Personal Ventures Across Washington

Over the past several years I have been spending considerable time in Kennewick relaying with siblings in an effort to keep our mother in her house. For a fair bit of time I had the flexibility that helped, but over the past year other obligations and constraints made those ventures a bit more challenging. I appreciate the hard work my siblings and spouses of siblings have undertaken. We managed to keep Mom in her home till the end of May. She died on August 14. 

In early June Lisa and I came up with a bit of scheme to combine work and an aniversary trip to the Columbia River Gorge (also semi work related) with a visit to Kennewick. The scheme received a few bumps and need for change ups, but we managed to drive from Bow to Kennewick. It was nice to have Lisa along for the visit even though her work schemes did not come together as hoped. We enjoyed driving through the Yakima River Canyon between Ellensburg and Selah. 

After our visit to Kennewick (where we had a nice visit with my Mom) we drove to The Dalles (a city on the Columbia River in Oregon) via a drive through the Horse Heaven Hills via Bickleton. I had driven this route a couple of times when combining work with trips to Kennewick. Bickleton would be the highest elevation town in Washington State if it incorporated. I think the school qualifies as the highest elevation school at a bit over 3,000 feet. The town also claims to have the oldest operating tavern in Washington. The tavern was not open, but we had an excellent lunch at the grocery store.

(picture from Google Earth street view)

I bought this book by local writer Peter Lewis at the grocery: 

A good read for Henry who wouldb be visiting us in July. 

From Bickleton we dropped down towards Goldendale with views of Mount Adams and Mount Hood as well as the multiple cinder cones and smaller lesser know volcanoes of the Goldendale area. There are also areas of mound topography.

We stopped at Sam Hills's Stonehenge replica (wikipedia.org/wiki/Maryhill_Stonehenge) where we made pledges at the alter stone while enjoying the views of the river and the ice age floods shaped landscape.

We spent two nights at The Dalles with a venture to Syncline winery. I have been assured that despite my bias for the geology reference in the name the wine is excellent. The winery setting is like stepping into the northern California coast range with oak and pine forests and open meadows between the patches of forest. 

View above Syncline with Mount Hood in the distance.

This is fire country, the open area burned two years ago.

The bedrock is basalt, but ancient 'golden egg' river rocks are scattered on the landscape - a future geology post.

Vivianite Notes

Hurowitz and many others (2025) discuss organic carbon bearing mudstones on Mars that have bluish nodules. The analysis of the reaction fronts on the nodules indicated ferrous iron phosphate and sulfide minerals with the blue possibly being vivianite. Vivianite nodules are known to form in fresh water and marine settings as a by-product of low-temperature microbially mediated Fe-reduction reactions. Hence, these nodules on Mars have generated intense interest. Hurowitz and many others (2025) do note that there are alternative explanations, but the biotic explanation is intriguing. Kawahara and others (2022) note that there are non biological processes for similar appearing nodules. So at that this point nothing definitive -- such is science. At some future date this rocks may be subject to more sophisticated analyses. 

 

My first encounter with the mineral was in regards to phosphorus removal from waste water or stormwater. There were some clever chemists trying to come up with solutions to minimize nutrient loading in lakes fro waste water. 

A while back I did some research based on coincidental inquiries about sources of blue coloration. One inquiry was regarding possible sources of blue coloration used on canoes by Salish Sea peoples prior to European contact. I was asked if I knew of any vivianite depsoits in the area. The other inquiry was similar but came from an art supplier who thought I might have some insight regarding vivianite sources. I did find some references of pre European trading associated with a site in Alaska.

Vivianite Fe(II)3(PO4)2.8H2O shows up around buried organic material. It also shows up in sewage facilities. A local source for the Salish might have been along clay rich tidal sloughs where lots of wood would have been buried. 

Another potential source could be clay rich Bellingham Glacial Marine Drift that has remained saturated and is in close contact with buried organic material. The saturated drift is already blue from the iron and magnesium not being oxidized. The contact with buried wood would provide the phosphate to have added blue color, but I have not observed any vivianite features when excavating or drilling into the local glacial marine drift.

   

It is my understanding that in finishing cedar canoes the wood would be rubbed with wet clay. I do wonder if some vivianite would precipitate during processing of the bluish clay with the organic material of the canoe thus fixing the iron with microscopic vivianite. That is if you took the very wet and very soft blue glacial drift out of a bank and then mixted it with organic material the vivianite would form within the clay mix and stop the oxidation of the iron that is present and instead create the iron/phosphate oxide vivianite and thus "fix" the blue color. Even rubbing the blue clay on the wood might cause the same reaction. 

Rose of Lima in Keller

 Near my stop at the Sanpoil River cut bank exposing Glacial Lake Columbia sediments (rhythmites-and-varves-at-lower-sanpoil) is a small Catholic Church. 

