The Last Bass Outpost

Main Forums => The Outpost Cafe => Topic started by: Lightyear on September 13, 2013, 07:14:49 PM

Title: Pilgrim?
Post by: Lightyear on September 13, 2013, 07:14:49 PM
Anyone heard from Pilgrim?

If I'm not mistaken this mess is taking place in his backyard:

http://www.foxnews.com/weather/2013/09/13/4-dead-in-colorado-floods/

I certainly hope he's on high ground - I doubt many people in Boulder have flood insurance.
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Pilgrim on September 13, 2013, 07:48:21 PM
I'm ok...We have had over 10" of rain at home but no flooding in my area even though the campus at CSU  closed Friday. I think that was because all major roads were closed and people couldn't get to campus. I'm out of town...flew out Thursday but our house was ok. Hope it still is..We had a lot of rain yesterday. Both daughters live inn the area but not in flooded areas. Boulder got swamped...highway to Estes Park fell into the river...all major north-south roads closed. Hoping for more sunshine! A friend of mine knows a young man who drowned trying to escape a swamped car..his girl friend is missing too.

Thanks for your good wishes. We seem to be out of the worst zone by about 30 miles n
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Lightyear on September 13, 2013, 07:57:54 PM
Good to hear to you guys are OK.

I feel for the folks who are in the worst of it - I've been there and done that and, trust me, it sucks very hard.
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: TBird1958 on September 13, 2013, 07:59:56 PM

 You need to move to the Palouse Al  ;)



Pullman, Colfax and Moscow are calling.
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Lightyear on September 13, 2013, 08:10:08 PM
I hear it rains some in those parts  ;D

My wife wants to retire here:

http://www.fortdavis.com/index.html

I figure she would make it 3 months tops but at least there wouldn't be much in the way of floods :P
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Pilgrim on September 13, 2013, 08:19:08 PM
I've heard from both daughters in the past few minutes and all are still ok.

I'm IN the Palouse right now..going to the Wazzu game tomorrow...90 degrees and sunny today.

I spent 13 years in Texas and will not return other than to be a tourist. Not a cultural fit for me. I agree about 3 months.
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: TBird1958 on September 13, 2013, 08:24:24 PM


 It's been an awesome Washington Summer!

Go Cougs!!!!!!!!

Have a great day Al!
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Pilgrim on September 13, 2013, 08:34:06 PM
GO COUGS!
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Dave W on September 13, 2013, 10:04:49 PM
Glad you're all safe.

From my younger son tonight: "Arrived in Denver just in time for a once-in-a-quarter-century flood. Impeccable timing!"
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Highlander on September 14, 2013, 02:45:00 AM
Minor flooding in places over here but nothing like that as of yet... global warming raining...
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: rahock on September 14, 2013, 06:14:12 AM
Move your Genz Benz to high ground buddy ;D
Rick
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Pilgrim on September 14, 2013, 07:22:35 AM
Move your Genz Benz to high ground buddy ;D
Rick

The only room in the house with potential for seepage is this one with my basses in it..but they are all at least 4 inches off the floor and the worst I think could happen is damp carpet. The heavy rains before we left created no problems at all. I think it will be ok.
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: drbassman on September 14, 2013, 08:53:03 AM
Good to hear!  Stay high and dry!
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Lightyear on September 14, 2013, 09:16:39 AM
So where does all of this runoff wind up?  Does it head towards Lake Mead?  I've read several things lately that say that Lake Mead could be dry in the next 25 years.
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: TBird1958 on September 14, 2013, 10:21:08 AM
So where does all of this runoff wind up?  Does it head towards Lake Mead?  I've read several things lately that say that Lake Mead could be dry in the next 25 years.


 I *think* Lake Mead is on the wrong side of the Rockies, Buzz  :o
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: godofthunder on September 14, 2013, 02:32:09 PM
 Here's hoping for a nice dry house when you get home! Floods, landslides I'll take snow any day.
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Lightyear on September 14, 2013, 02:44:20 PM

 I *think* Lake Mead is on the wrong side of the Rockies, Buzz  :o

 :P :P :P  In *this* case it turns out that I am smarter than a third grader!  ;D

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/change-the-course/colorado-river-map/

Although, I must confess I had to do a little research to make sure  ;)

Checks this out on Lake Meade's shrinking water level:

http://www.weather.com/news/science/environment/drought-lake-powell-lake-mead-climate-change-20130818
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Dave W on September 14, 2013, 02:48:10 PM
Here's hoping for a nice dry house when you get home! Floods, landslides I'll take snow any day.

