We have seen the Tug Boat many times next to the Dam! Can you tell us what the story is behind the Tug Boat and why it is here?? Also why it is buried in the ground?? Thank you!! Ron

As depicted to me without verification from either the NPS or Seattle City Light

It was a dark and stormy night, Captain Tom was trying to save the villagers from a fate.....

Many years ago when Sasquatch frequented the shores of Ross lake....

The tug boat mentioned in the earlier post is a piece of living history of Ross Lake. It plied these waters for many years before age, codes and history caught up with it.

It is really a very simple explanation as to how it found its current resting place.  Cost.

The tug needed a complete overhaul It was no longer able to ply the waters of Ross Lake without upgrades required by necessary regulations.  It sometimes hauled or might have been required to haul passengers.

To meet the latest codes would have cost more than what the returns justified. To move it further down the road perhaps near the power house was tricky, and in reality space was limited.

Also old boats would have to be stripped of paint etc. a difficult undertaking in the current location.

So from what I've been told. A common sense approach was taken.  Partially bury that beautiful old girl alongside the road, and surrounded by a small protective berm, where everyone could see it on a daily basis and it could be monitored regularly by staff from Seattle City Light.

A piece of history kept where it belongs.

Spring Move

Every spring, and every fall, the floating cabins and other buildings are moved from either near the shore to the log boom or from log boom back to shore for the normal summer configuration.

Why?

Ross Lake is a reservoir and Seattle City Light Lowers the level of the lake for electrical demands and for prevention of damage and flooding due to winter floods and early spring snow melt.

So, the resort moves the buildings and cabins in November and May.

Here are some images that Tom and the staff shot in May to show us the process.

Stress Free Zone

© Paul K. Anderson

Young Dylan, a cup of cocoa at his side, is working hard (LOL) to get rid of all his stress after spending the morning fishing with a good friend on Ross Lake - amidst the high alpine peaks, fresh air, forested slopes, and glaciers of North Cascades National Park.

Years ago I lived on an island in the salt marshes of southeastern Georgia. I was playing a round of golf by myself one morning and was going to tee off on one of the holes.

I saw another golfer standing near a pond up the fairway watching a young boy fishing with a long cane pole.  I approached the man to ask if I could play through or join him for the round and we started talking.

It turns out I recognized him, he was an owner of an eastern NFL team and one of the richest men in America.  He had probably everything that money could buy, but at that moment all he thought about was how much fun and how stress free a life that young boy was living. He told me he would give anything to be as stress free as the young fisherman.

And that is the power and allure that fishing has for many of us.  It brings back memories of time well spent with family and good friends, dads, uncles, cousins and favorite mentors. It brings back memories of adventures and special locations.

It helps remind us of what is important.

The Log Boom

© Paul K. Anderson

Besides protecting the resort the log booms can serve another important purpose..........

Exploration routes!

Old Friends

© Paul K. Anderson

This past fall waiting down on the boat dock I ran into a couple of old friends.  That's Rick on the left and Dennis on the right.

I first met them back in the early to mid 80's at a company where we all worked.  It turns out that Dennis and I had several mutual friends from back in the mid 70's, when he was a ski instructor at Keystone Resort and I was a certifiable ski bum drifting around the mountains of Summit County, Colorado.

Tom Barnett the resorts owner went to Meadowdale High with both of them, and Dennis worked at the resort the first year Tom took it over.  

So these friends have been coming to the resort with groups of other friends for close to 35 years now.

Flowers

Carol is an artist.  She arranges all of the pots, barrels, and planters that you see along the docks and in front of the cabins.  

From spring until late fall something, somewhere is in bloom around the resort.

And you know what?  We don't typically drag hoses around to water the plants!

We don't have to.

We have a bucket to scoop water directly from the lake.

Keeping The Home Fires Burning

Because we are a floating resort, we have a unique delivery system for most of the daily tasks that you would find at any resort.  Basically - everything is delivered by boat!

Back in the cove, beyond the bunkhouses, is our heavy work area. We have a floating sawmill and we have floats for chopping and splitting the wood that you find stacked near your cabin.

During late autumn and through the winter, fierce storms can hit the area. Trees most exposed on the shoreline sometimes topple over and into the lake.

Each spring when the runoff is at its peak from the surrounding mountains and glaciers, the creeks and streams flood. Trees are swept into Ross Lake and drift down lake towards the dam.

In front of the resort and the dam you notice a series of log booms.  These booms serve an important purpose.  They protect the dam (and also the resort) from wave damage and from trees and logs that come down the lake.

With the approval from the National Park and from Seattle City Light, Ross Lake Resort will remove these threats from the water and use them for firewood. Throughout the year staff will be chopping, splitting, stacking, curing and delivering wood to the cabins.

In Memory of....

© Paul Anderson

On the wall of one of the buildings heading to the office from the cabins are memorials to friends, families, fishing buddies who have come to Ross Lake to "fish these waters."

Photograph the Light

© Paul K. Anderson

© Paul K. Anderson

© Paul Anderson  

When you want to capture the mood or emotion of the landscape it is important to capture the light at it's most interesting or dramatic. That typically means in the morning from a little before dawn until several hours after, and from just after sunset to several hours before.

You also can capture dramatic landscapes on the edge of weather changes.

Mid-day is best for getting in closer with people action shots.  You would also want to use fill flash if you have it, to balance out shadows in the bright sunlight.

