I live about 7 miles from the tallest earth filled dam in the United States. I believe that Pakistan has the largest and Egypt has the tallest. Since we have had so much rain the lake is filling rapidly and they have started to release water from the spill way. Last week they were releasing a lot more than what is in the photo above but it is still very impressive. They don't release very often so it is quite an event when they get a significant release. The spillway at maximum allowable release is 150,000 cubic feet per second. If I remember correctly they can actually release over 200 CFS but the river can't handle that flow. Pretty impressive amount of water.
I saw so much wildlife. Ducks, honkers, turtles, squirrels, rabbits, turkeys and even a few wild flowers were starting to bloom. I guess they were all out enjoying the sunshine too. There is 160+ miles of trails to ride in the recreation area. This particular section is always rideable. It is the old train tracks (they removed the rails) they used when they were building the dam to take the rock and earth to the site.
There is an old tunnel that you have to go through. When I was much, much younger there were no lights in the tunnel and we used to ride through it in the dark. Of course we made up all kinds of stories about the bats that lived in there.
We did come across a couple of downed trees. We had to go up and around this one. The state is very good about clearing the trees so the next time we go they will all be cleaned up. We also have some of the nicest horse camps that I have ever seen. They have pipe corrals, a round pen with wash racks. The restrooms and showers are first class and very clean. The only thing they don't have is RV hook ups for power and sewer. The link below will take you to the state parks site for more information.
http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=462
Hope you enjoyed a peek into my back yard.
Suddently, I feel like moving! LOL This is awesome and great that you have so many horse-friendly trails. We have a truckload of trails too, but they are ATV trails and horses don't get much respect in my neck of the woods... we are of the few people that owns them so I'm not holding my breath for horse trails anytime soon. I could truck the horses 1 hour south to the equine trails, but that sounds like more trouble and I'd be wasting more time trailering than riding... :( Our backyard is nice, but I think that the river in your pictures is awesome!
ReplyDeletekel--That looks wonderful. What beautiful trails and landscape. Thanks for sharing the photos.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that you had the perfect day! Lucky you!
ReplyDeleteI loved seeing the water coming over the spillway. It must be impressive with the noise, too. Can you feel the mist from it?
We used to camp near Lake Lure, NC. They would letter water out during the weekend for tubing and water fun down below. Then let the lake fill to capacity during the week. We were at the campground one spring when they had too much rain. The lake authority let water out. Too much. The campground flooded. Luckily, we were on one of the higher camp sites - but even then, it was pretty scary. We were in awe of the power of the water.
Years ago we had a earthquake here and it was a pretty good shaker (7.6 I think) . Living so close to a structure like this you always have that little voice in the back of your mind. What if... If that dams breaks - I am in big trouble. Even though the relase was not that grand, I could feel the mist on my face when I was taking pictures. When the release is really going, you need a rain coat.
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