Entertainment - Entertainment News

POSTED: Wednesday, Jul. 29, 2009

See the snow before it melts

One of our favorite things to do every summer is make a pilgrimage to Artist Point for a look at Mount Baker and a chance to play in the snow. It's just so much fun to throw a snowball or slide on your tushie in the hard-packed white stuff - in shorts and a T-shirt.

With the temperatures soaring toward the 90s, it's even better. But U.S. Forest Service folks say you'd better hurry because the snow is disappearing fast.

"It's melting very quickly," said Courtney Leake, a forestry technician at the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest's Glacier Public Service Center. Leake said Tuesday that she was at Artist Point last weekend.

"There's still a few feet of snow along the road and the trails, but after this weekend, it could be almost gone," she said.

The center is on the Mount Baker Highway outside the village of Glacier, and you'll need to stop there for a $5 day pass. If you're heading up with small children, it's a good place to let them use the toilet and stretch their legs. Make sure to check out the massive Douglas fir cross-section outside the center, and the interesting relief map of Mount Baker inside the center.

We had lived in Whatcom County for several years before discovering this particular pleasure. Artist Point is where the Mount Baker Highway ends, a few miles past the Mt. Baker Ski Area at 5,400 feet elevation. It is not maintained in the winter, and is usually closed to traffic after the snow starts falling in October. It doesn't open until the roads is cleared - July 14 this year - by crews using big plows and blowers, bulldozers, steam shovels and skip loaders.

Two years ago, we went up when the road had been cleared only to the Heather Meadows parking lot. Then, the roadside was a wall of snow 10 feet deep or more. Last year, we took California relatives out for a look at Baker's snow-covered dome and let their toddlers frolic in the snow.

You can see impressive pictures of the snow-clearing operations at wsdot.wa.gov. Search "Artist Point" for a link to the state's Flikr gallery.

TEEN BOOKS, KIDS' CRAFTS

Coming up Friday, July 31, is both the Bellingham Public Library's 41st Annual Children's Craft Fair and the Friends of the Bellingham Public Library first Teen Book Sale.

? The Craft Fair will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Central Library Lawn. Children ages 13 and younger will operate booths to sell their handmade wares (booth reservations have closed). This is really a fun time for youngsters; our girls even made a few bucks selling bead jewelry a few years ago.

? The Teen Book Sale will be in the lower lobby of the Central Library from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring former library books and donated books for teens.

TALL SHIPS SAIL IN

The tall ships Lady Washington and the Hawaiian Chieftain will be at Blaine Harbor Marina until Tuesday, Aug. 4, and at Squalicum Harbor in Bellingham from Aug. 4-10. The ships are free to tour. For more information, see historicalseaport.org.

BLUE ANGELS

The U.S. Navy's precision flying team, known as the Blue Angels, will be performing several shows this weekend for the annual Seafair festivities in Seattle. These crack aviators fly the Boeing F/A-18 Hornet fighter and do some impressive stunts that left Leah and Emma pretty much speechless when we saw them three summers ago. They'll be performing and practicing several times from Thursday, July 30, to Sunday, Aug. 2. The I-90 floating bridge will be closed during practices and performances. Check wsdot.wa.gov or seafair.com for complete schedules.

Here's a rough idea of when you can see the planes:

* Thursday, July 30, from 9:45 a.m.-noon and 1:15 p.m.-2:30 p.m. (practice show).

* Friday, July 31, from 12:45 p.m.-2:40 p.m. Friday, July 31 (practice show).

* Saturday, Aug. 1, and Sunday, Aug. 2, from 12:45 p.m.-2:40 p.m. (full show).