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Cahalen & Eli in Twisp

When I first thought about where I’d like to live, the Methow Valley was high on my list for two things – the terrific outdoor recreation possibilities (hiking, skiing, etc) and the arts. This area has a large number of creative people and it also supports the arts pretty remarkably for such a rural location. Last night we had the good fortune to experience a wonderful musical act – Cahalen and Eli in the Spartan Art Project which is currently located at TwispWorks. How can I begin to describe all of this? Let’s see – TwispWorks is housed in a former US Forest Service complex that was surplused by the federal government and put out for auction. A group of civic minded folks decided it could be a great incubator to support arts and small businesses in our valley and they raised enough money ($1 million dollars!) to buy it and then they had to start refurbishing the old buildings. Now it is home to art studios, classrooms, a natural history center, teen center and more! The Spartan Art Project is a 1951 travel trailer transformed into a gallery space supporting artists both local and from far away. It is the brainchild of three local artists. Last night Donna Keyser’s studio on the TwispWorks campus hosted a reception for the musicians and the audience.

Cahalen and Eli are two fine acoustic musicians based in Seattle. In the last week they have been featured on NPR and Folk Alley and probably other media outlets as well. They write many of their own songs and play mandolins, banjo and guitar and their harmonies are wonderful We were lucky to have such a talented duo in our tiny town of Twisp. One of the ways that the Spartan Art Project supports artists is with their ‘Intimate Performances’. This is the third one. As you might imagine, an old travel trailer does not seat too many people. However, the acoustics are wonderful and the chance to see these men performing up close was particularly entertaining. We reserved two seats so we could be up close and personal with the show.

Matt Armbrust, one of the three ‘spartners’ in this project introduces the musicians
After the performance, visiting with the musicians as snow falls.

Bee Days

Just last week the temperature got as low as nine below zero, Fahrenheit, at my house. Today and yesterday it was pushing fifty above zero! The weather also brought in some new snow that was greatly appreciated. The warmth brought some stirring to Ken’s bee hives encouraging the honey bees to fly and relieve themselves and do some serious house cleaning. Here are a few of the images I made today. Those with blue backgrounds are on the metal surface that covers the tops of the hives. The bluebird sky makes a nice reflection, don’t you think? Some bees were walking around on the snow.

Cache and Cougar

Yesterday MA and the dogs and I had a breathtaking walk in the hills above the Twisp River. Breathtaking in more ways than one. We are in the midst of one of those cold snaps where the early morning temperatures are below zero; where the dogs don’t waste much time when they are sent out to do their business; where it takes some time to get dressed just to go outside and you wonder how the dogs do it without any extra clothes. But they go out happily and wish I’d take them on more walks. The cold wasn’t the only breathtaking topic. So were the views. Cold weather is often accompanied with blue, blue skies and snow-covered mountains. A surprise, not so much breathtaking but a surprise none the less, was finding a geocache on top of a hill. To me it seemed altogether too obvious even without the help of a gps and coordinates. Maybe it would have been harder if we’d been searching for it. We opened it and left a note and a dog cookie. We had breathtaking views of birds – a Kestrel kiting (hovering) in search of prey: Common Ravens soaring and laughing: three Red-tailed Hawks soaring and falling together – maybe a sign of choosing their territories. Breathtaking was seeing a cougar loping across the hill below us! Luna had erupted into her serious bark and Frida had her hackles up. Luckily Sky was behind us and didn’t rush to see what all the fuss was about. She knows that bark means danger ahead. MA and I watched for a moment before the cougar came into our field of view maybe fifty meters away. Maybe less. I expect that when Luna first saw it, the animal was much closer than that. We regrouped and made a swift retreat, back the way we came from, stopping to leave another note in the geocache.

Looking up the Twisp River
The Sawtooth Mountains in the swirling mists
A Kestrel ‘kiting’ in search of prey.
We have walked in those hills too.
Frida looks down at Twisp. This is just before we saw the cougar
Twisp
Balky Hill rock formations. That’s where the rattlesnakes live in the winter
We named this Cougar Cache Hill

Ice and Snow

Another fun day outside! Eight of us – four dogs and four women – travelled with classic skis and waxed paws to look at the frozen Falls Creek Falls. Yes, that’s its name.

Falls Creek Falls. It’s a place that we frequently take out of town guests, even the elderly that can’t get around to well, to see in the warmer months. It’s a reasonably short drive from town and the short trail is paved for wheelchairs and the falls are really a sight to see. In the spring and early summer, the water is high and spray cools the air and keeps the surfaces wet and slippery. Later in the summer, it’s a refreshingly cool spot. And fall is lovely with colorful foliage.

I’ve always wanted to see it in the winter but you can’t drive there. The road is closed and maintained for snow machines but that doesn’t mean you can’t ski to it. So when Jennifer said she wanted to go, I was ready. We thought about taking fat bikes but someone said they are not allowed. That left us with classic cross-country skis. I must say, I have not used my classic skis in at least a couple of years having become a devoted skate skier. This year, with little snow in the Cascades I have not done much of any skiing so I figured I may as well dust off the classics and give it a go. Jennifer’s skis are so old (how old are they?) that they have 3 pin bindings! She bought them used more years ago then she cares to say. We recruited MA to join us and she got Christiana to go too (and drive) and we were set. A sno-park pass is required so we needed to cram all of us into one vehicle to make it not too costly. Four women, four dogs and all the ski stuff and other gear – well it takes up some space. And to top it off, the roads were not in good shape – new snow was covering the old ice.

Not only did we have the fun of skiing with our dogs on a day that went from nearly sunny to snowing hard, we also enjoyed the trail to the falls and its icy beauty and on the way back, we stopped to observe some ancient pictographs. It was another fun day in the Methow.

Frida leads the way
Sky is trying to keep up with the big dogs
Now why would I do that?
The puppy sneak
The puppy leap
No wonder Wyatt Ann doesn’t like Sky.
Treats? Anyone got treats for dogs?
No treats here.
Frida is reasoning with Christiana
Treats?
Treats?
What are you looking at?
Note that her paws are not clumped with snow. They have ‘mushers’ wax on them.
You’ve got something on your nose.
Falls Creek from the bridge
The frozen falls
Lots of water coming down
A small hole in the ice
Cedar tree trunks
Pictographs along the road
Sky found something special
Real winter weather
I like the snow

The First Annual Big Wheel Derby at TwispWorks

Uh oh. You can tell that this winter is going to be a long one. The lack of snow is bringing out some real creativity in the valley.

Yesterday Jennifer asked me if I was going to race and I had not a clue what she was referring to. Then she said ‘bring your camera to TwispWorks at noon’. Hmmm. MA knew about the race too and apparently was thinking about entering. She and I had a dog walk this morning and, well, we were a little late but we figured, like many events around here, it might not start quite on time. We were wrong. By the time we got there, most contestants had already had their practice run and their competitive run. MA was convinced to join in the fun and did really well, coming in third place out of about a dozen qualifiers. There were a few rules. Knocking over a cup would cost you time. Going off course would get you disqualified. Costumes were encouraged.

The judge
All the media turned out for this event.
Game Face
Jennifer had a great costume
A silent spectator
Jennifer gives pointers while MA gets outfitted for the race
Equipment adjustment
Practice run
Uh oh
Good thing it was practice
Ready to start for real
It takes some effort to get the thing moving
On the back stretch
Kelly tries again after disqualifying earlier.
Mo won. It was her machine and her idea!

Steve Foreman’s video from the Big Wheel Derby can be seen at the Methow Grist.