Winter White :: Thursday

Exploring at the reservoir, a strange mix of ice, sand, and water formed by water, wind, fluctuating temperatures, and, of course, a large dose of human intervention and destruction.  We were trying to get out there all yesterday afternoon but didn't manage to do so until shortly before sunset.  Then, my camera batteries died not long afterwards.  The pictures are a little dark and we didn't stay long anyways, as the already 10 degree F temperature dropped quickly along with the sunlight.

It's hard to believe that we'd be in well up over our heads here if it were summertime when the reservoir is full of water.  I've heard what an extraordinarily beautiful valley this was before they dammed and flooded it in the mid 70's, in the process, relocating an entire town out of the flood zone to a new, more planned, and thus likely more stale, version of its former self.  There's a sadness to this area for me.  There such a feeling of the contrived about it.  Still, we try to enjoy it for what it is, for the swimming in the summer time and the wide open quiet solitude it provides in the winter time.  The 90 mile long "lake" is surrounded now by (I don't like using this word) virtually all public forest service land.   

Comments

[Jenny]

Beautiful photos.

[Amber]

I can relate. There are so many areas around here like that (resevoirs). I remember listening to my mom tell the stories of a small community and park that were flooded when they built a large dam nearby. It always held a strange fascination for me (as a child, I pictured the houses still down there, under so much water). As I grew older, I learned about Celilo Falls north of here on the Columbia, and to this day I still feel sadness that it was ever flooded. Now, that would never have been allowed.

Your photos are beautiful. Very winter white!

[marti]

Those are incredible photos!

[Katie]

Wow, I know it shouldn't really be there but those ice/sand formations are magical. I just can't imagine temperatures that cold.

[Lizz]

Flathead Lake?

[janine]

Wow those are absolutley stunning photographs - I ahve never seen anything quite like that before and you have captured the depth of colour beautifully. Thanks for sharing them.

[sarah brundage]

great area. vacationed there once. i love the photos, beautiful yet heartbreaking at the same time.

[Siri]

"Lake" Koocanusa. Even the name is contrived, a mix of the first three letters of the river that was dammed, "Kootenai", the first three letters of Canada, and USA, since it spans the border. We'd lived here several years before I figured out where the name came from and it almost made me nauseous.

[knitnana]

Wow. Stunning photos!
(((hugs)))

[Elizabeth]

Beautiful photos, though as you say, there is always a feeling of sadness to these vast desolate landscapes in winter.

[Julia]

Although it isn't what it used to be, it has a stark beauty of its own. These are great photos. I especially like the top one.

[SpiderWomanKnits]

Absolutely. Stunning.