Northwest Waterfall Survey
- McCoy Creek Falls (waterfallsnorthwest.com)
While I’d long known of a tall cascading waterfall near the headwaters of McCoy Creek, I hadn’t really given second thought to the small ravine near the mouth of the creek as it breaks into the Skykomish Valley. However, after receiving word from some fellow local hikers that a sizable waterfall was just ¼ mile upstream, I was sold. The results were surprisingly unexpected. While the falls weren’t quite as large as I was originally led to believe, the formation was much different than I had pictured. McCoy Creek plunges through an old mill dam of some sort and then fans out over a chunky bedrock face before contracting back to a narrow stream at the base of the 45 foot falls. Unfortunately several trees block clear views from the side of the road, but with a little hazardous scrambling I was able to attain a good viewpoint. With a rope and a revisit, I hope to eventually get all the way to the base for better photos.
- Ferdinando de’ Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany (Wikipedia)
Ferdinando de’ Medici (9 August 1663 – 31 October 1713) was the eldest son of Cosimo III de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and Marguerite Louise d’Orléans. Ferdinando was heir to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, with the title Grand Prince, from his father’s accession in 1670 until his death in 1713. He is remembered today primarily as a patron of music. An excellent musician himself (sometimes called “the Orpheus of princes”), he attracted top musicians to Florence and thus made it an important musical center. Through his patronage of Bartolomeo Cristofori, Ferdinando made possible the invention of the piano.