Mayfield Lake, Washington

 Karen and I enjoyed a trip from Vancouver, WA, to Lake Mayfield, WA.  It is about a 100 mile drive one way: north on Interstate 5 and east on Highway 12.  The drive from Mary's Corner to Morton, Randall, or Packwood is easy on Highway 12 which goes over White Mountain Pass and then to Yakima.  

Mick and April were camping at Ike Kinswa State Park near Mossyrock.  We joined them in the morning.  We both went on boat rides with Mick as the boatman driver.  We crossed Mayfield Lake from the dock near the bridge at the State Park.  Then we went up the Cowlitz River to below Mossyrock Dam.  A wonderful sightseeing excursion.  The weather was very overcast and threatening rain.  

Columbia River Kayaking

I have been reading many books about the Columbia River.  We also have traveled many places along the Columbia River.  I keep notes on our travels in Washington and Oregon on both a webpage and in this blog.   

Kayaking Alone.  By Mike Barenti.  Published by the University of Nebraska Press, 2008, 244 pages, bibliography.   This book tells about kayaking alone for 900 miles from Idaho's mountains to the Pacific Ocean.  He follows the Snake River from the mountains of Idaho until it reaches the confluence with the Columbia at the Tri-Cities Area of Pasco, Richland, and Kennewick.  The Yakima River also meets the Columbia in this area.  The author was a reporter for the Yakima newspaper for a number of years.  Then, he travels down the Columbia through the Gorge and then past Portland, Longview and onto Astoria.  He has many comments about the fish situation in the Columbia, the many dams, the dramatic views of the canyons and gorges, and the development of "civilization" along the Columbia.  He interviews many people on his solo journey in a kayak.  FVRL.  

 A River Lost: The Life and Death of the Columbia River.  By Blaine Harden.  W.W. Norton and Co., Revised 2012.  288 pages.  ISBN: 978-0393342567.  VSCL.  

Reading about Washington State

I use the Fort Vancouver Regional Library System (FVRL) [Three Creeks and Vancouver Mall libraries], and the Washington State University at Vancouver Library to borrow books about Washington State and the Northwest.  I also have purchased numerous books on these subjects since April of 2017 when we moved to Vancouver, Washington.  We have also traveled extensively in Washington  State.

Since childhood, I have always enjoyed reading books about travel, geography, science, technology, nature, and history.  Since 1998, I have done much more reading about Northern California, Oregon, and Washington. 

My next trip will be to explore the Klickitat River from Goldendale to White Salmon. 

Recently, I have read four books related to rivers or cities in Washington State.

Atomic Frontier Days: Hanford and the American West.  By John M. Findlay and Bruce W. Hevly.  Emil and Kathleen Sick Book Series in Western History and Biography.  University of Washington Press, 2011.  Index, bibliography, notes, 384 pages.  ISBN: 978-0295990972.  FVRL.  The story of the Hanford nuclear products production plants (1942-1990) and toxic nuclear waster storage (1950-) along the Columbia River; and the development of the nearby cities of Richmond, Kennewick, and Pasco, Washington. 

The Spokane River.  Edited by Paul Lindholdt.  University of Washington Press, 2018.  Index, biographies, reading list, 282 pages.  FVRL. 

Oregon River Maps and Fishing Guide.  Edited By Doug Rose.  Frank Amato Publications, 2014.  88 pages.  ISBN: 978-1571885142.  VSCL.  Many rivers flow north from the Oregon Cascades into the Columbia River: Willamette, Sandy, Hood, John Day, Deschutes.  Excellent resource for river trips and fishing. 


Washington River Maps and Fishing Guide.  Edited By Doug Rose.  Frank Amato Publications, 2013.  87 pages.  ISBN: 978-1571885135.  VSCL.  Excellent resource for river trips and fishing.  

Oroville Dam Crisis

Around 60 miles south of our home in Red Bluff is the giant Oroville Dam.  This rock and concrete dam is the tallest in the United States.   This dam is the cornerstore of the California Feather River Project beginning in the 1960's.

We have experienced very heavy rainfall in our Red Bluff area since November.  In the mountains to the east of our home (Lassen and Shasta to the north east; and the Northern Sierra and Feather River to the southeast), they are all covered with more than average snow down to 3,500'.  The wooded western foothills of these mountains have all experienced tremendous rainfall since November.  We have friends in these foothill areas (e.g., Grass Valley) talking to us about the violent winds and rainstorms this winter.  Friends living right on the Sacramento River in Red Bluff are very anxious about the rising river waters.

The Yolly Bolly mountains to the west drain mostly west to the Pacific, and are of little concern. However a few rivers draining east to the Sacramento River, like Cottonwood Creek, 20 miles north of Red Bluff, are over normal capacity.

Red Bluff, and all the towns 130 miles to the south to the city of Sacramento, are located in a valley. We are all downhill from water.

Shasta Dam, 50 miles to the north of us, also creates a massive reservoir of fresh water.

As I write, over 200,000 people have been evacuated south of the Oroville Dam.  Everyone fears that a breach in the Oroville Dam's spillway could send a wall of water 30 feet high bursting out of the dam.

Most of the devastation from a potential Oroville Dam spillway failure would be south of the dam - downhill.  However, such a disaster would also back up the Sacramento River (4 miles east of our home), and would increase flooding in our area.

Wait and worry!