 |
| Site of the Elwha dam and Power House |
Frank Novosel and I just returned from a brief road trip to the
Elwha, the largest dam removal project in the nation. One can only stare at an empty dam site for
so long, i.e., the Lower Elwha, and they have closed off hiking access to the
upper, the Glines Canyon dam site, because it's still too dangerous -- so we
had plenty of time to explore some other wonders of the Olympic Peninsula, to relax
in Bravo (the RV he and I lived in during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics,) to cook some
great meals and to explore each other's thoughts. Frank is a great talker; I am a good listener
(my family members might disagree, but then....) And so our conversations rolled
on, wandering from what we were seeing, to removal of obstructions, to metaphoric
restorations and renewal, to personal histories, to fatherhood and husbanding, to
any and everything that came to mind.
But renewal was the closed loop theme.
 |
| A wee drop of single malt |
Such conversation is too rare for me. I make friends slowly, too superficially in
the sense of not allowing time for candor and trust to ripen and self
consciousness to wane. And there are too
few opportunities to just hang out for a few unscripted days and nights so that
obstructions to openness melt away, reflection is restored, and renewal blossoms. I think gals are quicker at this than guys;
for guys, renewal of the spirit can't be rushed; it takes unscheduled time.
 |
| The Elwha below Glines Canyon |
The Elwha is not being restored but
 |
| Crescent Beach |
renewed. No one can
predict how the river and the salmon will turn out. It will take four or five years before
success or failure can be measured. But
already signs are excitingly promising: five species of salmon have appeared in
the river since the dams began to come down last year! Whether their spawn will survive in the dark
grey silt remains to be seen. It covers
everything outside the swift currents, is building a large new delta off Port
Angeles, and is soiling the beaches of Crescent Bay well to the west. But life abounds; mountain lion pug have been
seen on Crescent Bay; deer, otter and mountain goat are ubiquitous; and
Dungeness crab are turning up on the new Elwha delta. Hurricane Ridge still looms over all. Geologists
tell us it, too, is constantly being
renewed by subduction; the end result of that humans will never see.
In the meantime, we wander about in the
natural world (even cocooned in an RV) to unblock, remove obstructions, restore
and hope for renewal.
 |
| Hurricane Ridge |
PS: to see more pics of before, after and the removal process,
Google Elwha Dam and click on the More Pictures screen. It also will show the Glines Canyon dam which is really dramatic.
The Elwha is not being restored but 
