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🐹 Rowdy Buckaroo 🤠🤠

🐹 Rowdy Buckaroo 🤠🤠

March 05, 2025

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

We met a very nice lady on Monday who was finishing up a swim at Boulevard Park. Inspired, we decided to jump into our swimsuits and take a dip at Bloedel. Wrongo bongo!!! 😲 That lake feels like spring melt in the Nooksack Cirque.

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Val & Evan

Nature, Community, Sasquatch, UAP

Photos From the Hoods

Iridescent Cormorant on Taylor Dock - 📷 by Cynthia Mason

Squalicum Marina - 📷 by Clifford Knitter

Helleborus garden at The Cottage on the Hill - 📷 by Sandi Heinrich

Owl on Chanterelle Trail - 📷 by Lora Hewlett-Coad

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

Weather Forecast

Wednesday: 51°F 🌡️ 33°F | 🌧️ Chance of Rain | 🌧️ 20% | 💨 NNW 6 mph

Thursday: 52°F 🌡️ 36°F | 🌫️ Patchy Fog | 🌧️ 0% | 💨 NNW 3 mph

Bellingham Bay Tides

Day	Time	H/L	FT
Wed	2:18 AM	L	5.05
Wed	7:56 AM	H	8.74
Wed	3:32 PM	L	-0.68
Wed	11:29 PM	H	7.16
Thu	3:17 AM	L	6.10
Thu	8:29 AM	H	8.39
Thu	4:32 PM	L	-0.73

Moon Phases

Weather & Tides from NOAA. Moon data astronomyapi.

Events, Updates & News Around Town

Get off the Hamster Wheel

Quake Near Orcas Rattles The Ham

Many of you emailed us Monday morning after Bellingham was shaken by a 4.5 magnitude earthquake that originated off the southeast tip of Orcas Island just after 5 AM. By the time this quake reached us, it was recorded at magnitude 3+. It was strong enough to be felt, but hopefully, minimal damage was done.

Our family slept through it. 😞 One of the side effects of living next to railroad tracks is the ability to ignore almost any shaking.

After looking into the USGS records around this event, I got curious about which fault or faults may have been the origin. It turns out the San Juan Islands are riddled with fault lines, as shown in the image below. 👇️ An article published in the Orcas Currents by marine geologist Gary Greene describes how the “Juan de Fuca and Explorer microplates are steadily diving beneath the North American Plate. These microplates move under the continental edge at 42 to 45 millimeters per year, or nearly as fast as our fingernails grow. This motion compresses the western edge of the continent, forcing up the upper plate, which is consequently deformed through folding and faulting.” The entire article is fascinating as it delves into the larger marine geologic context of the Puget Sound region. It’s worth a read. 👍️

Around the breakfast table on Monday, we wondered about the alerts that some of our friends were reporting. We learned the USGS has an early warning system called ShakeAlert that automatically gets pushed to many cellular devices. If you didn’t get one of these alerts, you can download the MyShake app. There’s an iPhone and Android version. While the alert may only provide seconds before the ground starts shaking, we found the prospect of some notice reassuring. Plus, maybe we won’t sleep through the next one. 😆

In other news…

💃 This Friday, an award-winning troupe of Bellingham ladies will take to the stage at Mount Baker Theatre in a cabaret performance called Sugar’s Big Top. Following the success of last year’s “Sugar Does Broadway,” this show transports audiences to a dreamlike world where eccentricity and energy meet live music, theatrical storytelling, and a touch of the unexpected.

Brie Turoff Mueller leads a stage full of dancers, actors, singers – and the infamous Sugar Band – in a tantalizing show. Audiences are invited to relax with a drink while they experience an unforgettable evening in this unique and vivacious cabaret atmosphere. Tickets are available through the MBT website.

🚗 City of Bellingham staff is hosting an open house meeting tomorrow (March 6) at the Bellingham Covenant Church at 6 PM to discuss the James Street Multimodal Improvements and the James and Bakerview Intersection Improvements, as well as park and trail connection projects in the area.

The city notes that “This project seeks to correct [..] service issues for all modes [of transportation] that will continue to worsen as development of the King Mountain neighborhood increases.”

🧒 Northern Lights Park is now open in the Cordata neighborhood at 1350 Talus Way. Built by RJ Group as part of the Aurora Court development, this linear park spans two blocks of townhomes and features two play structures, landscaping, benches, and a dog waste station.

The play structures include a synthetic rock feature for climbing and a bamboo forest like the one depicted above. 👆️

A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for today (March 5), at 4 PM. to celebrate the completion of this first phase, with plans to extend the park north by another block in future phases.

🌲 The Greenways Advisory Committee meets tomorrow (March 6), in the Mayor’s Board Room at City Hall or watch via Zoom.

