Catching Up

The worst part of the ten-week trip is the catching up afterwards.  It would have been easier if we hadn't had to leave town immediately after coming home, and then a week later, leaving again.  But we are home for good now . . . and I have been determined to get on top of things.

It has not helped that we are in the middle of a search for a priest and I am in charge of the search, I am in charge of two big events in February, Babs has been staying up most nights, and I still have a pile of mail to sort.  But today I made progress.

Getting all of the bills paid was helpful, but my biggest success was getting to see the three episodes of NCIS that I have missed.  While I was reconciling my bank accounts and paying bills, I watched the three shows.  After all, I have to find out what happens to Ziva.  NCIS is my favorite show, but Tuesday night seems to be the night when I always have meetings.  I had not seen any of the new season's shows . . . but now I am caught up.  Then this evening, while I was printing the last of my checks, I watched the first episode of Big Bang Theory.  Still have two to watch, but they go fast.  Once I watch those, NCIS Los Angeles, Hawaii 5-0 and Person of Interest, I will begin to feel like I am on my way!

So much for serious, education posts!

The Art Forger

Our book club has introduced me to some very interesting books.  Some have been educational (Nothing Like It in the World:  The Story of the Transcontinental Railroad); some take on serious subject (Rain of Gold, which is a story of immigration); some classics (Emma).  And sometimes we just get to read some fun novels.  The Art Forger is one of those.

I do not know much about art forgery, but this book exposes a whole new field of crime.  Well-researched, the author Barbara Shapiro weaves truth into a very interesting and fun plot.  In talking with my art teacher, Charles, he confirmed many of the facts in the book.  Which is what makes the story fun to read.

Because the book was a fun, yet informational, read, I loved.  If you want to know more about the art of forgery, this is the book for you!

Other Pictures

As I was going through my pictures I found these that perhaps are better than the ones in previous blogs.  The captions tell where the pictures were taken.

This lovely mud pile is just below the Horton cabin.  Good thing it was relatively dry!

The bridge just above the cattle guard.  The BAER team has cleared out all of the brush.  Notice how clear the bottom of the stream is - no moss left!

Just above Tres Lagunas . . . remnants of the fire on top, beautiful fall colors below.

The top lake at Tres Lagunas.  All of them are this color, but this one has much debris in it, also.

At the cattle guard.

The Good

As we took our Stroll Up the Canyon, we were astounded by what we perceived as being the negative effects of the fire and the flood.  Fortunately, we also found some positives.

When we were in the Canyon in July, I took this picture of the river, right at our propane tank.

Believe it or not, below is the same hole, post flood.  The mud and silt is gone, leaving gorgeous rocks and a beautiful, bubbling stream.

This hole, just below the Schneider's bridge, shows the same effect.

Isn't it pretty?  I never would have believed it, but with the silt and moss scrubbed clean, our little stream looks like it is brand new.

Above our cabin, the fire burned very intensely.  Very few trees survived and none of the ground cover was left.  Yet aspens are already sprouting and the seeding that was done by the Forest Service has taken hold.

It is not pretty yet; but it will be.

The burn scar behind our cabin was pretty obvious.  We had growth, and then it stopped.  Now, the area where the burn scar was is very green - much greener than what was not burned.

Although in the shade, the burn scar's green is different from what was not burned.

Many of the native plants are already coming back - holly, aster, primrose are all growing in the burn scar.

In many places, the fire is not evident and the canyon looks just as you would expect it to look.

So despair not.  Even the road can be fixed, and when it is, we will be able to get back into our little Canyon.  We will learn to live with the changes, and we will once again enjoy our little stream, the coolness of the air, and the camaraderie of our friends.

Strolling from #15 to the End

As we walked past the Anderson's cabin, Don and I commented that it could not be much worse.  How much more damage could be done?  After all, we had already seen the two bridges that were taken down at the Holt's and the Talbot's.  That's pretty bad.  And walking past Kelly's, the Horn's, the Conn's, and Ronnie Horn's the damage was about what we expected.

And then we saw the first issue.  The mess around the Reid's.  Early on, they had had a bad rockslide that had provided plenty of water in their cabin.  Chris had built a berm and a swale, however, that would divert the water, and it appeared to have worked.

