The Hamster Wheel
Posts
🐹 Chuckanut Not a Boulder🌿🦕

🐹 Chuckanut Not a Boulder🌿🦕

November 04, 2024

Good morning, Bellingham. This is your Monday update from The Hamster Wheel.

It’s blustery this morning, but the sun is supposed to pay us a visit mid-week. It would be a great time to hike and enjoy the fall colors before they all blow away!

Have fun, and be safe out there.

~ Val & Evan

In today’s Hamster Wheel:

Falling Boulders on Chuckanut
High Wind Advisory
Food & Drink
Music & Nightlife

Weather Forecast

Monday: 55°F 🌡️ 43°F | 🌧️ Rain | 🌧️ 100% | 💨 S 18 to 24 mph

Tuesday: 52°F 🌡️ 37°F | 🌧️ Chance of Rain | 🌧️ 40% | 💨 W 2 to 6 mph

Bellingham Bay Tides

Day	Time	H/L	FT
Mon	12:03 AM	L	-1.23
Mon	8:03 AM	H	8.69
Mon	12:53 PM	L	6.84
Mon	4:14 PM	H	7.69
Tue	12:42 AM	L	-1.30
Tue	8:54 AM	H	8.72
Tue	1:50 PM	L	7.08
Tue	3:40 PM	H	7.61

Moon Phases

Weather and Tides data from NOAA.gov. Moon phase data from astronomyapi.com.

Nature, Community, Sasquatch, UAP

Photos From the Hoods

Koma Kulshan - 📷 Photo by Mark Caicedo, web, Instagram

Tag @bellinghamsterwheel on Instagram or reply to this email to get your photos in The Hamster Wheel.

Events, Updates & News Around Town

Get off the Hamster Wheel

Chuckanut Not a Boulder

Several car-size boulders fell onto Chuckanut Drive early Saturday morning, blocking traffic in both directions. WSDOT reported that all traffic was diverted until the roadway was reopened at 1 PM the same day.

📷️ from WSDOT

Looking closely at this photo, you’ll notice carbonized fossil remains of various plant life. Find the full-size image here.

These boulders are part of the Chuckanut Formation, a massive fluvial sedimentary deposit (mostly sandstone) found in several locations in Whatcom County.

When weathered by tides and waves, this sandstone creates the sculptural “tafoni” pitting seen commonly on Chuckanut-adjacent beach-side bluffs. It also contains the fossilized remains of plant and animal life from between 54 and 34 million years ago, including palm fronds, ferns, and horsetails, alongside familiar species like Alder. 🌴🌿

The rubble from this cleanup would make for wonderful rockhounding if you can track it down. ⛏️

In other news…

🌬️ The National Weather Service has posted a high wind advisory for today (Mon), 2 AM-4 PM, that extends through San Juan County into western Whatcom and Skagit counties. They predict “south winds 25 to 35 mph with gusts 50 to 60 mph,” and suggest that “Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines. Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles.“

🏙️ Bellingham City Council is meeting today at 7 PM to discuss Mayor Kim Lund’s Proposed 2025 Budget. This meeting can be attended at City Hall or streamed live on the city’s YouTube channel. In an interesting development, the council announced Friday that public comments are suspended at regular meetings “while measures to improve Council Chambers security are being evaluated.“ This suspension will remain in force through the remainder of 2024. Alternate ways to provide feedback are listed in the announcement.

⛵️ The Port of Bellingham Board of Commissioners is meeting tomorrow (Nov 5) at 4 PM to discuss the Proposed 2025 Budget. Attend in person at the Harbor Center or stream live on the port’s YouTube channel.

👪️ The Mount Baker Community Coalition is hosting a Strengthening Families Program at Mt Baker Junior High School for caregivers and youth aged 10-14. This program offers an opportunity to strengthen family communication, learn how to handle conflict, and deal with peer pressure. Mondays, Nov 4 - Dec 16 at 5:30-8 PM. Details.

Local Business Updates

Haggling With Local Folk

Cash for Candy - Bellingham Pediatric Dentistry

Bellingham Pediatric Dentistry is hosting a Halloween Candy Buy-Back! Bring your unopened Halloween loot to their office at 1310 J St. today (Nov 4) between 9 and 5. They are paying kiddos $1.00 per pound. That’s a lot of money for candy… maybe enough to buy some slime or a Furby. 😁 All collected candy will be donated to the Opportunity Council.

Local Election Night Hangouts

Looking to get out on election night? Two local Bellingham businesses are hosting election watch parties tomorrow (Nov 5).

Nelson’s Market in the York district is hosting a special election day spaghetti dinner. Relax with friends and neighbors and watch election coverage in their cozy dining room. Details.

Hotel Leo For a lively atmosphere, check out the Hotel Leo. Entry is free (registration required). There will be door prizes, complimentary snacks, election-themed drinks, food trucks, and live music alongside election coverage. Details.

Food & Drinks

Hamsters Gotta Eat

Monday Food Trucks
Big Stick Barbecue @ Closed
Burnt Side Down @ Stemma Brewery
Dumpling Girls @ Closed
El Pollo Feo @ Closed
El Tapatio @ 4124 Strider Loop Rd
Greektown @ Closed
Luchadora @ Wander Brewing
New Public Vegan @ Closed
Outpost Eats @ Kulshan Brewery (James St.)
Rain or Shine Riviera Club @ Closed
Tacos El Tule @ West Marine (Meridian St)
Tam Tam Pizza @ Closed
The Galley @ Closed

Tuesday Food Trucks
Big Stick Barbecue @ Closed
Burnt Side Down @ Stemma Brewery
Dumpling Girls @ Closed
El Pollo Feo @ Kulshan Brewery (Roosevelt K2)
El Tapatio @ 4124 Strider Loop Rd
Greektown @ Closed
Luchadora @ Wander Brewing
New Public Vegan @ Closed
Outpost Eats @ Kulshan Brewery (James St. K1)
Rain or Shine Riviera Club @ Closed
Tacos El Tule @ West Marine (Meridian St)
Tam Tam Pizza @ Fringe Brewing
The Galley @ 6069 Hannegan Rd

Help Spread The Word

Refer three Bellingham friends to join our newsletter community, and we’ll include a birthday callout to one person you specify on their B’day 🎂. Get your referral link here. Your current referral count is: 0. You’re so close!.

Music & Nightlife

Spinning Into The Night

Monday Games & Trivia
Trivia Night @ Ono Kitchen & Bar | 7 PM
Trivia Night @ Paws for a Beer | 6:15 PM
Trivia Night @ Zeeks Pizza & Fountain Brewing | 6 PM
Trivia Night @ Mallard Ice Cream | 6:30 PM

Tuesday Games & Trivia
Bingo @ CHeBA Hut | 7 PM
Trivia Night @ Corner Taphouse | 7 PM
Trivia Night @ Uisce Irish Pub | 7 PM
Trivia Night @ Thirsty Badger | 7 PM

Hakuna matata

To All Our Readers

Thanks for reading today’s edition. If you found something helpful, please share it with a friend 🙏, and tell them to follow this 👉️ link to sign up.

You can reply to this email if you have something we should know about or want to send us a love note.

Have a great Monday!!