I wake up and to my delight Seattle has not let me down, it’s raining. Not a downpour but a slight drizzle. The kind of rain that just hangs there and will crush your soul if it’s all you see for a week straight. Luckily I am merely a transient to the region and can enjoy the stereotypical weather with glee. I make my daily walk down to the town square and grab a coffee at Caffe Ladro. When I get back to the house we ponder options for the day. Joanne has scheduled a couple wine tastings that afternoon but other than that we’re wide open.
The weather isn’t bad enough to rule out a hike so Joanne suggests either Rattlesnake Ledge, a popular 5 mile hike through mountains and valleys, or Snoqualmie Falls, a 1.5 mile round trip with about 300 feet of elevation. Given the weather, I opt for the falls so we can get in & out without getting completely drenched. It’s about 45 minutes east and a bit south of their place and the rain lets up a bit as we get closer.
We arrive & throw on our rain jackets and head out towards the trail. Along the way there are displays detailing the history of the hydroelectric power plant on site. Ok, this is right up my alley. There are currently two hydro plants, the first one completed in 1899 by a 23 year old engineering visionary and presumable madman, Charles Hinckley Baker. A graduate of the esteeed Civil Engineering school at Cornell University, this maniac decided that the damp Seattle weather was not conducive to power plant equipment so he made the obvious decision to tunnel 270 feet straight through solid granite and carve out a room big enough for a hydroelectric plant. It was the world’s first completely underground power plant, a ridiculously specific distinction, and one he gained likely because everyone else who had built a power plant figured above ground was just fine.
Plant 2 was built in 1910 and is sensibly located above ground, right next to the path that we find ourselves on. The highlight of this stretch of the path is the enormous penstocks (huge water pipes to bring water from above the falls to the power plant) that hug the cliffs and go right below the deck we’re standing on.
This is quickly surpassed when we walk around the bend and the valley opens up before us to reveal the falls. It’s a magnificent sight, a torrent of water crashing over the falls flanked by thickly forested sheer cliffs of volcanic rock. We take it in for a few minutes and I snap a few photos that will certainly fail to capture the full experience then start off towards the path towards the top of the falls.
It’s a really nice hike through expanses of towering Douglas fir and red alder, filled in with western hemlock, western red cedar, big-leaf maple, and black cottonwood. It’s about 300 feet of moderate vertical and just like that we're at the top of the falls. There is a large display up here detailing the engineering of the power plant and geology of the area. I’m loving this.
I read all there is to read about the falls and the plant and we walk out onto a deck for a better view. And what a view it is. It’s mesmerizing to put your eye on a bit of water and watch it tumble to the bottom. It looks like it’s in slow motion, I wish I had the pot.
We loiter for a bit then make our way back down. We get back to the car and are only marginally wet, I'd chalk that up as a win. We start heading back towards Seattle and I mention a spot my friend had recommended called Holy Mountain brewery. It’s on the north side of downtown right off Elliott Bay and we decide we have time for a quick brewski before the wine tastings.
We head to the brewery, which is situated in a warehouse next to a trainyard. I was hoping to get a flight to get a sampling of their wares but they don’t offer flights. They do, however, offer small 6 oz pours so I order a trifecta of the Collapsing Star IPA, Plague of Angels Oatmeal Milk Stout, and The Ox oak fermented milk stout. All 3 are excellent and I decide to slug back another full pour of The Ox before we have to leave.
We make a quick stop at the house to change out of our hiking clothes and back into the car for a short drive to Woodinville, a town with an absurd amount of wine tasting rooms. Our first stop is Long Shadows Tasting Room, a place that had been recommended to Joanne from a friend. We wander back to a room lined with used oak barrels and black and white photos of vineyards.
The tasting menu is a 6 glass sampling, starting with a light Pinot Gris working up to a full bodied Syrah. We are unimpressed with the first offering and the theme continues for the rest of the tasting. They weren’t bad, they were just kinda there. The most amusement I got out of the tasting was their peculiar pricing model, the 1.5L bottles were double the price of the 750mL bottles plus \$10. So you could get two bottles of a \$60 wine for \$120, or a large bottle of the same amount of wine for \$130. It didn’t make a lick of sense. We finish the tasting and bolt out the door for the next spot. Our waitress had a tone of disappointment and mild disgust when we didn’t buy a bottle to take home. Sorry, not sorry.
We head up the road about a mile to Matthews Winery, where they have a table set up out front to check in and pour us a small glass of welcome rosé. Ok I’m liking this place better already. The tasting room is open and airy, with large windows letting in the bit of light scattering through the clouds. They put us in a spot outdoors on their covered patio and we get our pick of 4 wines for our tasting. I choose the Claret and Reserve Claret from Matthews and the Cabernet and Syrah from Tenor, a winery that shares the tasting room with Matthews. I wish I could tell you all the notes of boysenberry, oak, leather, and asparagus, but I'm not into all that nonsense; what I can tell you is that I really liked these wines. They are significantly better to my amateur palate and Greg & Joanne agree and buy two bottles of the wines they tasted.
During the tasting I get up to use the lav, and while I’m relieving myself of all the liquids we’ve acquired over the past few hours a flatulence is released from my body that is exceptionally malodorous. I mean it’s bad. Now the only reason I’m telling you this is what happens next. I leave the loo and immediately run into a cute girl in the hallway who exclaims “oh my god! I love your mask!” Turns out she’s from Buffalo and takes a liking to my Bills mask. Right after I explain that my dad & his whole side of the family is from Buffalo she hits me with an “oh that’s awesome!” and is gone… like a fart in the wind… right into the unisex latrine that probably has paint peeling off the walls. Christ. She darted away so fast I couldn’t even get another syllable out before she entered hells kitchen. Pretty young lass from the Matthews winery, wherever you are, I’m sorry.
We finish up our wine and head back to the house. I have an early day tomorrow and want to leave by 6 to get out to Mt Baker for some fresh turns. It’s just before 8 so I should have no problem getting to bed by 10. When we get back Greg starts cooking up some spaghetti - he’s got a special red sauce recipe and it is absolutely dynamite. It has a slight sweetness to it that I’ve never tasted in spaghetti sauce and I love it. We enjoy it with an Argentinian wine, the vintner and varietal of which I can’t remember. After dinner we retire to the kitchen for conversation and carryin-on. I am thinking it’s probably about time to head to bed when Greg opens up a bottle of syrah from Columbia Winery, a local vineyard where they are members. Since I have no backbone when it comes to peer pressure I cave when he asks if I want a glass. Hell a glass ain’t gonna kill me and they have been gushing about this winery so let’s fire it up.
The wine is delicious and the company even better, have I mentioned how kickass my family is? I finish my glass and acquiesce to another, albeit with the stipulation that Greg gives me a half pour. Another half glass worth of time passes and I wonder out loud what time it is. Joanne screams “don’t look at the time!!” but it was too late, I see the clock tick over to 11:37.
Shit.
I start stumbling towards the stairs for some much needed shuteye & Joanne asks if I’d like a peanut butter & jelly for the slopes tomorrow
I’d love a peanut butter & jelly