I admit I can't resist shooting the mountains on the return trip from Ruby Arm in the early afternoon, but I am usually diasappointed with the flat, washed out look to the scenery and especially the sky.

If the light is fading try using your tripod to ensure crisp images.

Try photographing early and late and during changing weather patterns to evoke the true mood of the North Cascades and Ross Lake.

Morning Fishing below Jack Mountain

© Paul Anderson

Whether you are fishing, exploring, kayaking, canoeing, hiking or just relaxing the scenery from so many parts of the lake is inspirational.

Morning Coffee

© Paul Anderson

Colleen and Allyson relax while the kids are off dinking around.

Anticipation

©Paul Anderson
Remember when you were a kid, and how it seemed to take forever for those special events to arrive?

Every year, weeks before we start our trip to Ross Lake Resort, the kids start asking "how soon", and "are the fish biting", "who can we invite?"

And they comment: "I'm jumping in the water as soon as we get there", "this year I'm going up to Lightening Creek", or "this year I'm swimming underwater at Ruby Creek", "this year I'm letting the waterfall hit me."

Several years ago there was an early fall storm, it uncharacteristically rained on our trip in and when we arrived at the cabin we could see it was snowing less than 500 feet above us.

Eight year old Mackenzie couldn't wait - she had been anticipating this moment for too long - she had to take the plunge in the rain and the cold.

And she did it, she swam out to the log boom and back.

All the adults sitting under the eaves of their cabins or at their dining tables playing cards, reading, planning the late afternoon fish, grinned, shook their heads and remembered when they would have done the same.

Mackenzie climbed out of the water, walked slowly into the bathroom and when she finally sat in her tub of warm water I heard a satisfied "aaahhhhhh!"

Anticipation complete.

The next day was sunny and 75 degrees.

Ruby Creek

© Paul Anderson

Devil's Creek

© Paul Anderson

Poets and Fire in the Sky

© Paul Anderson

This area has a bit of history to it and in future posts Tom and some of his friends/guests will provide us with some interesting photos and historical comment.

Cool, Clear, Water!

© Paul Anderson

I grew up in Iowa, near the Mississippi River.  As kids we would swim in the big muddy to cool off from the heat and humidity.  If you stuck your arm in the water up to your elbow, you couldn't see your fingertips.

This made the rope swing particularly exciting because just as you pushed off someone would inevitably yell "Hey isn't that a log floating out there?"

"Yikes! Whoooaaaahhhhhhhh! Wherrrrrrre?"

I remember dreams as a child.  How wonderful it would be to swim, and fish for trout, and float in cool, clear water.

Look for the Signs!

Be sure to look for the signs as you come up highway 20!  Between milepost 127 and 128 you will turn onto Diablo Dam Road, a narrow road that goes across the top of Diablo Dam several miles east and a little higher than the small company town of Diablo.

Be aware of on coming traffic.

Once across the dam you will head right past a small Seattle City Light Tour Dock.

Park at the next dock, (just before a large storage building) unload all your gear, park your vehicle in the designated resort parking and then carry all of your gear down the gangway to the floating dock.

If you drive too far (beyond our loading/unloading dock) you will come into the parking area for one of our great neighbors!  The North Cascades Institute's Learning Center.  

www.ncascades.org

We'll have a post about them at another time.

Something you must be aware of is the departure time of the Seattle City Light boat.  They keep to their schedule. So allow yourself plenty of time to get here and schlep all of your gear down to the floating dock.

If you are late, the only alternative in the afternoon is to drive several miles east on highway 20 to the Ross Dam Trail head at milepost 134 park your car and hike down to Ross Lake.  Find the resort telephone (its well marked) call us and we will zip across the lake to get you.  

Because no road exists to Ross Lake Resort, and because it is so remote and isolated, simply put, there is no alternative solution.  You make it on time to the boat or you hike in carrying the minimum you need for the night.

The next morning you will have to get up early, hike back up to your car, drive back down hiway 20 and across Diablo Dam, carry all your remaining gear to the boat dock and catch the morning boat.

Please - it is much easier to be on time.  You want this to be as stress free an experience as possible.

Note: Once your gear is on the dock, and the boat has arrived, what usually happens is: all the people headed up to Ross Lake will pitch in to load and unload the Seattle City Light boat.  At the base of Ross Dam everyone carries everything to the resort truck. The resort drivers have the responsibility to ensure that the truck is loaded safely and appropriately for the trip.

It's all a very spontaneous and a wonderful tradition,  everyone helping out. If you are unable to lift much don't fret - carry what you can.  A number of times I've carried heavy coolers and younger guys have grabbed it and said "hey, I'll get that for you".

It's part of the Ross Lake experience.

photos © Paul Anderson

Behind the Scenes - transporting canoes and kayaks

Another service we provide is trucking canoes and kayaks from the bottom of Ross Dam up to Ross Lake and back down again.  Except at the extreme north end, up at Hozomeen, and via a long trip through British Columbia from the nearest border crossing, there are no boat launches on Ross Lake.

We will transport gear for individuals and large groups.  

Please call ahead.

Tom putting a shoulder to his work!

One of the more important jobs that Tom and the staff have (at all hours of the day) is ensuring that the cabins don't get hung up and go aground.  Since the resort is on a reservoir that fluctuates up and down as Seattle City Light produces power, the staff monitors the lake level and sometimes employs brute force to move the cabins into deeper water.

Keena, one of the resort supervisors, observes Tom, before providing feedback.

Ahhhhhhhhh!

©Paul Anderson
Fishing season starts in July up here!