🐹 I-5 Embankment Liquifies 🌊🌊

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

We hope everyone had an opportunity to gather with friends and family this rainy weekend as we prepare for the 🎃 horrors 🎃 of the week to come.

At the moment, the forecast for Halloween looks a little wet, but there is clearing forecasted for Friday. If that arrives quicker than expected we might have a decent evening. 🤞 

~ Val & Evan

In today’s Hamster Wheel:

• I-5 Embankment Liquifies

• Help a Cat in Need

• Food & Drink

• Music & Nightlife

Weather Forecast

Monday: 55°F 🌡️ 43°F | 🌧️ Rain Showers Likely | 🌧️ 70% | 💨 SSW 5 to 13 mph

Tuesday: 55°F 🌡️ 45°F | 🌧️ Chance Rain Showers | 🌧️ 70% | 💨 SSE 2 to 6 mph

Bellingham Bay Tides

Moon Phases

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

Nature, Community, Sasquatch, UAP

Photos From the Hoods

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

And then this happened…

It was pretty hairy driving around town Sunday morning. We hit deep standing water on the Guide Meridian near Haggens and lesser flooding in several locations around the city core.

Then this popped up on the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) newsfeed:

Yikes! Apparently, the rainfall accumulation between midnight and daybreak was a near-record setting 2+ inches, which caused a small but messy mudslide that entirely blocked northbound I-5 near the Iowa Street interchange.

Some poor truck driver had a lousy morning as his rig was pinned by an estimated 2,000 cubic yards of liquified embankment.

Hat’s off to all the B’ham Public Works Dept. crews clearing blocked storm drains Sunday morning. 🙏 We saw you. You’re awesome!

In other news…

🐱 Fellow cat-people alert!! 🐱 The Whatcom Feline Alliance (WFA), a no-kill virtual shelter, urgently needs donations of canned kitten food and antibacterial wipes. Currently, WFA is caring for two kittens with serious health issues: Croissant battling an upper respiratory virus, and Fayon recovering from a seizure. You can drop off supplies at the WFA Adoption Center (in Petsmart) or by ordering directly from their Chewy Wish List.

Additionally, Faith, a thin and injured stray found in Lynden, needs donations to open a vet account and will need a foster home where she can recover. Find the DonationsToWFA link here.

🏙️ The Bellingham City Council is holding a work session tonight (Oct 28) at 7 PM to continue discussing County Executive Satpal Sidhu’s proposed 2025-2026 biennium budget. This meeting will include presentation of the Library, Public Works Department, and Museum Budgets. Swagger down to the Mayor’s Boardroom on the second floor of City Hall if you want to attend this meeting in person or watch the livestream on YouTube @cityofbhamwa/streams.

🚌 Have you seen the Whatcomics Bus? Each year the Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) teams up with the Whatcom Transpiration Authority (WTA) to showcase art by area teens in grades 6 through 12 on the wrap and interior of a WTA bus.

This year’s submission deadline is Halloween so remind those artsy teens in your life to send in their original, 2-D artwork.

🚒 We were relieved to hear from the Bellingham Fire Department that no one was injured when fishing vessel Alaskan Girl caught fire this weekend in the fisherman terminal at Squalicum Harbor. We hope that damage is minimal and the crew of the Alaskan Girl will be back on the water soon.

Bellingham Fire Department posted on Facebook that: “Our crews quickly put out the fire with handlines from our fire engines and the fireboat, The Salish Star.” 

Local Business Updates

Haggling With Local Folk

ZenWrockz Open In Fairhaven

Artist Lori Marshall has opened a studio and giftshop at 1200 Harris Ave, Suite #205. Lori creates beautiful wrapped rocks, stone vases, and art pieces.

On her SenWrockz website, Lori describes how “I handpick each rock from the beaches and shores of the Pacific Northwest and add my own element of creativity and inspiration. Each rock is wrapped with leather cord and an occasional beach glass or gemstone.“

Food & Drinks

Hamsters Gotta Eat

Monday Food Trucks
Ah! Chihuahua @ Trackside Portal Village
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
Ah! Chihuahua @ Trackside Portal Village
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

Music & Nightlife

Spinning Into The Night

Monday Music & Comedy
Ramble Tamble | Wild Geese of the West | 7 PM

Monday Games & Trivia
Ono Kitchen & Bar | Trivia Night | 7 PM
Zeeks & Fountain Brewing | Trivia Night | 6 PM

Tuesday Music & Comedy
Aslan Depot | Jazz Night | 8 PM
‘Ono Kitchen and Bar | Open Mic | 7 PM
Menace | Invitational Blues Jam | 7 PM
Ramble Tamble | “What Happens When” | 8 PM
The Admiralty Lounge | Spoon River (folk) | 7 PM
Zeeks & Fountain Brewing | The Other Thing | 6 PM

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

Hakuna matata

To All Our Readers

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Have a great Monday!!