Let’s get back to it! There’s too much to do to be editing pix. I’d rather be out taking them … but the more I take, the more I want to share!
Yesterday in the post, I had made my way up-valley and shared what the erosion spot at Lake Disappointment looked like pre-fix, post-fix and post-more rain (!). More kudos go out to Denny and the San Miguel County crew; Denny at least was out with the grader. I don’t have a *current* post-yesterday’s fix, but I may slip that in at a later point. If you can believe it, more rain is due as I’m drafting this Wednesday afternoon.
I had gotten to a point overlooking a very flooded stretch of Disappointment Creek and was marveling at the astounding amount of water rampaging through the willows and tamarisk and cottonwoods, including adjacent areas that don’t usually carry regular creek water. Again, words like “regular” and “normal” are just out the window currently, let alone the last many years.
So let’s pick it up at the bridge over Disappointment Creek just below and west of the point where the southwestern corner of Spring Creek Basin meets Disappointment Road.
This is looking at downstream-rolling (running to the left) Disappointment Creek on Thursday, Oct. 22. The treed hill at farthest right and the ridge at far left are southwestern Spring Creek Basin. Foreground is private land.
From the south side of the same bridge, looking upstream at the creek water barreling toward us and under the bridge. The land on this side is BLM but not part of Spring Creek Basin.
By Monday, Oct. 26, this was the view looking downstream. The green cottonwood in the middle of the water two pix above is the one at right.
By Monday, Nov. 2, after a full day of rain, Disappointment Creek was swollen again. This was the same day as the panorama view in yesterday’s post – completely over any and all banks.
And the view looking upstream from the other side of that bridge. There’s a bend there, and there’s another bend upstream of it, so when the water hits that bend under the old pipe (from the irrigation-ditch days), the water was absolutely boiling. It’s hard to tell, but the flooding was more widespread this day than the first pix of this area, though I didn’t capture it very well with these pix.
And by the next day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, the water had dropped significantly again.
Hey, look at me, out in the middle of the muddy-water creek! Ha. That brown around the cottonwood is just mud again.
And up-valley we go.
On the way, still Nov. 3, I don’t think I’ve shown this view in any of these posts. Lone Cone, 12,618 feet, is the snow-covered peak in the distance. Brumley Point is the broad-based, flattish topped hill in the middle ground. Temple Butte, of course, is the promontory behind it. I’m on Disappointment road looking … I guess this is more eastish than anything … and on the other side of the fence is Spring Creek Basin. Brumley Point is on the basin’s southeastern boundary.
I’ve shared this view before. Note the snow in the pines atop the ridges on either side of Temple Butte. When I talked to Larry W, the Dolores County road-maintenance guy, he said that on Monday, Nov. 2, there was about 3 inches of snow at the T where Disappointment Road meets Dolores-Norwood Road. That’s only another 14 or so (?) miles up-valley from this point. But it’s why we say UP-valley is southeast: The elevation rises to the south/southeast/east in this neck of the high-desert-to-mountainous region.
In this case, the above pic is the “before” to the “after” above this one. This was Nov. 2, just a couple of hours after the rain stopped. The clouds were still heavy over parts of Disappointment Valley – including the eastern/northeastern ridges. Temple Butte is under that cloud. Note the snow at sort of mid-right. Inside the fence is Spring Creek Basin. Black Snag Road (and Disappointment Creek) is behind me to the south.
Now that we’re there, let’s check out the rise and fall of Disappointment Creek over Black Snag Road (nope, it’s still not there, no matter the water level).
And back to Oct. 22. This is Black Snag Road; the creek is ahead of me, and Disappointment Road is behind me. This is before Dolores County closed the road. (I think Mother Nature did rather a good job of closing the road (uh, “road”) at the creek crossing, whether the road was muddy, as pictured, or dry.)
This was my first view of Disappointment Creek there, and I was amazed then (Oct. 22).
By Oct. 26, the county had closed the road (or at least put up the sign), but people were still checking it out. None of those tire tracks are mine; I wisely parked at Disappointment Road and walked the 100 or so yards to the creek.
The water level was down to peaceful levels, and plenty of rocks of all sizes were exposed – right in the middle of where the road used to be. Upstream is behind me to the left, and downstream is on to the right.
Oct. 31 – Halloween. People were attempting to cross below the old road. Directly across the water is a great slab of bedrock before the dirt of the road goes uphill to the right.
It rained all day Nov. 1 and into the morning of Nov. 2.
I was awed by the creek in various places before I even got to Black Snag Road, but for the sake of simplicity (and photo-editing), I’m going to stick to the point where Disappointment Creek crosses what used to be (and will be again) Black Snag Road.
The morning of Nov. 2, after the steady, daylong rain. Where are all those rocks? Under all that water. This was more water than the previous flooding.
Nov. 3: Ah, right, there are the rocks. If you think they’re different rocks and/or moved, you’re right. Such is the power of flooding water. Notice the debris on the far side; that was high water.
Two more pix because I love this cottonwood tree:
Nov. 2: Rollin’ like a river. This is just upstream of the crossing formerly known as Black Snag Road. 🙂
And Nov. 3. Note the snow on the mountain in the far distance.
Disappointment Valley got another brief rainstorm (lightning, yes; thunder, yes) yesterday. No more super flooding. I’d like to show ya’ll some before/after pix of Spring Creek rolling under Disappointment Road down-valley, but my brain is tired, so that’ll be a phase 3 post. I’ve been to the interior of Spring Creek Basin to see and cross Spring Creek just once recently (in the last two weeks?!), and it wasn’t much changed except for a LOT more rock at the approach (southish side). I’m guessing it will be much more changed by the time I’m able to get in next … and I can’t wait to see the mesteños! I’m going through withdrawals!
We have needed this moisture all year (at least). It’s a little rough getting it all at once, but I am nothing if not GRATEFUL. It hopefully will put us in a little better situation than before the rains.
We didn’t have the damage of many, many other places in the Four Corners region (neither do we have the population). After 2 historic floods, southwestern Colorado now assessing damage.
