Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Eleven Feet Higher and Rising

Today we had an appointment with our dentist in Montpelier.  Doctor Hammond has been our dentist since he first moved to Montpelier right out of medical school.  In fact I was his very first patient when he took over his brother's practice several years ago.  He is such a kind and thoughtful person, not to mention his obviously great skills as a dentist, so when we moved to Logan three years ago we determined to keep him as our dentist so long as we can make it back over the mountain to Bear Lake.  Of course, a trip to the dentist  and to Bear Lake means a lot more than just getting our teeth checked.  We haven't been over that way for several months and so we were interested to see the rising levels of the the lake, which we have been hearing about.  For several years the lake has been rather low due to the drought years and the use of the water stored in Bear Lake for irrigation and hydroelectric power downstream in lower valleys Idaho and Utah.  For many years locals have wondered if the lake would ever get back to its high water mark of years past.  Due to the  heavy snow pack in the Bear Lake and Bear River drainage this past winter the lake has risen a reported eleven feet (that represents a lot of snow flakes) and is nearing its capacity.  Water is still flowing into the lake at record levels as of today, July 6, 2011.  Not nearly as much beach as people have been used to, as you can see.
Oh, and our dental checkups were fine. I feel sorry for people who don't get to enjoy their trips to t

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