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Water Cascading over Snoqualmie Falls

With rains of almost biblical proportions here in the Pacific Northwest over the past month, Snoqualmie Falls is drawing increasing crowds of lookie-loos to ogle the fast-moving whitewater tumbling 286 feet from the Snoqualmie River into a 65-foot-deep pool below.

“We’re well over the 40-year average (for flow of water going over the falls),” says Salish Lodge & Spa manager Sam Johnson, from his vantage in the lodge, which is perched on a rock outcropping above the falls. At its closest, Salish Lodge is just 25 feet from the falls. That dramatic point is one of the most popular spots in the Seattle area — table No. 5 in the Salish dining room, in a little area they’ve dubbed “the proposal room. We have many marriage proposals a month there,” says Johnson, who says MSNBC recently named the Salish as one of the top 10 romantic hotels in the country.
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August 20, 2013 Photos

Big changes coming to Snoqualmie Falls

If you want to see the power of water in the Northwest, Snoqualmie Falls is a place to witness it. There’s even a place to stand to watch it, a special park complete with trails and observation decks. It sits on land owned by Puget Sound Energy.

But the Snoqualmie River is also about electric power, and with upgrades now going into place, in three years it will provide electric power 40,000 homes.

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Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Project

History

The Snoqualmie Falls Hydroelectric Project is Puget Sound Energy’s oldest power-generating operation and the world’s first completely underground power plant. More than a century after its construction, the facility still produces clean, cost-effective electricity for PSE customers. In addition, the hydroelectric project’s public park and trails have for decades been one of the Pacific Northwest’s most popular scenic destinations, drawing approximately 2 million visitors annually to view the majestic, 270-foot waterfalls.

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A Short History of the Upper Snoqualmie Valley

Pre-Contact

About 5,000 years ago, soon after the glaciers receded, humans first came to our Valley. The glaciers left a fertile plain and a magnificent 300 foot waterfall. The river had been moved from its ancient bed by the glacier and could not seek its natural level because of the bedrock encountered at the lip of what we now call Snoqualmie Falls. Mountain goat were plentiful on the crags; deer, edible bulbs, bracken fern roots and berries were abundant on the prairie. Without salmon there was little to draw a permanent year-round population above the falls, but as trade between the Native Americans on the coast and those inland increased, the prairie of the Upper Snoqualmie became a traditional seasonal rendezvous area. To preserve the prairie productivity the Snoqualmie’s periodically burned off competition, keeping the valley floor clear. It was these cleared and fertile prairies that first drew white settlers to the area.
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Eastside Extended: Review of Fall City Roadhouse

I just came across a great review and interview about the Fall City Roadhouse in the archives of one of my favorite local blogs, Cherie Picked. Cherie always uses just the right words to accurately describe the vibe of a place and also has a great photographic eye!

I too have an affinity for the Snoqualmie Valley having spent a considerable amount of time criss-crossing it, getting to know alot of the local businesses at a previous job. Cherie is spot-on when she says,
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