It rained and rained and the rained somemore.....

[RVMOMNDAD]

As I have shared in other posts, at this time my DH and I live in a TT in a campground on the South Umpgua River in Southern Oregon.  Now during the summer months when you can go for ever and a day without seeing a cloud in the sky, the river tends to look more like a slow moving shallow creek.  Somedays it moves so slowly, you swear if you threw a stick into it one day and left and returned the next day the stick would be floating in the same spot.   But then comes winter.  And in this part of Oregon winter does not mean snow--at our elevation---it means rain.  And let me tell you, over the past two weeks that is all we have had....rain, rain, rain.  Having come from Iowa on the old Mississippi River, where flooding means FLOODING!, I was very nervous about the rising water.  DH and others laughed at me, and said that no matter how much rain we got the river would never rise 30 feet to come over the banks and up to our camper.  So last Friday, after checking the water level, DH and I decided to treat ourselves to a couple of hours at the casino.  After arriving home at 7 p.m. and checking the river level, I wanted to call our brother-in-law to tow us to higher ground.  The river had risen to with about 5 feet of the banks, it was pouring, and I did want to be calling during the middle of the night for a tow-out.  (No we do not have a TV at this time--engine blew up a couple of months back)  DH said not to be silly and went to bed early, after putting a stick at the water edge.  He said if the water gets to the top of the path that we walk down to go fishing to let him know.  I got busy on the computer and told myself I would not check the water level until the 11 p.m. news came on.  About 10;15 there was a knock on the door.   Waters rising a neighboor hollored out.  I yelled to DH to get up, pulled on a pair of sweats and tucked nightgown into, put on my shoes and coat and out the door I went.  The water was about a foot from going over the bank.  DH still thought it unnecessary to move, but with my gentle yet loud persuasion, he called his brother.  Out we went in the pouring rain to unhook water, sewer, roll up awnings, move grill and lawn chairs, and batten down the hatches.  The park was alive with activity and everyone had different opinions--the river had crested, the river hadn't crested, no more rain was expected, it was going to rain for the next week.  The camp host came by and said that we were on the low side of the park and he would move if it where him.  I called family in Iowa to let the know we'd be without phone for a few days, emailed friends, and the brother in law came and moved us to a higher spot.  Then we spent another hour leveling, rehooking and rehashing what the river would do.  The next moring DH goes down to gossip with the other men in the office.  Well, come to find out the river rose to that level, not because of the rain, but because someone upriver decided at 6 p.m. to open the dam up on the reservior and did not notify anyone to be aware of rising water.  Two towns downstream had flooding.   So now we are back home, safe and sound.......but I would not have traded that experience for anything in the world.  I met more people and saw more "let's all pull together" in those few short hours, than I have in the 6 months I have lived hear.  About 20 campers were ready and hooked up to head to higher ground even if it meant going down to a nearby rest area.  Yet they all made sure that those who did have a tow vehicle, or whose spouse was working, or the older persons had the help the needed.   It, funny enough, was a great way to begin the New Year!!

[AustinBoston]

...Well, come to find out the river rose to that level, not because of the rain, but because someone upriver decided at 6 p.m. to open the dam up on the reservior and did not notify anyone to be aware of rising water.  Two towns downstream had flooding...

More damage is done in this world by seemingly intelligent people making incompetent decisions than by all the malicious acts of man combined.

Austin