve was tight but the stove itself was still burning hard. And white gas was apparently leaking out as the flames had spread around the base and onto the table. I wasn’t panicking yet, but now worried I calmly grabbed my pot grippers and clamped the stove by the attached wind screen intending to move it quickly out of the shelter before I burned it down. With rain in the forecast I figured we needed the shelter and all our gear that was stowed inside.
Vicariously I noted that somehow I was still alone in camp. Everyone else was out fishing from shore or otherwise enjoying the day. And I had a momentary flash of each face as they turned to the ball of flame on the hill if the shelter did catch fire. This as I lifted the flaming stove off the table thinking I would simply carry it out by the fire just to get it outside. Mere inches from the table top, it flared up and singed the hair off my arm before falling on its side as I dropped it. Now it was lying sideways on the table top in a pool of flame and I calmly noted the wood was starting to catch, but just.

It was now clear that I had to get it out of the shelter and out of the shelter fast. I quickly grabbed it again with the pot grippers intending to throw it in the fire pit. It flared again just as I picked it up, but I knew it was now or never and squinting from the heat lobbed it towards my target. I missed the fire pit but it landed next to rocks and flames spread as I sprinted for water. Something in short supply, I grabbed our drinking water and doused the flaming stove and stood back. It went out. Hand a little burned, arm/hand hair singed off, and my left cheek a little warm, but no real damage. I was lucky I didn’t start a forest fire.

Looking around I expected to see at least one person standing there busting a gut laughing at me. Laughing at each other is half the fun. But the whole affair couldn’t have lasted more than a couple of minutes if that.

And my 33-year affair with the SVEA 123?  That would take some work to repair. In cold weather I sleep with that damn stove, and it let me down when I needed it most (see “big ol’ T-Bone”). I have tried all the hot stoves on the market; none of them work for me. No charm, no mystery, unreliable at best. So I will take that stove apart piece by piece, clean all the parts, replace all the gaskets, and see if I can fix what shouldn’t have been broken. I just can’t let that little SVEA 123 go, so I’ll try to relight that fire. But in a safe place with plenty of water on hand.

John McKnight has been exploring Whatcom and Skagit counties for over 25 years. He can be e-mailed at john@foothillsgazette.com.

