May 15, 2008

More of Blue Mesa


Erica took this picture of sand stone ledges that are normally
thirty to forty feet below water level.

Getting in a little beach time. In a a couple of weeks the big melt will probably be in full swing
and there will be less and less beach for a while.

We were below the normal waterline when we took this picture
looking further down on some others at the waters edge.

Good morning May 13, 2008 in Gunnison, Colorado!
Spring? Yeah Right!

Cinco De Mayo-the final chapter!

Drain it and it will come!

BLUE MESA RESERVOIR

The largest reservoir in Coloraado. It has been systematically
drained to efficiently make electricity and to create space in the
basin for the spring runoff. Looking at the buttes in the background
you'd wonder...what runoff!
Well, they are trying to plow through Independence Pass between Aspen and Leadville.
They have encountered 25' snow depths through there.

A few small watercraft could still be found out on the lake indulging in some ice-free fishing.

Here I'm standing about four feet above the current
water level with my foot on an old, long ago submerged tree stump.
I'm at least 40 (maybe more) feet below the level the lake will be at in a couple of months!

If you look real close you can see Sue standing up at the top of this boat ramp.
I was about the length of a football field, plus the endzones, down the ramp from her.
While there are a number of little runoff creeks that will direct meltoff into the lake,
the vast majority of it comes down through Gunnison, from above and beyond Crested Butte and the Schofield Pass area which still has over 12' feet of snow yet to melt and run down stream, Taylor Park ( even deeper in some areas), and back east up the valley toward Monarch Pass and down Tomichi Creek, there is plenty of snow to melt and runoff down through the Gunnison Valley.
Hopefully, not all at once!
Or we will become the proud owners of a boathouse and will be changing our address
to Sapinero, CO at the other end of Blue Mesa Reservoir!

Cinco de Mayo - Cont'd

The moon kept rising over Tenderfoot ('W') Mountain.
The 'W' obscured by the blanket of snow.
Note the wire fence line, thus the reason that Texans' often wondered why Colorado ranchers built such short fences!

Easter came and went early and quickly this year. We thought briefly of hiding eggs in the back yard, but they definitely would not have been found until late April.

Oh yea, that's right, we DO have a deck out back!

We're not sure, but Peanut was either trying to remember
if she had buried a bone in the backyard or do was there even a backyard
to bury a bone in! Hmmm!

Cinco de Mayo!

CINCO DE MAYO!
Sorry folks! Time got away from me here recently.
These pictures show the snow on the ground
just a couple weeks after it had reached it's peak
down here in the Gunnison Valley. At this time, mid March,
there was still a level 24" sitting on the ground.
Nothing compared to the higher elevations where there
was 12-15 feet of snow on the ground.

Not much of a view from the front door for a while there.

These piles of shoveled snow had been too high to even snow blow over the top.
Honestly I was surprised to see the snow disappear as fast as it has.
Currently, the only snow left is in front of the house, a relatively small pile about five foot high
by eight foot square. (A sledding hill back in Nebraska!)