Food & Drinks

Hamsters Gotta Eat

Wednesday Food Trucks
A Que Tacos @ Goods Local Brews
Big Stick Barbecue @ Stemma Brewery
Burnt Side Down @ Stemma Brewery
Calcutta by Simmering Tava @ K2
Dumpling Girls @ Goods Local Brews
El Pollo Feo @ Kulshan Brewery (Roosevelt K2)
El Tapatio @ 4124 Strider Loop Rd
Falafel Feast @ 4370 Meridian St
Galley 2 Go @ Stones Throw Brewery
Luchadora @ Wander Brewing
Mobile Mouth Hole @ Lowes Parking Lot
New Public Vegan @ Evil Bikes (700 Harris Ave)
Outpost Eats @ Kulshan Brewery (James St. K1)
Sammies Vegan @ Wander Brewing
Tacos El Tule @ West Marine (Meridian St)
The Galley @ Ponderosa Beer + Books

Thursday Food Trucks
A Que Tacos @ Goods Local Brews
Big Stick Barbecue @ Stemma Brewery
Burnt Side Down @ Stemma Brewery
Calcutta by Simmering Tava @ K2
Dumpling Girls @ Goods Local Brews
El Pollo Feo @ Kulshan Brewery (Roosevelt K2)
El Tapatio @ 4124 Strider Loop Rd
Falafel Feast @ 4370 Meridian St
Galley 2 Go @ Stones Throw Brewery
Greektown @ Kulshan Brewery (James St. K1)
Luchadora @ Wander Brewing
Mobile Mouth Hole @ Lowes Parking Lot
Nana J’s @ Kulshan Brewery (James St. K1)
New Public Vegan @ Evil Bikes (700 Harris Ave)
Sammies Vegan @ Wander Brewing
Tacos El Tule @ West Marine (Meridian St)
Tam Tam Pizza @ Lost Giants Cider Co.
Tezpoteco Taco @ Stemma Brewery
The Galley @ Ponderosa Beer + Books

Test Your Knowledge

Bellingham & Whatcom Trivia

What was the name of the first park in Whatcom County?

The correct answer to last Wednesday's question: “What Bellingham business hired 65-year-old Carl Pirscher in 2001 to dress up as a cowboy and feed downtown Bellingham parking meters?” was the Horseshoe Cafe.

In 2001, Horseshoe Cafe employed 65-year-old Carl Pirscher to dress as a cowboy and “rescue” shoppers from parking fines by plugging dimes into expired meters. His signature act, accompanied by a small card reading “You’ve been rescued by Rowdy Buckaroo,” quickly made him a beloved figure in downtown Bellingham.

The Horseshoe Café (aka The Shoe to us OG hamsters) has a long, albeit convoluted history in downtown Bellingham. Initially emerging as the Horseshoe Saloon in the late 19th century, the venue existed at several locations under various names. It evolved from a saloon serving a primarily male clientele into a café and smoke shop during prohibition and then into the local diner we know today.

Though Carl Pirscher died in 2015, the legacy of Rowdy Buckaroo lives on through a mural by local artist Shawn Cass. 👆️ Painted on the side of the cafe, this tribute captures the quirky spirit of 65-year-old Carl Pirscher’s iconic character.

Learn more about the history of Rowdy Buckaroo and the Shoe on the Horseshoe Cafe website, and WhatcomTalk.

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Performance Arts This Week

Dance of The Hamsters

Snoring Beauty

THEATRE - DANCE - FILM

BAAY Theatre:
Beetlejuice Jr. | Fri, Sat 7 PM; Sat, Sun 2 PM

BAAY Theatre:
Snoring Beauty | Sat, Sun 11 AM

iDiOM Theater:
Exit the King | Thurs, Fri 7:30 PM

Meridian High School:
Alice in Wonderland | Thurs, Fri, Sat 7 PM; Sun 2 PM

Squalicum High School:
Gretel! The Musical | Thurs, Fri, Sat 7 PM; Sun 2 PM

The Claire:
Lion King Youth Production | Fri, Sat 7 PM; Sat, Sun 2 PM

COMEDY

Mount Baker Theatre:
Ben Miller | Fri 7:30 PM

PARTICIPATORY DANCE

Scottish Country : Scottish Dancing Workshops @ Fairhaven Library | Wed 7 PM
Tango : Tango Practica @ The Majestic Ballroom | Wed 6:30 PM
Bachata : Bham Bachata @ ‘ONO Kitchen & Bar | Thurs 7:30 PM
Social Partner Dance : Flow Fusion @ Karate Church | Thurs 7 PM
Line Dancing : Country Night @ Bar 211 | Fri 8 PM
Party : Skybox @ Blue Room | Fri 10 PM
Party : Nightcore Rave ft. DJ ColdHandsofGod @ The Shakedown | Fri 8:30 PM
Contra : Open Band Orchestra + Joe Micheals @ Fairhaven Library | Sat 7 PM
Salsa : The Salsa Collective @ The Majestic Ballroom | Sun 5:30 PM

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Music & Nightlife

Spinning Into The Night

Hakuna matata

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Have a great Wednesday!!