But the bridge where the culverts are is gone.  The culverts are still there . . . just nothing on top of them.  It is a little tough to drive over this mess.

As we surveyed this area, Don noticed that the river above the culvert is now about four feet higher than it was.  It appears as if the culverts slowed the water enough to leave some of the rocks above them.  It would be good if some of the rocks washed away, as the way the river is now, it could flood the road pretty easily.  It will be interesting to see what happens.

We are standing just off the culvert, looking up the river.  Notice how the river is now about even with the road.

The Percy, Johnson, Lowe, and Rumsey cabins all had water rushing around them.  I understand Chris has notified everyone if they had any damage.  But the most stunning of the effects of the fire and rain (cue James Taylor) was to come.

Back in the late 1960's, a little spring would occasionally run between the Lowe and Rumsey cabins.  My brother and I actually tried to climb to the top to find it, but the ravine was so covered up even back then, we could not get to it.  Over the years, the spring has run on occasion, and when I was doing my research for my book, I actually found a letter discussing the water rights of the spring.  But it did not appear to be a reliable source of water.

Fast forward to the seven-inch rain.  The ravine where the spring is located became a rushing torrent, as evidenced by this channel the water dug through the road.

Yes, this is a gully through the road.

Don is standing in the gully, looking up the road.  He is six feet tall . . . 

The Rumsey's pump house . . . well, the poor thing.  It has been hit by two trees in the past few years, and now this.

Yes, that is dirt and rock piled inside.

The rest of the walk up the canyon was more of the same.  The road was no worse for wear, but the stream was certainly different.

The bridge at the Birdsong's gate.

Between the bridge and the Weaver's . . . note the erosion on the bank.  This is looking down the Canyon.

We have other pictures but they are not dramatically different.  The effects of the water, combined with the defoliation of the hillside, have changed the Canyon permanently.  For us oldsters, it will take some getting used to.  For all of us, it is the new normal.

But there are reasons to hope.  And we have the pictures to prove it!

Strolling from Cabin #7 to #15

So far, the major damage in the Canyon was to the stream and the west side of the road.  But that was about to change.  Just up from the Yarborough's cabin, it is obvious that the water has flooded the road.

Looking closely, it is apparent that where the stream curves from the Anderson's to the Davis's it decided to jump the streambed and go straight down the road.  Its independent spirit probably saved the Davis's bridge, but it did not do much for the road.

Slabs of the road could be found on the sides, rocks and roots protruded through the chip seal, and pot holes had been created.

The Davis cabin is on the left; Yarborough's behind to the right.

Finally, just around the corner, we saw the devastation water can do.  The river skipped the stream bed at the bottom of the Anderson's, and left this in its path:

Wow!  The poor road did not have a chance.  The debris pile at the Anderson's was impressive, and unfortunately, their footbridge was torn off the stream.  A large rock slide on the other side of the river came down to the water, but it did not seem to hurt the cabin at all.  

Part of the debris pile

The river behind the Anderson's.  Quite a bit of new rock has appeared!

Strolling from Cabin #3 to #6

Having just returned from a long trip to Alaska, we were accustomed to seeing rivers filled with rocks that had been deposited by glaciers.  Every stream we passed was filled with glacier rocks.  It was all very impressive.

Imagine what we thought, then, when we saw this just down the hill from our cabin:

This is on the west side of the road.  The waterfall is to the right,  Don is looking toward the Schneider cabin.

Although it looked like Alaska, it it is just down the path from the Brink's cabin that leads to the Schneider's bridge.  At the base of the road was a grassy meadow.  Now it is four feet deep in rocks.

To the left of the path was a ravine choked with dead trees.  It had been impossible to navigate up it, though we have tried several times.  Now the impassable ravine looks like this:

Nary a tree in sight.

Below the ravine and the rock slide used to be a waterfall.  The waterfall that was built back in the mining days, blocking the river to provide water for the hospital, no longer exists.

How many of us have pictures of our children on this rock?  We do.

Walking up the road from the bridge, the one familiar hole across from the rock that looks like a frog is dramatically changed.  The sleepy little fishing hole where many people would picnic is now a rocky one:

Many of these changes are permanent ones.  No one is going to remove the rock slide.  No one is going to replace the waterfall.  So it will take some getting used to.  But we can and will.