On my way from Camas to Yakima I visited the Rock Creek museum. I had an interesting choice:

Especially given the late afternoon gate closure, I selected the turn to the right. The museum holds a collection around the area‘s history, which is fishing, logging, and displacing native tribes. Though in the beginning the relationship between native inhabitants and explorers and settlers sounded OK. As usual, when a harmless influx turns excessive, animosities arise.

However, the receptionist behind the counter was quite welcoming, and I hit a jackpot with her, quite by accident. She explained the holdings, and then mentioned flumes. I asked for the word‘s meaning, and her eyes lit up. He whole body posture straightened.

Turns out she used to be a forest ranger, but it grew too much. She has a family now, and it was infeasible to be called up for fire duty at a moment‘s notice. The museum hired her to develop and educational program. Her first unit is a kit for home, and for executing in the museum to build a flume from popsicle sticks and kebab spikes.

She was so wonderfully excited about the project, and I encouraged. Her heartily.

Rock Creek Gorge Museum

Former ranger‘s first project: flumes from popsicles

The flume significantly enabled Westward expansion, because mule transport of the logs was not scalable. Flumes ran local timer for 9 miles in a few minutes. The structures were designed to be repaired quickly in cases of landslides or other breakage. Turns out, the flume remainder mentioned in the sign likely burned in a fire a week before my visit.

Industrialization of Everything

The museum holds restored structures of original size:

The fish extractor has a typical history of lawyers making a living:

Miscellaneous Additional Exhibit Gems

Coolest: Bathroom fixture and coat from a bear pelt. Water proof.

Last fact I‘d never considered, but learned here is this: Native Americans had a trading network that spanned the nation. Particular items, such as sea shells operated as currency. But the influx of European goods destroyed the value of that currency through inflation. These changes disrupted the trading networks:

Maybe Obsessed, But Not Crazy!

Yes, yes, enough with the shower faucets. But here is my composited demonstration of what ails that industry:

On the left we see an almost well designed shower faucet. A pointed end, evoking an arrow. Markings in blue and red, with the welcome addition of the color coded letters H and C. The problem: now you have temperature. How to control flow? The designers utilized the third dimension for this function. A hidden affordance, but discoverable.

I the middle the ambiguous design I introduced in an earlier post. What‘s the pointer? The small ball, or the large ball?

On the right side my current faucet in Yakima. No marker at all. Just the promising arrow shape. But where is hot? Interestingly, though, the design is internally consistent: there is no hot water. The temperature is constantly cool no matter where You point the arrow. I do credit consistency. But this seems to be a case of form over function.

They since fixed the hot water.

On the way to Yakima:

From green, forested to high desert in just a minute of riding. The ranger/edu-developer had given me the heads up on that. A truly sudden transition. Same on the other side of the desert part.

In between: rolling over into 1000 miles.