More Fraser River

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   Our weekend drives take us to some curious places. On Saturday, we set out with only the vaguest of plans...to explore lengths of the Fraser River as it finally starts to recede after recent floods.

Since our favourite way to spend rainy days is tooling along in the car with the music cranked, we set Sirius radio to the Bluegrass station and chewed up the miles effortlessly.

 After the inevitable stop at Starbucks for chai tea lattes, we soon found ourselves in Matsqui, standing ankle-deep in yet another washed-out park.

 Once again, warning signs were being ignored, though not in the numbers we encountered last week in Langley.

 Local wildfowl are loving the wet weather. Canada Geese have happily taken over the former picnic grounds, and a stately Great Grey Heron picked his way delicately through the new wetlands, not seeming to mind our quiet presence.

The arrival of a rowdier set of visitors, however, gave him reason to flee.

 Under the steel girder bridge that crosses the river into Mission, we checked out  the water gauge with its measure of previous floods.

 Of course, we crossed the bridge into Mission and continued driving. One can never go home the same way one has come, after all!

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Remembering earlier visits, we made our way to Stave Lake, a hydroelectric reservoir where the now-decommissioned generating station acts as a visitor centre.

 From inside the gift shop, I could see a tiny boat on the sparse riverbed below that I wanted to photograph, but could not capture  it through the wired windows.

Although it was almost closing time, the staff cheerfully gave us permission to make our way down to an outdoor viewing  platform. To my delight, we were allowed to descend, unescorted, down steep stairways,  passing banks of huge, yet silent, turbine engines. 

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I stopped to take a few quick shots as we flew past. I have no idea how any of these machines operate, but their sheer bulk and bold colours definitely captured my photographer's eye.

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Stave Lake itself was fenced off, a necessary deterrent to incautious people like us who might proceed in spite of the risk involved.

(It may not surprise you to learn that we did manage to find a small chink in the armour.)

                    Eventually, we settled a while to watch ducklings get their bearings on a nearby pond,until a fresh cluster of showers convinced us it was time to wend our way homeward.

I am submitting this post to Weekend Reflections...do stop by to see what others have captured in their lens...

http://weekendreflection.blogspot.ca/

The Fraser River

With snow melt and bountiful rain, the Fraser River is overflowing its banks, and once again, my husband and I risk being labeled as scofflaws.

Given our shared fascination with water in all its forms, we took ourselves up to Derby Reach this weekend, one of our favourite Langley spots to visit.

 Over the years, we've seen this river at times fiercely frozen, and even seen it dwindled markedly in the heat of summer...but never have we seen it overflowing. Mindful that flooding puts people at risk, we simply could not resist a chance to see the river cresting.

 We found the parking lot full, though the camp ground host had sensibly pulled out his trailer, and large signs made clear the inadvisability of entering the camp sites.

In our defense, there were a good number of us squeezing by the warning signs for a peek.

 Still, it must be said that of the dozens of adults and children lining the riverbank, we were the only two who ploughed along the flooded road to see how deep the water got...well above my knees, as we went further along!

 Somewhere in the heavens, I'm sure my mother looked down, tsk-tsking about her flighty daughter, (who never had an ounce of sense), and bemoaning the muddy ruin of a perfectly good summer frock!

Sorry, Mum...but we enjoyed our whimsy. Of course, when the weather took a turn with wind and rain battering against my bare arms and sodden dress, I might have questioned the veracity of our decision, had I any sense indeed.

 We saw one adventuresome couple who'd carried in wood and built a fire...several fishermen who threw in their lines with optimistic enthusiasm, and when the sun put in a very brief appearance, it became just another Sunday in the park. It seems we're all so desperate for summer on the Lower Mainland that we'll celebrate the season, no matter what the weather throws at us!

With any luck, the river has done all it means to, and further damage can be averted.  Our prayers go out to those in peril and our heartfelt wish that they stay safe.