A couple years ago, a group of people and I went on the Skagit River Hydroelectric Tour and we had a wonderful time. The tour started off with a short film outlining a bit of the history and then we were bundled off onto a boat for several hours, exploring Ross Lake and Diablo Dam. We came back to Newhalem (the town owned by Seattle City Light) and were fed an all-you-can-eat Chicken and Spaghetti dinner. We were then free to wander around -- there is a grove of old-growth Cedar trees and the power houses have observation rooms open to the public.
A lot of fun. Unfortunately, with WA State's budget management problems, the tours are not being run this year. From the Bellingham Herald:
Tight budget halts utility's Skagit tour
Seattle City Light is canceling the popular Skagit tours of its North Cascades hydroelectric project because of a tight budget.
Also canceled this summer are the chicken dinners the utility offers visitors to the town of Diablo.
The tour includes a boat trip up Diablo Lake, formed by a City Light dam in the Ross Lake National Recreation Area.
This is only the third time in their 82-year history that the tours have been canceled. The last time was in 2002 because of the energy crisis and the heightened security after the 9-11 terrorist attack.
City Light officials tell The Seattle Times that they hope to reinstate the tours next year.
Let's hope they can get their spending under control in time for next year...
