high water on Sand Creek

At pablo's request, I took this picture of Sand Creek from the road while walking Togo this afternoon. (It is very difficult to take a clear photo, in low light, when you have a very strong husky pulling at the leash!) When the water is this high, we can hear it rushing over a big beaver dam way back in the swamp.

About halfway up in the photo if you look to the left of the creek you can see the remains of an old logging railroad crossing. The logging railroad was in operation for a short time in the 1890's when there were still vast acreages of white pine around here. We have a friend who has found many artifacts of the railroad with his metal detector.

In front of the railroad crossing, which is much steeper than it looks in the photo, is the swimmin' hole. Twelve feet deep or more, with spring fed, cold water in the middle of summer. I'm sure a brook trout or two find refuge there. We have not been swimming there recently; we want to be confident that the kids can handle the deep, cold water. But if you have a big inner tube, there is a nice eddy current that will take you in lazy circles as long as you want.

At normal water levels, the nearest part of the creek would be about half that width, and run in two almost distinct channels.

I think this is as high as it will get; most of the snow has melted and run off. Our cabin and new house site are located on somewhat higher ground, a hundred yards or more away from the creek, which is mostly confined by old ditch banks. In other words, flooding has never been a concern.

It was incredibly quiet today as I walked with Togo. I think the frozen ground amplifies every sound, while the damp, thawing ground mutes sounds.