Thursday, August 23, 2018

What are YOU doing here?

Gene seems unhappy to see me
Yes, it's Thursday and I'm not hiking. I went to the Senior Center and met seven other Trailblazers who wanted to find someplace that would be moderately healthy for us to go, with the air quality still bad. Very bad, to be exact. This morning when I woke and checked Bellingham's air quality, it had gone from the "unhealthy" range to the "unhealthy for sensitive groups" range. Great! That told me that, as the day wears on, it would continue to improve. But in checking to see if those numbers were continuing to fall, I discovered that it had returned to last night's miserable numbers and that it is bad everywhere we might go.

After much discussion, I decided that it would be best for me not to go anywhere at all, and the others decided to leave all their hiking paraphernalia in their cars and take a walk from the Senior Center down to Boulevard Park, just to get in some exercise. I decided that enough exercise to make me sweat would not be a good idea. So I went over to the coffee shop and got that look from my buddies.
The "acid ball" with Trailblazers
While sitting there with the guys, Melanie sent me this picture taken from their walk to the waterfront. This is actually part of a new addition to our city, called Waypoint Park. It's in construction right now, but out of curiosity I looked up what the heck that ball is. It turns out it was from an old pulp mill and is being repurposed as art.
As for the art, that comes by way of an industrial artifact from the closed Georgia-Pacific pulp and paper mill on the waterfront. An old piece of equipment known as the “acid ball” is being turned into a new beacon. About 30 feet in diameter, the round steel tank stored acid that helped break down wood chips at the mill. It will be moved to the new park and coated with luminescent glass beads to create a glowing beacon at night.
I don't think they have added the glass beads yet, but that will certainly make it interesting to see at night. Here's a picture of an artist's rendition of the finished park.
Waypoint Park sometime in the future
The park is supposed to be finished by November, but who knows? I will enjoy seeing it all lit up, for sure. Right now my cohorts are probably sitting in a coffee shop somewhere.
At the top of my stairs
I decided to just come home. When I climbed the sixteen steps to my apartment, this scene caught my eye, showing the hallway between the front porch and the back porch. Can you see the smog in the air? Sometime today it is supposed to get better, but it sure hasn't yet.
:-(

22 comments:

  1. The aliens have landed.
    Sigh on the air quality. I hope it improves. Quickly.

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  2. Does look like your buddies were surprised to see you... but a good surprise, yes? So sorry about the air quality and not a lot you can do about it except stay inside. I like the acid ball. What a good idea using it that way!

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  3. We lived in this kind of air for three weeks. It is not fun. Just stay indoors.

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  4. Oh DJan, that smoke must be so terrible up there. It is bad here too. Today when I got up I saw blue skies for the first time in a very long time, but this afternoon it is smokey again. I have not been walking or exercising at all outside in this smoke, nor do I have the windows open. I hope this all clears up for you soon. It is a sad reminder of just how much damage the smoke is doing, and then also where there is smoke, there is fire. So sad! So much beautiful land is being scarred by fire.

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  5. It is great to repurpose old equipment that way.

    BC, for one, is ablaze. No wonder you have such poor air quality. Hope it improves Jan.

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  6. Sorry about your air. We're in the same boat in SE Washington. Ugh, cough.

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  7. Too bad about the air quality. So sad.

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  8. Yes, you were better off at the coffee shop than breathing in that soupy mess.
    I like the art in the park, different ;)
    Hugs,
    ~Jo

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  9. It certainly does look smoggy out there.

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  10. I hate that you still have unhealthy air but I really love how they are re-purposing that ball. Very neat.

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  11. They had a segment on the news/weather here, locally, showing us what was a faint glimpse of the space needle...scary - so many walking outdoor with surgical masks. I think I'd stay home.

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  12. My daughter reports a lot of smoke in Abbotsford too.

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  13. You're wise to take it easy. I haven't learned that yet. I rode 15 km tonight and it's very smoky.

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  14. You were wise to not hike today. It's been smoky here in Portland too, and I've been skipping my morning run. Thankfully it cleared out today and the weekend is supposed to be nice.

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  15. Doesn't look good out there yet. Glad you didn't spend too much time out there. It will pass--eventually. So sad to think of all the forests that have been destroyed. And then there's homes and businesses, too.

    I like the acid ball just like it is. All the rivets add design and texture.

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  16. I think you are wise not to exert yourself when the air quality is so poor.

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  17. I think you made a wise decision. The 'acid ball' looks so interesting as it...makes me think of Steampunk and Jules Verne for some reason.

    Like Rita, I feel sad about all the forests and the wildlife within them being destroyed. I hope the air clears soon for you.

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  18. When we got hope late Thursday and got out of the car, the smell of smoke hit me. I thought it was supposed to be better, but, no. I saw the incoming flights at the airport were being impacted by low visibility this afternoon.

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  19. We could smell smoke again today. No fun. I am certain Gene and John were shocked to see you on a Thursday...they probably thought you forgot what day it was..or that you lost your mind:)

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  20. My sister-in-law lives in California and says the air is terrible there too. Wow! I’m sorry you are all having to suffer through this. That’s awful!

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  21. Smog? UGH!
    I was in Colombia last week (work), and the pollution from the cars was a bad reminded me what it was like to live in Mexico City... I do NOT miss the smog! I remember one year all schools closed down for the entire month of July for it...
    Does it happen often in Bellingham? What causes it? I have trouble imagining the number of cars and industries required for it up there...

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