Monday: Geography - A "Valleycation": Highway 198 to Three Rivers

My husband, Vince, and I  got up one December Sunday morning to absolutely sparkly blue skies, and crisp temperatures.  Snow maybe?  It was a perfect day for a trip to the mountains.  In the summer here the weather changes very little, but in the winter it can change from minute to minute.  Before it changed too much V, Kalev, our three year old found puppy, and I hopped into the car and headed for the hills.  My goal was to get to Sequoia National Park, and play in the snow.

The trip up to the park was distracting.  "Pull over right here, V.  I want to snap a picture of rock outcroppings." M

"Stop, stop, stop. right here V.  There's a great picture of a horse for Auty." - M

"Look at that view, V.  Don't you think I should take that?  SToooooop!!!" - M

 Both V and Kalev were VERY patient

I do want to stop at Kaweah Lake and take a few pictures.  OK? - M

Now that's what I'm talking about.  I can't believe that I thought this was ugly when I first moved here.  Right now it is at its lowest levels.  You can see the high-level water mark on the side of the hill.  When the rains come, and the snows melt, the lake behind Terminus Dam builds up.  If the Corps of Engineers doesn't keep it empty now, it could conceivably break the dam which became operational May18,1962.  (Tilchen, Mark.  Floods of the Kaweah. p. 37) Before that time our valley was subject to extreme droughts most years, then huge floods every 7-10 years that bathed all the valley towns in several feet of fast-flowing, tree and rock-laden river waters.

We pulled into the Tulare County Boat Safety Patrol Lake Kaweah Office parking lot, saw a friend of V's, and took some pictures.  The flag was flying at half-mast in honor of victims of the Newtown, Connecticut shooting.

Terminus Dam

"No, no Puppy Girl. Mommy doesn't want to climb back UP those stairs." - M

The shallow look of this lake can be deceptive.  During a storm on December 29, 1969 ten and a half inches of rain fellin the mountains causing the lake to rise 21 feet in just a few hours. (Tilchen, Mark.  Floods of the Kaweah. p. 14-15)



If the winter weather is mild, and the Pacific breezes blow in a warm winter rain on top of a mountain already packed with snow, we are in trouble.  This has occurred four times since the 1930s.  This weather pattern caused the Kaweah to flow more than 50,000 cubic feet of water per SECOND!  (Tilchen, Mark.  Floods of the Kaweah. p. 13)



Then we headed up the road in search of snow.  Almost immediately we came to Horse Creek Bridge.  When I was teaching, just before summer vacation one year, a young woman came to speak to our 4th graders about swimming safety.

Like many other youngsters, when summer came, she went with her friends and took turns jumping off Horse Creek Bridge into the water below.  Of course, there's a lot more water in the summer.

Nonetheless, the rocks are still there, buried, and it's impossible to judge the depth of the water.  She hit her head, broke her neck, and at age 19 was paralyzed for life.

You can see the Kaweah River stream bed that feeds Lake Kaweah.  The peaks of the Sierra Nevada Range, where the Kaweah River begins are 12,000 feet high.  From that level, the Kaweah drops to valley level in a mere 38 linear miles.  By comparison, Colorado River drops 10,000 feet in 2,000 miles. (Tilchen, Mark.  Floods of the Kaweah. p. 13)

You can see the levels where water has been in the past.  It's sure a dry lake now.



So far, no snow.

We drove up to Slick Rock, a popular place to swim in the summer.

Kalev was thankful for a chance to explore.

Mom and Dad weren't paying much attention to her.  Good thing she had on her leash!

During floods torrents of water could move these rocks causing temporary dams, making the flooding much worse.  

Plenty of green grass. Don't look Dad! About time we get to explore something besides pavement!  This is MORE like it. OK, I'm done now, Dad. DAD! I said I'm DONE. LET"S MOVE IT!   COME ON! - K

I could make it down this little slope, but Dad said no. If he'd just LOSE this leash! - K

I could climb those. He's not being reasonable with this leash thing. MMMM, What's this smell? -K

Dad seems preoccupied with this view. I don't know what the big deal is. I could just run around if he'd just unsnap my leash. - K

Mom doesn't even care. Do you think SHE is going to climb those rocks. hahaha Last time she tried something like that she smashed her camera lens when she tripped. LOL  BUT I COULD BE CLIMBING THOSE ROCKS!  DAD, LET ME GO!  -K

I wonder how I could get his attention? - K

There, these did the trick! Now he's looking.  He's bending down.  He'll unsnap my leash now.  Ouch DAD! You're pulling my hair!  I don't have much, hair, and ... What are you doing?  Leave those burs in my back alone. They aren't bothering anyone! - K

Great, now he's called Mom over. She never gives up on these things. OUUUUUCH! MOM! Why don't they just go back to their sightseeing? - K

Here's a FAQ for you about burs.  "The bur of burdock was the inspiration for Velcro."  Wikipedia

Having them cut out wasn't so bad. Maybe Ranger Bill will let me down to run around. - K

Kalev was very grateful to Ranger Bil for cutting out her burrsl.

Our next stop was Horse Creek Campground.  During floods torrents of water could move these rocks and trees causing temporary dams, making the flooding much worse.  

You can see how exposed the tree roots are because of the higher level of the water in the spring and early summer.

  That means the campground is under water, and we wouldn't be driving on this road.

Dad, put me down. Mom's leaving us.  MOM, you forgot me!  Do you see that grass?
What's a Pac-Man? - 

Nothing beat a good game of Pac-Man.

I fell in love with this rock formation.  Anyone who enjoyed PacMan in the 70s can't help but feel an affinity to this cheerful outcrop collection!

Can you tell how old this tree is?  Me either, the rings are too small for me to count, but it's dead now.  I could recognize the years if I had a magnifying glass.  The years 1862, 1867,1877, 1884, 1906, 1914, 1937, 1943, 1945, 1955, 1966, 1967, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1995, and 1997 would have significantly larger rings because those are the flood years.  (Tilchen, Mark.  Floods of the Kaweah. p. 15)  I bolded 1867 because it was a 100 year flood, and would probably have the largest ring.

 

The blue skies suddenly turned gray, we were tired, and we never drove high enough to reach snow.  We decided to go back home and wait for the snow to come down to us.  It was a relatively quick trip.  It was a great date.  People come from all over the world to visit the Sequoia National Park, home of the biggest trees in the world.  We didn't make it up that far today.

So if you come visit us, we'll make the entire trip to the Sequoias without all the distractions because you will have seen them already.  Or maybe you'd like the distractions, too.

What do you think?  With or without distractions?

BTW, my proof reader suggested that burs is burrs.  Actually both is correct.  I looked it up - on the internet, of course!