🐹 Chunk the Buck 🦌🦌

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

Have fun, and stay safe out there!

~ Evan

Or, hit reply to send me photos via email. 📧

Before Google Earth, satellite imagery, or even Highway 20 crossing the Cascades, convincing Congress that the North Cascades were worth protecting required something much more basic: photographs. In the early 1960s, survey teams headed into the mountains and came back with black-and-white images documenting glaciers, peaks, valleys, lakes, and other landscapes that most members of Congress would never see in person. Those photos became part of the historical record used to make the case for creating North Cascades National Park, which Congress ultimately established in 1968.

For American Archives Month, Washington’s National Park Fund resurfaced a project that has been quietly making those images easier for the rest of us to see. Working with North Cascades National Park staff and an archival intern, the fund helped catalog and digitize 1,000 historic photographs, complete with searchable descriptions. The larger North Cascades digital archive now includes thousands of images spanning early surveys, park history, glaciers, fires, wildlife, historic structures, and the people who have worked in and around the park.

I know it’s not Whatcom County specific, but I though it was an interesting little article and explanatory video. Plus, it’s always fun to have another photo archive to pick through. 😁

Whatcom County Parks and Recreation posted a fun group of photos and video this week showing staff rebuilding a bridge in the Stimpson Family Nature Reserve.

Check it out if you’re like me and into this kind of thing. They show field milling the lumber through finishing the and trimming out the bridge surface. It’s a cool look at how parks department is able to maintain these structures away from roadway access.

LOCAL READS

Inside the obsessive, beautiful world of Bellingham’s fungi experts
By Jenny Lam · Salish Current
Bellingham’s Wild Mushroom Show returns Oct. 25 with fungi, lichens and slime molds collected by members of the Northwest Mushroomers Association from places including Mount Baker, Lake Padden and Hundred Acre Wood. Jenny reports how local experts use microscopy, photography and DNA sequencing to identify species that can be surprisingly difficult to tell apart. Read more →

· · · · · · · · · · · · ·

Where the Signal Holds
By Devin Green · Klipsun Magazine
KUGS has broadcast from Western since 1974, relying on a Sehome Hill transmission tower, student DJs, engineers and an archive of vinyl and tapes that still gets regular use. Devin explains how that mix of old infrastructure and newer digital tools keeps local voices on the air. Read more →

CIVIC CORNER

Wednesday
Port of Bham Community Open House, 4:00 pm, Squalicum Boathouse

Thursday
Sumas Flood Planning Meeting, 6:00 pm, American Legion Post 212

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Wednesday
Larrabee State Park: Join Washington Trails Association to rebuild the old Chinscraper trail in Larrabee State Park. You will clear brush, fallen logs, and debris, dig a durable walking surface, and improve drainage and safety on the route from Fragrance Lake Road to Cyrus Gates Overlook. Details

Saturday
Cedar Creek: Join NSEA and the Whatcom Conservation District to remove invasive blackberry and replace it with native trees and shrubs along Cedar Creek. This creek runs through Cedar Creek Park and is a tributary of the Nooksack River. Register
Bay to Baker Trail (Sunset Pond): Join Bellingham Parks Volunteer Program and Recreation Northwest Trails Coalition to steward the Bay to Baker Trail corridor. You will help with ecological restoration, habitat restoration, invasive species removal, litter pickup, and planting at Sunset Pond. Register
Galbraith Mountain: Join Whatcom Mountain Bike Coalition to build and maintain the Devilcross Traverse trail. You will help keep the trail in working order. Register

Sunday
Whatcom Humane Society Wildlife Rehab Center: Join Whatcom Million Trees Project to plant trees at the Whatcom Humane Society Wildlife Rehab Center. You will help continue a multi-year reforestation project on a 12-acre former hayfield. Register

Bellewood Farms & Distillery, Lynden (Wed-Sun 9-4)
Bellewood’s fall setup combines a U-pick pumpkin patch with apple picking, a free corn maze, farm store, bakery, cafe, and plenty of cider doughnuts. The pumpkin patch stays open through Oct. 31, and general admission is free.

Cramer's Western Town, Lynden (Fri-Sun 10-5)
If simply picking a pumpkin feels insufficiently Western, Cramer’s adds draft-horse wagon rides out to the patch, pony rides, a petting zoo, hay maze, tractor train, and other farm games. They grow more than 30 pumpkin varieties and are open every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday in October.

Haunted Habitat Tour, (Fri 10-12:30)
NSEA is putting a Halloween spin on habitat restoration with a bus tour of Goodwin Creek projects, including culvert removals, bridge installations, and large woody debris placements. Costumes are welcome, and they’re promising a few zombie salmon along the way. The tour is free, but registration is required.

Downtown Trick-or-Treat, Commercial Street Plaza (Fri 4-6)
Downtown Bellingham’s annual trick-or-treat brings more than 100 participating businesses into the candy circuit Friday afternoon. Costumed kids can wander the downtown core collecting goodies along the way, with Commercial Street Plaza serving as the central hub. It’s free and open to everyone.

