With all the tree-covered mountains surrounding it, Snoqualmie has a long history of logging. We were greeted to town by this large wheel. It's a good thing there was a plaque with a description, because we were clueless. It is an 11-foot-tall vandmill wheel that once supported the 65-foot band saw blade at the local saw mill. This saw was big enough to cut even the biggest Douglas fir logs that came out of these woods. It was in service from 1917 through 1964, and cut enough lumber to build 275,000 homes.
The railroads came to town, making a way to move that lumber to the rest of the world. Mark is sitting in front of the picturesque Northern Pacific Depot that was built in 1890.
The logging trains don't seem to travel through this area now. But the tracks are still used for tourist train rides that were very popular on this beautiful Sunday afternoon.
Instead of a train ride, we preferred a little bike riding on the rock paths that wind through the woods around town.
This is a rail-to-trails path, that goes over the Snoqualmie River. This is the same river that we visited a couple weeks ago with our son and his girl friend. About a mile from here, this quiet little river cascades more than 200 feet straight down to make the much-photographed Snoqualmie Falls.
This bike path also took us close to the grand mountain of this area--Big Si. Its imposing rock face makes a great backdrop for the town as it rises more than 3,000 feet above the valley below.
We looked longingly up at that mountain face during our bike ride. That's when Mark did a little research to find there was a hike to the top of Mount Si. It's a very popular trail in this area, and it looks like we'll be taking that hike tomorrow! Again, we've found a place that we didn't even know about before today, and we're finding plenty of fun things to keep us busy.
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