Same here.
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Lightyear on September 14, 2013, 02:58:27 PM
Same here.

I've spent my entire life here on the gulf coast and I have lived through countless major floods, rode out two hurricanes and have boarded up and evacuated far too many times.  I'm not a big fan of snow but when I retire it will be some place out of the flood zone and I'm snake bit enough that no matter where I retire to I will always settle on high ground.
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: TBird1958 on September 14, 2013, 03:02:31 PM
:P :P :P  In *this* case it turns out that I am smarter than a third grader!  ;D

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/change-the-course/colorado-river-map/

Although, I must confess I had to do a little research to make sure  ;)

Checks this out on Lake Meade's shrinking water level:

http://www.weather.com/news/science/environment/drought-lake-powell-lake-mead-climate-change-20130818


 Boulder is on the East slope.....So I think we're feeding the Mississippi....Either that or I gotta lay off the Percaset (Had a Root Canal yesterday)
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Lightyear on September 14, 2013, 09:16:02 PM
Well, Crap!  You may indeed be right even under the influence! ;)

Says on Wiki that the head waters are La Poudre Pass Lake - here's the map:

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=la+poudre+pass+lake&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x87699fa5d8e4a3f7:0xe6a7d70a1983b6ff,La+Poudre+Pass+Lake&gl=us&ei=4zI1UuO-GsPV2AWaiYHIAQ&ved=0CIoBELYD

Still not that far off - at least I updated my Colorado geography skills  :-[
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: the mojo hobo on September 15, 2013, 01:12:58 PM
The Colorado river runs through the Grand Canyon, and then to Lake Mead. Most of the State of Colorado drains to the Mississippi.

(http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/rivers/map.GIF)
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Pilgrim on September 15, 2013, 05:30:49 PM
It eventually drains into the gulf of CA at its northern tip - but many years it's so heavily used that there is no outflow.

I'm home and checked everything - house is in good shape, no leaks.  We only got another 3" or so of rain while gone - but the situation west of us is extremely bad.  Thousands of people are our of homes, at least six are known dead, and Estes Park is essentially cut off - about 17 miles of the road going up that canyon have been stripped to bedrock.

It's still raining outside.

Preliminary announcement is that CSU will be open tomorrorow, but it's a daylight call for them.  Many employees are homeless or can't get to campus because of roads washed out.  Boulder is much worse....it appears the worst rain happened in an area from Longmont to Boulder and north to Estes Park.

Here's a link to our local newspaper - plenty of info.  http://www.coloradoan.com/ (http://www.coloradoan.com/)

Here's a gallery of photos: http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/15/us/colorado-flooding/ (http://tp://www.cnn.com/2013/09/15/us/colorado-flooding/)

(http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130913224052-04-flooding-0913-horizontal-gallery.jpg)
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: drbassman on September 16, 2013, 10:09:30 AM
Glad you're safe and dry.  My brother-in-law is in Erie, not far from Longmont, but he's on higher ground.  His office in Boulder was flooded, so it's all depends on where you live/work.
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Pilgrim on September 16, 2013, 09:16:31 PM
Latest numbers tonight...1500 homes wiped out.  8 known dead, more than 600 missing but the missing numbers are dropping as more phone signals come back into service. More than 500 "Blackhawked" out of cut-off flood areas tonight.

The road to Estes Park up Big Thompson Canyon may be out of service for more than a year - the sheriff said that it looked like 17 miles of it were washed out to bedrock.

(http://mediacenter.smugmug.com/photos/i-29jhTkK/0/L/i-29jhTkK-L.jpg)

Here are some photos from the canyon:

(http://mediacenter.smugmug.com/photos/i-KjvT5zD/0/L/i-KjvT5zD-L.jpg)

(http://mediacenter.smugmug.com/photos/i-nPjrs89/0/L/i-nPjrs89-L.jpg)

(http://mediacenter.smugmug.com/photos/i-D3SBMFf/0/L/i-D3SBMFf-L.jpg)

(http://mediacenter.smugmug.com/photos/i-2MBQP5V/0/L/i-2MBQP5V-L.jpg)

Lots of photos by the Denver Post at:

http://photos.denverpost.com/2013/09/14/photos-colorado-flood-damage-aerial-views/
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Dave W on September 17, 2013, 09:01:28 AM
Al, which highway to Estes Park is that?
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Pilgrim on September 17, 2013, 11:09:27 AM
Al, which highway to Estes Park is that?