Sunday night bedtime went as most, TV and living room lights turned off, doors checked and locked, and our cat Mac trying to trip us on our way to and down the stairs.  I woke up once in the night to go to the bathroom and thought it was odd Mac didn’t come in to rub on my legs, but then figured he must be sleeping upstairs for a change, too out to get up.  When I woke to my alarm at 5:50 AM and shuffled into the bathroom to shower, I was a little more perplexed by the lack of cat.  He must be shut in the spare room, or maybe snuck into our daughter’s bedroom.  But as I toweled off my wife through the bathroom door and said she saw Mac outside by the door, but that he ran off.  I told her it was probably the brownish stray we had seen the day before; there was no way for him to be outside.  Besides, she didn’t have her glasses on so I doubted she could tell one cat from another.
As I left for work I told her to look for Mac when she woke up our daughter, and if he wasn’t in there to leave the doors open to all the rooms downstairs just in case.  But I wasn’t concerned, not yet.  Then she called on their way out, Mac was not in either bedroom and was nowhere to be seen.  For some cats this might be normal, not for Mac, he is annoying in his need to be part of everyone’s morning.  And will meow at each of our doors until everyone is up and busy, then he tries to trip us.
I was really puzzled now and left work to search the house.  There is no way out of our house that we know of other than the two doors downstairs or off the deck upstairs, but none of us had been outside after we had seen him last.  He HAD to be inside.  And this started to worry me as all I thought he must be trapped somewhere and if he wasn’t yowling bloody murder, then he had to be dead.  Suffocated, electrocuted, something quick and quiet, and of course I couldn’t find him anywhere.
Then after my shower Tuesday morning I was walking past the back door and saw him sitting on the edge of the patio hunting.  Quickly dressing I went out and startled, he ran off behind the shed.  After 30 minutes of coaxing he calmed enough to come up and let me pet him, but skittered away when I moved to pick him up.  Complicating the situation was the presence of two stray black kittens he had apparently taken under his wing.  He came out again and I managed to pick him up, but as we got close to the house he started to fight and when I tried to launch him through the door thinking he would be fine once he got inside, he twisted in the air and headed for the woods.  He called to his new friends from farther back in the underbrush and they went to him.  And although he wouldn’t come back out we were ecstatic that he was alive and well.  But we thought we might have to adopt the whole pack to get him back inside.
It was all a little too Disney.  First he gets out of the house with the only two doors locked and all the windows screened and shut.  How?  He was right with us as we got ready for bed then gone when we got up.  The theory is he knew about the two kittens that got dumped and had to go rescue them.  So he did some kind of Disney escape, say climbed up inside the stove pipe on the wood stove and worked his way down the roof tops until he could easily leap to the ground.  Then found the two kittens and had to stay with them to feed them and find some shelter.  But he couldn’t bring them close to the house until they trusted him.  Then finally getting them near our house in the dark, he planned to bring them in with him in the morning.  When I tried to haul him in by himself, he had to go, they still needed him.
And that was it, we saw nothing of him, and got more worried when one of the stray kittens showed up Thursday night on our back patio.  We fed and watered him and even brought him into the house with full intentions of keeping him, but to be honest, he was just too loud.  So we booted him back out the door with more food and filled the dish again in the morning.  By now the 3 of us were resigned to the fact Mac wouldn’t be coming home, and our 5 year old daughter, while brave, missed him to pieces.
Friday after coming home we found a trap set on our back porch.  Apparently one of our neighbors had picked it up when they heard about the strays, but at this point we didn’t know who.  And we were glad because we still felt bad about the little black kitten and could at least get him to the Humane Society if we caught him.  We went out to dinner still melancholy, but thankful to have good neighbors.
When we got back to the house I checked the trap looking for the black kitten.  And there was Mac.  Obviously not happy but caught in the trap.  I quickly pulled it inside and let him out.  Ten minutes later he acted like nothing happened and looked none the worse for the wear, refusing all inquiries as to how he got out in the first place.  Soon we found out who had set the trap and that they had already caught the kitten and reset it hoping we would get Mac back. Then she asked if we could set it again in case any of the other strays were still around.  I did and woke to a hissing spitting nasty raccoon that tried to bite me every time I got anywhere near the cage.  But that’s another story.
As Mac sat on the couch later calmly licking his paw I decided we probably didn’t need the trap to get him back.  Once the kitten was safe, it was time to come home.

John McKnight has been exploring Whatcom and Skagit counties for over 25 years. He can be e-mailed at john@foothillsgazette.com.

Last year a new snowshoe route was established leading from White Salmon Road to the lower trail system around Razor Hone Road.  Over the next few months, the groups plan to complete a second route.  This will allow snowshoers to start at White Salmon Road, travel down to the Razor Hone Creek Recreation Bridge, and come back up a different route to complete the loop. The new loop will be approximately two miles long.

The Mount Baker Club has established this loop, and several brushing parties are planned to place signs, trim tree branches and get the trails ready for snow. These are light-duty trail brushing parties.

The new snow-routes connecting the upper White Salmon Road and the lower Snowpark reestablish a recreational connection that has not existed since 1927. Work party volunteers will have the opportunity to see these new routes before the coming snow season, and learn about winter safety and concerns over various segments of the route. A new map of the snowshoe routes will be given to all volunteers.

Trail brushing parties will be held Saturdays, Oct. 15, Oct. 29, Nov. 5, Nov. 12, and Dec. 3. Participants should meet at 8:15 a.m. at the Whatcom Events office, located at 2227 Queen Street, #6 in Bellingham, or at 9 a.m. in Maple Falls at the Crossroads Grocery & Video store. Participants need to RSVP by calling 746-8861 or send an email to Info@skitosea.com so that the organizers can plan for lunches.

Lunches (sandwiches and fruit, juices, snacks, water) hand tools and t-shirts will be provided.

Participants should bring work gloves, boots, hat, wear long sleeve shirts and long pants. Pole loppers and pruners are also needed.

For more information, call 746-8861 or e-mail Info@SkitoSea.com.