Spooktacular Mall-O-Ween, Bellis Fair Mall (Sat 4-6)
Participating stores around Bellis Fair will hand out candy while supplies last, with costumes encouraged and live music from local teen artist Genelia in the food court at 5:30 p.m. Free.

Fearhaven Brick or Treat, Historic Fairhaven Village (Sat 3-6)
Fairhaven fills up with costumed kids, candy stops, and plenty of grown-ups playing along for the annual Brick or Treat. The whole village gets in on it, and Finnegan’s Alley will be set up for a suitably spooky photo stop. Free.

Ferndale Trick-or-Treat, Pioneer Park (Sat 3-5:30)
Pioneer Village turns into a trick-or-treat route with candy handed out from the porches of the historic log cabins, plus games, prizes, and a food truck. Free, and costumes encouraged.

Trackside Halloween Party, Trackside Beer Garden (Sat 4-10)
Trackside closes out the season with food and drink specials, DJ Aireekah from 6 to 9, and a 7 p.m. dance set featuring Thrillingham zombies and dancing witches. Free and all ages.

Buggy Boo Bash, Whatcom Museum FIG (Sat 10-5)
Bug out in the FIG this Halloween. Explore your favorite crawling critters and the wonderful world of entomology. Come in costume and bring your family for special crafts, activities, and dancing all day long! Don’t miss out on our special Bug-Tastic Storytime at 10:30 am.

BAAY Theatre
Zombie Dancers (dance) | Fri

FireHouse Arts & Events Center
Handle with Care (dance) | Thu, Fri

Jansen Art Center
Rathskeller (theatre) | Thu-sat

Lucas Hicks Auditorium
Hellingham (comedy) | Fri, Sat

Mount Baker Theatre
The 27th Annual Mt. Baker Film Festival (film) | Thu

Mount Baker Theatre
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (film) | Sat

Bellingham Circus Guild
The Beastly Frightful Unspeakably Spooky Circus of DOOOOOM [21+], All Ages (circus) | Wed-Sun

The Upfront Theatre
Hellingham (comedy) | Thu, Fri, Sat

The Upfront Theatre
Various performances

B’ham Hop Swing - Hotel Leo - Wed 7 pm
Tango Practica - The Majestic - Wed 6:30 pm
Revolution Fusion - Karate Church - Thurs 7 pm
Square Dancing (Chuckanut Squares) - Bellingham Senior Center North - Thurs 6:30 pm
Dance for people with PD and other neurological conditions - Firehouse Arts Center - Thurs 11 am
Contra - Fairhaven Library - Sat 7 pm
Beginner Ballet - Karate Church - Sat 10 am
Beginner Contemporary - Karate Church - Sat 11:30 am
Dance Fusion - BSAC - 10:30 am
Salsa Collective - The Majestic - Sun 5:30 pm
Open Floor Conscious Dance - Bellingham Fitness - Sun 10:30 am

Abby Webster, Savanna Woods, and Anna Arvan share The Shakedown stage tonight, Oct 28, with music at 8. Montana-based Webster blends alt-country, folk, and bedroom pop. Stanwood singer-songwriter Woods brings a touring résumé that includes a Top 20 finish on The Voice, plus her newly released double album Winds of Change. Anna Arvan rounds out the three-artist bill.

Jazz Center of Bellingham brings the Ann Reynolds Jazztet to the FireHouse tonight, October 28, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. The quintet formed in 2025 around pianist Ann Reynolds’ interest in the work of Carla Bley and other women composers. Jessica Lurie, Tobi Stone, Geoff Harper, and Chris Icasiano join Reynolds for a set that shifts between mellow passages, funk, Afro-Cuban rhythms, straight-ahead jazz, and freer playing.

Stones Throw Brewery is screening Survivor 51 every Wednesday from 8 to 10 pm. Episodes will play on the projector, with $1 off beer flights during each screening. The brewery is adding its own voting ritual too: cast a ballots for any Stones Throw beer throughout the season, even if it is not currently on tap, and the winning beer will be announced alongside the eventual Survivor champion.

Bellingham Plunge Club, Taylor Street Dock – A 7 am group plunge brings neighbors together for a weekly dip in Bellingham Bay, with newcomers welcome.

Country Night, Stemma Brewing West – Honky Tonk Social Club leads a 7 pm lesson in swing, two-step, and waltz followed by social dancing until 9:30 pm.

Music Bingo, Beach Cat Brewing – Free music bingo starts at 6:30 pm with song-based rounds, prizes, and a food truck on site.

Wednesday Music & Trivia →

The Green Hour: An Evening of Absinthe, Galloway’s Cocktail Bar – A guided absinthe tasting from 6:30 to 8:30 pm covers its history, traditions, rituals, and flavor profile with a traditional pour, an absinthe cocktail, and light bites. Tickets

Weekly Ginger Trivia, Stemma West – Trivia starts at 6:30 pm with teams of up to 10, a $2 buy-in per person, cash pool prizes, and rounds spanning pop culture, astronomy, geography, sports, history, food, local trivia, pictures, and music.

Thursday Music & Trivia →

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