Church and turkeys

Saint Rose de Lima suggests a Spanish origin. Wikipedia provides a bit on who Rose_of_Lima was. She was the first Catholic in the Americas to be declared a saint, and  hence, is a the patroness of indigenous American Catholics. The church is located on the Colville Reservation, but there are at least two other Rose de Lima parishes in Washington State.

Pickleball on Both Sides of the Cascades

A bill introduced this Washington Sate Legislative session would make Pickleball the State Sport: leg.wa.gov/SB5615.  Pickleball was invented on Bainbridge Island (pickleball.com/History-birth-of-pickleball). Driving through Omak it seems clear that the sport has crossed the Cascade Divide.

 

Marginal Revolution Geology Posts

Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution claims not care about geology:  https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2022/01/why-i-dont-care-about-geology.html

He finished the post with "One lesson of this post is that it is possible to be interested in things one is not interested in, and vice versa." 

A comment by Dinwar on the post was then turned into a post: https://marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2022/01/how-do-geologists-think.html

Dinwar notes that "Engineers and geologists think VERY differently, in nearly incompatible ways, which is fun because we work together all the time." I would tend to agree. Engineers are problem solvers and geologists spot the problems. I try to put effort into making sure the geology of a site makes sense to the engineers, but I also try to understand the way engineers can solve a problem so I can anticipate just how bad a geology hazard is or not. 

Dinwar finishes with a bit on field work "Field geologists are even worse–we do all that, only in conditions that would make any sane person run screaming." and he also has a note about safety managers. Navigating thick brush and steep rough ground is a skill set that is probably just as valuable as understanding the glacial history of an area, and it is an activity that most people might consider insane.   

Cascade River Valley and Remembering Scott

I had a venture up the Cascade River in the North Cascades. The Cascade River is a tributary river to the Skagit River. The river was flowing hard through a bedrock section of the canyon from the parade of mild temperature storms that have passed through over the last week, but given the high altitude of much of the watershed it was not at flood levels. 

During my traverse I came across this boulder that had recently landed in a patch of sword fern and had a fresh chip on the surface of the rock.

Looking up the slope did not reveal much as to the source of the rock.

However, this area of the Cascade River is in a deep valley with steep valley walls rising 4,000 feet from the the river. My guess is the rock derived from a band of steep exposed boulder rich glacial sediments about 600 feet up the slope.

All in all I got very wet ploughing through ferns and brush in a forest of western hemlock, western red cedar and Douglas fir.

Heading out I was struck by the splash of yellow gold of a cottonwood amongst the evergreens.

The splash of color reminded me of a past fall trip up the Cascade River valley after a good summer of field work in and above the Cascade River valley.  I vividly remember the fall colors of that trip and always associate that trip with sadness and loss but also some joy. The brightness of those remembered colors as well as the bright cottonwood tree I saw on this day remind me of the brightness of Scott. I always associate him with the Cascade River valley in the fall even though he never saw it.

Back From Halle (Saale)

I returned from a two month break. I did some remote work while gone, but am now back on field work and follow up writing ventures. I appreciated the support of my associates at Stratum Group that worked more than diligently in my extended absence as well as dealing with the issues of working in and through the time of covid and the preparations for changes in Stratum Group.  

For two months one of my views in Halle (Saale) was this wall across the street from where I was staying. I sat in a chair at the window and contemplated the odd assortment of rock blocks and obvious multiple periods of window openings. 

The building is old by the Washington State standards that I am used to. As best as I was able to piece together the history, the initial structure dated back to the 1200s, but it may be even older. I suspect it has had multiple periods of use and vacancy - pictures from the 1980s showed that the roof was missing. An associated building had been badly damaged by one of Napoleon's armies. 

The rock blocks are mostly local volcanic sandstone and volcanic rocks of Permian age. 

Geology is the basis of Halle's history; the Market Square Fault cuts through the city and that fault caused salt water springs to issue from the ground on the west side of the city. The salt was a very valuable commodity. The fault is given credit in the main square of the city next to the drinking fountain. 

The English side of the marker made my translation easy

As noted on the marker salt was utilized from the site at least 5,000 years ago. Approximately 20 miles to the west there is a Paleolithic site that dates back 400,000 years. People were here for a long time compared to my homeland in Washington. 

I returned home this last week with only a brief view of scenery on the flight back as most of the flight was over clouds.

Near to coast of Greenland

I miss my night shift and walk-about companion during my stay in Halle (Salle).  

At the river lock on one of many walk-about adventures 

The Sounds of October

This is my second October living full time at our current home. October is a month of change. Yes, the colors change. Maybe golden leaves on the the big leaf maples. The initial fall rains flipped the brown grass to green. 

