The Campfire Trail: May 1 - Resort Adventures

May 1, 2019

Day 121 - 244 Days to go

Base Camp Coffee of the Day: Lost on the Lake (again) or maybe Lost in the Lake

It's been right at two years since we experienced any flooding at the Rainbow Haven Resort. Two years of relative calm concerning the lake. That changed last night. After the tornado threat here had diminished, the heavy rain set in and Just.....Never.....Left!!!!! By 11 pm I could tell that the water was rising in the lake. It rises like this pretty frequently but normally kind of stalls out when it reaches bank full. There really isn't anything to contain it at the down-stream Powersite Dam. It simply goes over the top with nothing to restrict it, except it's own volume. Occasionally though the water coming into the lake can surpass the volume leaving and then look out. When I woke up around 2am, I could see that it was leaving it's banks. I still held out hope until 2:30 that the outflow would keep up with the inflow. By 2:30, it was becoming clear that wasn't happening.

I got dressed and headed out in the rain to get the few things I'd rather not do ahead of time just in case it's a false warning. Things like securing the Gas tank, moving the laundry and laundry equipment and securing furniture around the fire pit. While moving the laundry the water came across the road and began to enter the laundry room. My friend Joe at Mid River Marina called to see if I needed anything and was happy to deliver a couple wrenches to me to disconnect the washers and dryers. By 3:30 there was about a foot of water in the laundry room as I removed the last of the equipment. Exhausted, I went to bed and decided the rest could wait until morning.

By noon the next day, the water had mostly receded. The Corp of Engineers notified us they would be opening overflow gates at Table Rock sometime after lunch but the water continued to drop so I think if noting changes, we're going to be okay. I went around and did an equipment check and everything at the resort is working normally. I even took a little time to vacuum the pool and it's looking really good. (In fact I was VERY tempted to jump in)

I had to deliver a boat over near the treehouses today and got to sit with Paul and Randy by the fire with a cup of coffee. At least that started the day on a good note.

More rain is in the forecast tonight, but I'm feeling hopeful that we won't have to deal with "Lake in the buildings" again tonight. BUT.....Time will tell!

The Last Resort Project: HA!!!! All I did there was deliver a trailer load of laundry machines there to ride out the flood!

“Start each day as a great adventure.”
― Debasish Mridha