Horray - The Wicked Silt Run is Dead

They said the lake would be full and ready for recreation by July 30, and they were most correct.

The lake looks great, very blue.

People are out and about, including a swimmer in this photo.


Can you see him?

The Lake is full and so is the river, spillway is running strong and kids are floating the river.

 

Friends of Guernsey State Park

The lake is filling and will be ready for full recreation, once again, this weekend. We watched boats and skiers Saturday.

For everyone who reads this blog there will be a, Friends of Guernsey State Park, meeting at the park Museum at 1:30 on August 17.

If you are not a member, show up, pay your dues, they aren’t much, and help make this park even better. This meeting will include election of officers and discussion of some funds committed to projects from the friends.

Another Summer Sunset at the Castle

Come Join the Fun!

The Silt Run is On

Where’s the water, oh no, it’s the annual silt run from Guernsey Lake. Yep the lake is empty, only the river runs through the park right now. But don’t be too disappointed, the state parks people assure us it will be full again by the end of July. The park still offers much, even when the lake is down - our favorite, wildlife watching, we caught this young gal, at the top of the page, snacking a half hour before sunset.

We took a drive out last evening, still seem to be quite a few campers around despite the lack of enough water for boats. I remember hearing, years ago, that the silt run was a relic of the past that didn’t work, and likely never did flush enough silt downstream to do any good. Many of us believed it would soon end and the lake would be full all summer, and this was 25 years ago. Well, the silt run continues, and it is still debatable if it works or not.

Meanwhile the smoke drifting into Wyoming from the fire in Idaho made for a nice sunset last evening. And a bit after the sunset the sky  still had brushstrokes of great color. 

The Spanish Diggings

At one time the state of Wyoming wanted to add the area of the Spanish Diggings north and east of the park to Guernsey State Park.

 Very little is known of the first inhabitants of the American west. The people before the horse came into everyday use. The horse made movement much easier and spurred on the hunting culture of the first tribes to live in the Great Plains and mountain west.

But we know there were people here before the horse, long before, in the case of the Spanish Diggings in Platte and Niobrara counties Wyoming. The diggings could be as new as, 300 years, but most archeologists guess they are closer to several thousand years of age. Best guess’s put the age at around 5,000 years.

Before being picked over by souvenir hunters and amateur archeologists the diggings showed a rich history of early Indian activities, long before the better known, westward expansion and Indian wars time. Hand axes, scrappers, grinders, choppers, hoes, arrowheads, spearheads and the stone hammers they used to chip away material to make the implements were found by the dozens. The dark brown and gray quartzite, from the diggings, was especially popular because of its extreme hardness and ability to sharpen to a nice edge.

The quarries were worked for many years, as evidenced by the debt of the digs, in some places up to 30 feet. Universities and historians continue to study the area but most of what we know about these first people is pure speculation.

What we do know is that activities by early people took place in Wyoming over 4,000 years before the first European reached American soil.

Don’t we all wish time-travel was possible so that we could go back and take a look? Who knows? Life then might look pretty good to many of us today.

The Museum in the park has a nice display about the Spanish Diggings.

Find the Spanish Diggings display here

If you have never visited the museum, why not this summer? You will love it!

People and Heat

Great 4th of July celebration in Guernsey. The campsites in the park were full as were the campsites south of Guernsey in Larson Park.

It was hot, but it is July. Maybe this view of the waterfall across the spillway will create a cool feeling. We seem to make a quick trip out whenever it is too hot and we know the river is running fast.

 

In Town the 4th of July parade was terrific, complete with the Little League champs.

 

And to top off the celebration - a movie in the park with the grandkids

 

How could any 4th of July weekend be complete without a walk in the park?

 

Our view from the trail