There's one main highway - Highway 34, which comes from I-25 through Loveland and goes up the Big Thompson river canyon 20+ miles to Estes Park.  There is a smaller road (Highway 7) that goes through other mountain towns, but it adds close to 2 hours to the trip.  The third option is Trail Ridge Road, the highest paved road in the US, which goes through Rocky Mt National park and over the mountain to the far side.  It's closed due to snow about 6-8 months of the year.

The road that's wiped out is the main highway up the canyon...same canyon that has a flash flood in 1976 which killed around 140 people.  It's a VERY deep and rocky canyon, and much of the highway was elevated on piers above the river - which wasn't enough in this event.

Here are a couple of pix showing how spectacular, rocky and narrow the canyon is in many areas.  Take that road out, even in the areas where the canyon bottom is 100 yards wide (about as wide as it gets in much of its length) and there's not much to drive on.

(http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/38/69/38696c3e62b2768b9a0b95214b5611db.jpg?itok=HFBoQaUR)
(http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/image_content_width/hash/91/08/9108388af3086dff0e7c78e94fc0d7f1.jpg?itok=3piTUnUP)

Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Dave W on September 17, 2013, 07:49:03 PM
That's the one I've been on, although it's been many years. That will be a huge reconstruction project.
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Highlander on September 18, 2013, 03:34:17 PM
Terrible thing to say, but someone is going to profit from it... :-\
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Pilgrim on September 18, 2013, 06:08:20 PM
Terrible thing to say, but someone is going to profit from it... :-\

The company that rebuilds the road(s) and bridges will provide a lot of jobs for a few years. 
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Highlander on September 19, 2013, 01:45:54 PM
That's a positive spin...
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Pilgrim on September 19, 2013, 05:26:49 PM
We're about to have a boom in road, bridge and construction jobs, home sanitation, carpeting, roofing, landscaping...pretty much anything associated with recovery and rebuilding.
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: drbassman on September 19, 2013, 06:59:16 PM
I hope reconstruction goes well for everyone.  It is so hard to even imagine what you have to endure.  Blessings to all!
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Pilgrim on September 19, 2013, 08:41:02 PM
News articles now indicate there will be a lot of gravel roads going in, and for some of the 50+ bridges taken out, they may bring in military temp bridges. Gonna be a lot of s-l-o-w bridge crossings around!
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Pilgrim on September 28, 2013, 08:17:47 AM
Hey folks...there are some videos I found that give you a look at things earlier this month...pardon the 15-second ads at the front of most clips..no way around them. The flooding has subsided although some low areas still have significant pooling, but now it's rebuild time.  I believe we lost about 50 bridges in my county (Larimer) and some may be replaced temporarily with military river-fording bridges.

Here's one that give you a look at the Big Thompson Canyon, the primary route up to Estes Park:  

http://www.coloradoan.com/videonetwork/2691095438001?nclick_check=1

EDIT - hit the links at the bottom of this video for more of the flooding impacts.

Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Dave W on September 28, 2013, 01:08:16 PM
Al, all four links take me to the same video, the first one. Firefox with AdBlock eliminates the ads, I thought that might be affecting it, so tried the links in IE, all are still going to the Big Thompson Canyon video.
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Pilgrim on September 28, 2013, 04:20:58 PM
Thanks, Dave - post revised.  Just play through the first one and more links appear at the bottom.  Sorry for the error!
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: Dave W on September 28, 2013, 09:43:22 PM
Thanks, Al. The one of the water rushing through downtown Estes Park makes you thankful that the death toll wasn't higher.
Title: Re: Pilgrim?
Post by: uwe on September 30, 2013, 05:39:50 AM
We're about to have a boom in road, bridge and construction jobs, home sanitation, carpeting, roofing, landscaping...pretty much anything associated with recovery and rebuilding.

Whenever something like that happens in a country that can afford the rebuilding (and all Western countries generally can), it actually does boost the gross national product. To me that doesn't show the cynic side of capitalism, but human spirit in the face of adverse odds. Happy - and safe - rebuilding and I'm happy too that there were not more casualities.