The Hamster Wheel
Posts
🐹 The Wolf of Pike St 🐺🐺

🐹 The Wolf of Pike St 🐺🐺

April 07, 2025

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

We had a blast at the Home and Lifestyle Show this weekend, meeting entrepreneurs from Whatcom County, reminiscing over a slice of Cicchetti's pizza, and fawning over pups at the Alternative Humane Society booth.

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Val & Evan

Nature, Community, Sasquatch, UAP

Photos From the Hoods

Little Squalicum Pier - 📷 by Scott P

Downtown Protest - 📷 by Holly Faulstich

Great Horned Owl - 📷 by Eduard Schwan

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

Weather Forecast

Monday: 56°F 🌡️ 44°F | 🌧️ Rain Showers | 🌧️ 90% | 💨 SSE 6 to 12 mph

Tuesday: 54°F 🌡️ 45°F | 🌧️ Rain Showers | 🌧️ 90% | 💨 SSE 7 to 10 mph

Bellingham Bay Tides

Day	Time	H/L	FT
Mon	3:22 AM	H	8.39
Mon	10:07 AM	L	5.07
Mon	12:59 PM	H	5.95
Mon	8:25 PM	L	0.81
Tue	3:59 AM	H	8.37
Tue	10:35 AM	L	4.31
Tue	2:43 PM	H	5.99
Tue	9:20 PM	L	1.31

Moon Phases

Weather & Tides from NOAA. Moon data astronomyapi.

Events, Updates & News Around Town

Get off the Hamster Wheel

Gray Wolves Nearing Whatcom County

Gray wolves (Canis lupus), once common throughout Washington, were believed to be extirpated from the state by the 1930s due to hunting for hides and bounties and government-sponsored predator control programs. Since the ‘90s, these wolves have repopulated the eastern half of the state from growing populations in Idaho, Montana, and British Columbia.

In an annual report published on Monday, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) reported that 230 gray wolves were counted in 2024, living in 43 packs, with some packs as nearby as eastern Skagit County! The map below (available in full size here) displays the distribution of these packs, along with the territories of lone wolves.

While reading the report, I became curious about the public reporting procedure for wolves in Washington and discovered that a simple form is used to collect this data. Once processed, the locations of these reports are overlaid onto a digital map, which can be found here. Hilariously, the vast bulk of the reports in the state are from the Seattle metro area. 😆

Skagit Tulips in Early Bloom

The Skagit Valley Tulip Festival got underway this weekend, with tulips starting to bloom—keep an eye on the festival site’s bloom tracker. I-5 jams up on festival weekends, so weekdays are better if you can manage it. Weekday tickets are less expensive, and you’re more likely to nail those iconic tulip shots without someone’s lost uncle wandering into the frame. 🏃‍♂️

Since 1984, Skagit has hosted Washington’s only tulip festival, which runs through April across five farms: RoozenGaarde, Tulip Town, Garden Rosalyn, Tulip Valley Farms, and a new addition, Skagit Acres, which debuted a 3-acre field this year.

Art and festivities run all week: Art in a Pickle Barn Show (daily at 15530 Memorial Hwy, featuring 25+ local artists), Original Art Exhibit by Groundworks (April 5th-12th & 18th-25th), the Street Fair (April 18th-20th), Salmon Barbecue (April 11th-13th, 18th-20th, 25th-27th).

In other news…

🎨 Applications are now open for the 2025 Gallery Alley in Downtown Bellingham! The Downtown Bellingham Partnership is seeking eight local artists for each two-month series to paint reclaimed doors, turning the alley beside Wild Buffalo on Holly Street into an outdoor art gallery all summer long.

The first round of artists, selected by the end of April, will display their work from June to July, while the second round, chosen by the end of May, will showcase theirs from August to September. Artists must paint both sides of the door, which will be flipped halfway through to display a fresh piece. The doors will be featured on First Friday maps throughout the summer. Apply to paint a door.

