Floods

The time line is going to get really messed up for a little bit. I came across an old photobucket account that stirred up some adventures. In the past I've had a bad habit of "cleaning house", thinking I wouldn't need certain pictures or materials anymore. I still do it to this day. As always a day comes and I think about how I should've kept some things. Fortunately I forgot about photobucket and pictures sat there. I figured it was a good opportunity to transfer them over and put back them back to use.

I did take pictures of the flood in 2006. Those I deleted at one time and are now lost. However the flood of 2011 remains. Hooray! The two major floods of this area presented an interesting time for me. Flood of 2006 was a surprise one week vacation. I spent much of it drinking Johnny Walker and zipping around on the motorcycle, going through barricades and tearing down closed streets. 2011 was similar. I didn't have a week but I did get some surprise time off. I went out on foot for most of it as I lived near the river.

It's worth noting the quality of the pictures are a little behind. This was basic flip phone era. It took me awhile to jump on the smart phone bandwagon. As usual I fight new technology as my "old" tech still works fine. Businesses have their way to force it onto you though and eventually I gave in. Having a pretty good camera on me at all times is the best benefit of a smart phone for me.

Water is about 30 feet higher than normal. This bridge may have been closed. I only stood there for a few minutes and could see the water continue to rise.

Oh no! Over it goes. At one time I was looking at this apartment complex. Noted for the future. It was pretty cool watching this event occur in the matter of seconds. Mother nature at her best/worst.

My brother lived in the area also. We walked down to the flood wall. The water is normally nowhere near this. Would it crest the wall? I stuck around for awhile to see if it would, as if it did, there was a lot of low lying areas that would fill up quick. Didn't do so in my presence.

I guess it was just a matter of time. It's really hard for me to resist exploring on two wheels. This way I could see more carnage in less time. Efficiency! Until I got a flat tire from riding through poopoo. Figures. But that was later in the day, well worth it.

Normally a timid creek engulfed a lot of acreage on this day. There was actually a car in there somewhere.

Another creek that turned into a monster. My destination was on the other side. I thought about turning around. Then I thought about not turning around.

Easy. Okay it wasn't really a question of being passable or not. Some firemen were there and they yelled something at me. Shut it.

This was the reason for the road damage. Fallen trees damned up the waterway under a bridge. The loader tried unjamming the logs and ended up in the creek itself. Oops!

There be lots of water! Although not my first flood, its still astonishing how quickly the water runs off into the river creating a force that man can not stop. I'm completely fascinated by extreme weather and someday I'll live somewhere that has more. I suppose I have a positive outlook on it since I've never been a victim of extreme weather. Minor hail damage maybe.

An island that is no more. Sometimes I want to just toss myself into a raft and see where the river takes me. I'm wise enough to know better but the urge is still there. It'll aways be there. I do have a backburner idea of a kayak trip to the Chesapeake Bay from my area. Its possible. I think.

Final flood picture. Its a bit of an illusion. From a distance it would seem kinda normal. This lot has flooded many times prior and Kmart has been on the edge of being shut down. I think this finally did it in. The reflection in person was very deceiving. It's deep enough to cover a car in the middle.

I've always wondered why build things so close to water. I understand water is a life necessity. Flooding is not exactly a recent problem. Our brief history on this planet is littered with flood carnage. I've always been an elevation kind of person. Gotta get high.