Would You Believe An Underwater Monster?

?Hey, Johnston: I've lived above Lake Sammamish on the west side for eight years and when the lake is quiet I see rapidly moving wave patterns. They can't be the current because they move too fast. What is it? Is it an optical effect?

!Answer: Three possible reasons come to mind:

1) Underground Springs. Lake Sammamish has a bunch of these springs and they may be pushing the water around. But if the waves are in the middle of the lake, it's unlikely the water coming out of a spring would have that much pressure.

2) Wind Action. A breeze moving across the lake surface will stir up waves. The air above the lake is cooler than the air above the land and it will move towards the land. Or, because Lake Sammamish is surrounded by hills, it has its own weather pattern. The wind will drop down from the hills to certain parts of the surface and make it move. But in that case you should see the trees moving at the same time. Which leads to the more logical explanation:

3) Underwater monster. Some time back, the legend goes, a circus seal escaped and lived in Lake Sammamish. It would nibble on people's toes and often was heard barking at the moon. We believe the seal has been replaced and the "rapidly moving wave patterns" are actually the humps of a 60-foot monster breaking the surface. Until it's disproved, you might not want to dangle your toes in the water.

?Hey, Johnston: As you're going east on I-90, around Highway 18, in a clearing on the side of the mountain is a white cross. Did a plane crash there or is someone building a church up there?

!Answer: We were wondering the same thing when we saw the white cross near the exit to Snoqualmie Falls. "Jeez," we said, "I think I'll ask that jerk with the fish coming out of his head. He knows everything."

As it turned out, finding the answer wasn't as easy as you might have thought. Everyone wondered about it, but nobody knew. We called the Issaquah Alps hiking club and they said they often wondered about it. We called the State Department of Natural Resources and learned they had often wondered about it. So had the Weyerhaeuser land manager.

Finally we talked with Donna Grossruck of Federal Way, who didn't wonder, she knew: her husband, Ray, put the cross up there.

The Grossrucks own 10 acres on the mountainside. "We're Christmas tree growers, and we're also Christians," she said. Her husband liked putting a cross on the hill so much he's talking about putting up a bigger one. "We like the way the moon shines on it," Donna said.

Now we wonder, if you stand on top of the cross, will you be able to see the underwater monster in Lake Sammamish?

How to Just Ask Johnston: This column appears Thursdays on the cover of the Eastside Life section. Leave your questions about any aspect of Eastside life on Steve Johnston's voice mail at 464-8475. Or write: Just Ask Johnston c/o The Seattle Times, Suite 100, 10777 Main St., Bellevue WA 98004.