Rising Waters

Current location: Chester, CA

Well, once again I'm running behind. I meant to post this a few days ago. This full-time work schedule keeps getting in my way!

But as promised in my last post, I wanted to share a few pictures of how much the lake has risen since we arrived. I wish I had taken more pictures which included specific landmarks a month ago so that I could have taken the same shot this time around. It would have been much easier to compare that way. But I didn't, so we'll just have to work with what I have.

This shot was taken on 5/12. Make note of the sandbar with the bush in the middle. There was a thin piece of land that connected to shore and you could walk all the way out there. Also note the small log in the middle of the beach.

This is from the same area (although slightly different angle), taken on 6/12. Notice that there is no more sandbar and the bush is barely above water. Also notice the log. It is now covered with water.

This picture, taken on 6/11, shows just how close the water is to one of the roads in the campground. Pretty soon that boat will be able to be launched directly from it's campsite. Now that's waterfront property!

Our first week on the job, we each spent several hours cleaning up the shoreline of debris. My section started just to the left of the boom - I remember stepping over it - and I walked the beach up from the tree line all the way out to the weeds. This picture was taken yesterday, 6/12, when I was once again cleaning up the beach. The difference this time is that there was a lot less beach to cover! There were several areas where I couldn't continuously walk the shoreline. I had to go up to the road and back down to get to the other side.

I don't know how much more the lake will rise. The lake is manmade and contained by a dam, so the level can be controlled. I imagine if it gets too much higher, they'll start to release some of the water. But then again, I don't know what impact that would have downstream. If it rises too much more, we'll have several campsites which will be under water. With 4th of July just around the corner, we could have some unhappy campers on our hands!