GRAYDON RESERVE
Spring fever We at the Graydon Reserve, ever optimistic, have become infected with the euphoria that bubbles up in spring. Everything is possible. Don will build a little teahouse at Rosebud Meadow. Jonelle will create her field guide to the plants and flowers of the reserve. We will host the Forest Bacchanal of Sound, Video and Installation Art. We will discover a realistic route to the Dark Tower. When the bubbles burst, we’ll turn to our practical list: clean the septic tank filter, repair the footbridge hit by a falling alder, sealcoat the asphalt driveway. By the time the snows come, we hope to look back on spring and summer 2010 with the same satisfaction that we remember 2009. Last year’s long hot summer brought welcome changes. The new interior of Cantina del Rio—in primal red, green, blue and yellow—fairly demands that you come in for a beer. The serpentine, all 110 feet of it, became a sculptural reality in Emily’s Park. We now have a good swimming hole right off the firepit, thanks to the everchanging course of the river. Penny Lane got its own street sign, straight out of Liverpool, and in the woods, walkers now encounter a sign that looks suspiciously official: “Wild Sky Wilderness—Graydon Reserve.” (See pages 6 and 7 for photos.)
INDEX, WASHINGTON
SPRING 2010
Upward bound Time marches on, and so does Index
RE-OPEN THE BUSH HOUSE The Bush House sits along Index Avenue, bedraggled and forlorn like an abandoned cat. To say the hotel has seen better days is a wild understatement. But those days of wine and roses may yet return. The Bush House opened its doors in Index well over a century ago. But a few years ago the strain of operating a ramshackle hotel in a tiny out-of-the-way village apparently led to its closure. Now for the good news: a group has come up with a plan that may well save the place. The idea would be to create a mixed venture that includes a profit-making restaurant and a nonprofit component to provide a meeting place and lodging. Among those involved in the effort: owner Loyal Nordstrom, restaurateur Jimmy Taranto, the Corson family of the Outdoor Ad-
Even in seemingly timeless Index, Washington, time moves on and things do change. Here’s a look at some of the ways Index is trying to move ahead . . . . a few goals for the future. The star rating with each story gives an idea of how things are progressing.
DON’T HOLD YOUR BREATH HOPE BEATS ETERNAL THINGS ARE LOOKING UP GREAT NEWS PRAISE THE LORD! venture Center in Index, historian Louise Lindgren and a couple of major investors. Stay tuned for good news.
REBUILD INDEX-GALENA ROAD Question: How many county workers does it take to rebuild half a mile of highway? Answer: None, if the job’s never started. That sometimes seems like the situation on rebuilding a section of Index-Galena Road, washed out in the record-breaking floods of November 2006. Since then the road has been closed about 5 miles east of Index, ending convenient highway access to state campgrounds and the vast recreational treasures of the upper North Fork Skykomish River. The river continues to flow down the old roadbed. In 2007, Snohomish County officials met with area residents to “discuss possibilities for repairing and rebuilding the road.” The year 2008 brought a “route feasibility study.” In 2009 the county met again with residents to explain the study’s fourteen possible solutions. This year will bring a design report DOWN, BUT NOT OUT
PLEASE SEE PAGE 10