🚲️ The Bellingham Transportation Commission meets tomorrow at 6 PM in the Pacific Street Operations Center. Attend in person or via Zoom. The commission will hear a presentation by The Talbot Group related to multi-modal transportation in the Barkley urban village, and discuss measures and targets for the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plans.

Food & Drinks

Hamsters Gotta Eat

Tuesday
North Fork Brewery

$30 for a family meal! 18" cheese or pepperoni pizza, a large house salad, and your choice of cheesy sticks, a pitcher of Root Beer, or a homemade cookie.

Test Your Knowledge

Bellingham & Whatcom Trivia

What is the cause of the exposed rock face visible on Lummi Island's east side?

The correct answer to the last question: “What was the name of the first pulp mill in Bellingham that would one day become the Georgia-Pacific pulp mill?” was the San Juan Pulp Company.

To supply the newly opened Pacific Coast Paper Mill’s need for a local pulp supply, the San Juan Pulp Manufacturing Co. was founded in 1926 by Ossian Anderson, a local businessman, on the landfill adjacent to the Paper Mill. Prior to this, timber resources were primarily used to produce lumber and shingles at numerous sawmills throughout the county.

The company’s success led to its incorporation into the Puget Sound Pulp & Timber Co. in 1929, a conglomerate of pulp, logging, lumber, and railroad companies in northwestern Washington.

📷️ POB

In 1963, Georgia-Pacific Corporation, a growing wood products conglomerate, acquired the Puget Sound Pulp & Timber Co. plant. The company expanded the facility to include paper and tissue manufacturing, transforming the site over the next few decades by absorbing the south Whatcom Creek landfill area, adding extensive warehouse facilities, and a water treatment lagoon.

Performance Arts This Week

Dance of The Hamsters

Play On! @ BTG

THEATRE - DANCE - FILM

Bellingham Theatre Guild:
Play On! | Thurs, Fri, Sat 7:30 PM; Sun 2 PM

New Prospect Theatre:
Twisted Short Tales | Thurs, Fri, Sat 7:30 PM

New Prospect Theatre:
To Whom It May Concern | Sun 7:30 PM

COMEDY

Nacho Problems:
Nacho Average Comedy Open Mic | Thurs 8:30 PM

Uisce Irish Pub:
Guffawingham | Mon 8:30 PM

PARTICIPATORY DANCE

Bachata : WWU Salsa and Bachata Club @ Viking Union MPR | Mon 7 PM
Tango : Urban Salon Tango @ The Majestic Ballroom | Mon 7 PM
Swing : B’ham Hop @ Hotel Leo Crystal Ballroom | Tues 7 PM
Cuban Salsa : Beginning Cuban Salsa @ Cof& | Tues 6 PM
Cuban Salsa : Intermediate Cuban Salsa @ Cof& | Tues 7:15 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
Belly Dance : Baby-Wearing Belly Dance@ Boom Elite Martial Arts | Thurs 9:30 AM
Belly Dance : Belly Dance Fusion @ Bellingham Senior Center | Sat 10:30 AM
Contra : Pachelbel’s Bazooka @ Fairhaven Library | Sat 7 PM
Salsa : The Salsa Collective @ The Majestic Ballroom | Sun 5:30 PM

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 | 7 PM
Trivia Night @ Overflow Taps | 6:30 PM

Tuesday Games & Trivia
Cribbage Tournament @ Kulshan Brewing K2 | 6 PM
Trivia Night @ Corner Taphouse | 7 PM
Trivia Night @ Uisce Irish Pub | 7 PM
Trivia Night @ Thirsty Badger | 7 PM

Wheel Deals

Friends of The Wheel

Carpet Care Cleaners
Use code “hamsterwheel” for $30 off when booking online.

Sunnyland Acupuncture
Mention “The Hamster Wheel” for $75 new patient pricing.

Advertise in the #1 Newsletter in the Ham
Want to include a note in the Wheel? Let’s Chat.

Hakuna matata

To All Our Readers

Thanks for reading today’s edition. If you found something helpful, please forward it to a friend 🙏.

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!!