Great Roads And Oso Slide

[choco]

Took a ride yesterday from my place in Duvall up to Skookum Brewpub in Arlington, just east of the Airfield. I normally go north of Monroe on Woods Creek Road and wind past Lake Rosinger and into Granite Falls, always fun. But I found a parallel path of twisty roads west of that normal route and had a blast. From Granite Falls I general hit the Jordan River Road and drop onto 530 which connects to Darrington. If filled up two growlers, put them in a backpack and decided to head on up towards Darrington to see the Oso slide. The road is finally open sort of. Each direction takes turn stopping and waiting for the other direction to move through, but the wait wasn't long. Over 40 people were killed in the Oso mudslide of March 22.

I had ridden this road many times on my way to Winthrop and the North Cascade Highway and assumed the hillside that slid was on the east side of the road, but it is on the west and looks to be almost a 800 or 900 yards west of the road. That distance also seems relatively flat so the dirt was basically liquefied and rolled across the flat taking everything with it. Seeing all the devastation evokes feeling of sadness and also awe for nature's power. The Oso community has adopted a motto Oso-Strong. We had a benefit here in Duvall for the families, Austin Jenkes, a finalist at last years The Voice gave a benefit concert and the community is trying to heal but there is one person still missing.