Tuesday, September 18, 2007

DIABLO VIEWS




Clouds with occasional sky holes, and still cold, so I explore the country around Diablo. There is a trail, which overlooks the dam and the town and a bit of the Skagit. The bluff has large bands of crystalline white among the weather-darkened rock. The path is worn into a dip along the hillside, like the path up the hill behind Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle’s house. There’s a structure which I’m told was an old incline, but looks more like just cables stretching down to the tiny town of Diablo.

The road into town has some views of the turquoise Skagit, as well as Pyramid Peak. I park by an old mill replica (not nearly as interesting as the original mill would have been) and paint the view out the side door of my car. This keeps me warm and out of the considerable wind, and has the added advantage of keeping the sun off my canvas nicely. I miss out on the wildlife, though.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It was not a mill, but a powerhouse. The original was downstream at Davis Ranch where it was flooded when High Gorge Dam was built. The original water wheel was saved, and set up with the replica.

Karen E. Lewis said...

Guess I was paying more attention to the river!