Noah! Build me an Ark

We had a mini flood this week.

It only lasted the one day.

The water in the creek that runs through our front yard (the one the tax man wanted to charge me more taxes for) breached its banks and flooded our neighbrhood.

The reason for the flood was two fold. The first being a torrential rain storm which followed several days of really hot weather and the second was snow melt caused by that previous really hot weather.

The water that flows in the creek comes from the mountain snow melt and that water was slowed halted by a fallen tree and forest debris which caused  the back up.


These things (floods) never happen during the day - always at night when its difficult to see if you've lost a kid in the current.

This was the first time in 18 years that the water went over our bridge as well as under.
That's not snow that you see but a foam created from the currents mixing up the debris.
It's like the frappe setting on your blender.

There's a bridge under that icy cold water.

Dilemma.
Drive across or walk across? 

There is no other access and there is no way in hell I am missing Ladies Night!

(FYI - I drove over it)

Neighbors , from the top of the street to the bottom, were out sandbagging; those on the down side getting hit around the ankles with my newly purchased mulch that was being washed away.

In its place was debris coming from all houses upstream.
I'm sure this year instead of clown poppies I will be getting burdocks and other equally nasty weeds.

Also being washed away from our yard was about six quite large piles of gardening waste that I had not yet loaded into the back of the pick up truck.

Someone will be annoyed to have that left on their lawn.

This is the scene the next morning.
Yes, that's my car.  The water had receded enough that I could drive down the road when I came home at 1:00 in the AM.
Part of the driveway had washed away so I walked across the bridge.
I could see the planks so I knew it was safe to walk.

See on the right?  No mulch  - just a lot of silt.
Still a bit of water trickling down the road but the district crews, firemen and neighbors did a great job of removing the blockages and sandbagging the low spots.

I spoke highly of them while warm and dry at Ladies Night.

This is the day after the following morning.  The water is off the lawn and the bridge is still there and safe to drive on.  No one was injured and no one suffered any real property damage.

All in all it was just an exciting adventure!
We were very lucky.