Pat & Sharon O'Toole: Spring flooding

Today's headline in the Rawlins Daily Times reads "Baggs Preps for Floods." Many of us remember the great deluge in 1984, when the Little Snake River flooded the entire town. After weeks of a reluctant spring, temperatures finally rose to 70 degrees. We still have snow drifts in the shadows, and shy trees that are slow to unfurl their leaves. The National Guard has arrived to help fill sandbags and assist local residents if the river indeed overflows its banks. Highest water is predicted for tomorrow (May 21st), but we expect rain the following day. The 200 per cent snowpack is finally heading for the Colorado River. We expect gratitude from our Lower Basin friends!
melt%20water-Routt%20Forest-small.jpg
meltwater, Routt National Forest
Routt County, Colorado
photo by Pat O'Toole

Tennessee%20Creek%20flooding-small.jpg
Road at Tennessee Creek
Routt National Forest
photo by Pat O'Toole

Boyer%20bridge%20washed%20out%202-small.jpg
Boyer "bridge" on Savery Creek
north of Savery, Carbon County, Wyoming
photo by Pat O'Toole

filling%20sandbags-small.jpg
The National Guard has arrived!
Baggs, Wyoming
May 20, 2008
photo by Sharon O'Toole

filling%20sandbags%202-small.jpg
Look who's "manning" the shovel
Baggs, Wyoming
photo by Sharon O'Toole

bags%20along%20river-small.jpg
Sandbags along the Little Snake
Baggs, Wyoming
photo by Sharon O'Toole

Slater%20Creek-small.jpg
Slater Creek, rising
south of Slater, Colorado
Moffat County, Colorado
photo by Sharon O'Toole

Post a comment

(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comments: (you may use HTML tags for style)

About Pat & Sharon O'Toole

Pat and Sharon O’Toole are ranchers in the Little Snake River Valley near Savery, Wyoming, right on the Colorado-Wyoming border. They raise cattle, sheep, horses, dogs and children. Pat “immigrated” from Florida in 1970. He attended Colorado State University, where he met Sharon when both worked for the campus newspaper. Sharon grew up on their ranch, where they live and work with her father, their daughter, son and granddaughter (soon to be grandchildren!). Pat is a “water buffalo” and has served in the Wyoming House of Representatives (1986-1992), on the President’s Western Water Policy Review Advisory Commission, and is the current President of the Family Farm Alliance, which advocates for farmers, ranchers and irrigators. Sharon is an author, poet and journalist. She writes extensively on Western issues and is a columnist for “The Shepherd” magazine. Pat and Sharon are the parents of three children: Meghan, 27; Bridget, 26; and Eamon, 20.

Pat & Sharon O'Toole

Spring flooding

Post a comment

About Pat & Sharon O'Toole

Search

Archives

Recent Posts