But the big change that has gotten my attention are the sounds: 1) The early rains brings out frogs. The tree frogs begin some chorus activity before the colder air shuts things down again - no calls tonight as the temperature is down in the 30s and perhaps 20s by morning.  2) One of the abrupt sound changes is the early just as it gets light sound of guns. Our home is near tracts of State Fish and Wildlife lands as well as a hunting club property and farmland that allows hunting. October brings hunters to sit in blinds awaiting ducks and geese as well as a few pheasant hunters that venture to the brushy thickets between fields. I picture them sipping coffee or whiskey waiting for the ducks or geese to fly near. 3) Another abrupt change is the roar of wind through the forests west and south of us. This evening the wind is coming out of the north - calm around the house but very audible from the upper tree canopy. When the wind really cranks up from the south, a flute like sound emanates from the east side of the house. 4) My favorite is the great horned owls calling in the forest at night. 5) The massive flocks of snow geese honking overhead a week ago in the early morning made me think "welcome back from Siberia".   

In A Landscape

 In A Landscape shows this summer were canceled due to covid. I had been looking forward to seeing a show this summer after seeing a show in Strabuck, Washington last summer (HERE). We took the opportunity to join a small group at Summer Lake, Oregon to see Hunter Noack play at his summer base. A delightful three evenings of music at the northwest edge of the Basin and Range. On the last morning we took in the Summer Lake playa with classical piano. I very much appreciated the effort In A Landscape put into this project and making a very safe experience in hard times. A very rare pleasure this year for sure. A few clips from the last morning:

Starbuck IN A LANDSCAPE

The show put on by Hunter Noack and his In A Landscape team in Starbuck was a remarkable experience. The concept is to bring classical music to places that are somewhat remote from classical music. Head phones are provided so audience members can wander in the landscape. I mixed my time watching Hunter play and taking in the landscape. The last show of the tour is September 21 at Sacajawea Park near Pasco. 

Hunter Noack and the Steinway piano

Concert on the rodeo grounds with Starbuck behind

 

Two audience members took the show in while riding

Several found a view spot away from the crowd

The scoured basalt slopes of the Tucannon River valley provided good vistas

Notes on the Continental Divide

The Continental Divide 

Its pretty hard to see the continental divide on the ground in Minnesota and parts of North Dakota. The breaks in water flow to Hudson Bay, Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Gulf of Mexico meander through low topography between lakes and sometimes swampy ground.

Mississippi River

 A slow flowing, not particularly distinguishable stream meanders through the North Woods connecting shallow lakes, joins other smaller streams and becomes the largest river in North America.

I played around with DEMs (digital elelvation models) to help visualize the divides.

The Mississippi drains southeast out of an area of elevated ground between Lake Superior and the broad plain of the Red River valley to the west. The Red River/Mississippi divide meanders across slightly elevated ground along glacial moraines and between lakes. The Red River is a product of continental ice pushing south as well as water flowing out from the melting glacial front. The divide within this glacial valley between the Red River and Minnesota River is marked by a low moraine that crosses the former glacial meltwater valley. 

Red River/Minnesota River divide on the left

The Red River flows north into a very broad valley

The Minnesota River flows southeast to join the Mississippi

Closer view of the divide between the Red and Minnesota 

TheJjames River in North Dakota is also separated from the Red River by a moraine. The two river flow parallel to each other with the Red flowing north and the James flowing south.

The drainage divide between the Mississippi and Lake Superior is also located within an ice age river channel with the divide being a bit of swampy ground between the start of the Bois Brule River and the Saint Croix River.

The glacial period greatly altered the drainage landscape of North America. The same was true in Washington State. While we thing of divides as being located along ridge crests of mountains and hills, there are numerous river divides that are located within former glacial and glacial river valleys with the divide being nearly impossible to discern on the ground. Examples are the divides between the Samish-Nooksack divide and the Sauk-Stillaguamish divide. The Columbia-Kootenay divide at Canal Flats in British Columbia is another grate example. The history of many of our rivers have been shaped by the glacial period. 

Return Home

I have been traveling and busy. Back home with a few observations from the plane trip.

Pools of water on the Greenland ice sheet

Pools of water on and dark ice

Ice flow towards the coast

Note the even longer flow to the sea to the north

Drumlins and river in the far north of Canada

Sand dunes and lakes

Getting close to home - BC Coast Plutonic Complex, the source of many Puget Sound boulders

Coming into Vancouver and the sudden dominance of humans on the landscape

One of numerous massive port facilities 

The delta as the Fraser splits into channels at New Westminster

Miles of log rafts stored along the river banks

New Logo for Stratum Group

Work level has been busy of late. While I was away from the office my associates put up our new sign with the new logo for Stratum Group. 

After 21 years Stratum Group has a new logo.

We also have a round version:

High snow clad peaks rising above the landscape is a fairly typical view over much of Washington State. We had some help with the logo concept from Amanda. I greatly appreciated her efforts to improve our look without completely abandoning the old logo:

The old logo retired after 21 years

I drew the old logo using autocad. It was a poor resolution figure that we just never got around to improving until Kim said it was time up our game.