Bear Lake Rising

Does anyone know where this boat ramp and marina is? It took me a minute when I first looked at the picture. Check out the cool lenticular clouds too. It is the marina and ramp on the south side of Gus Rich Point (Spinnaker). It hasn't looked like that since 1999 but it will this year. At a meeting this week, PacifiCorp predicted that Bear Lake would raise seven feet by July. That would put it at 5918 or close to normal. Goodbye beaches between Garden City and Laketown except Rendezvous Beach. Lake shore cabins will once again be by the lake. Nothing ever stays the same at Bear Lake.

April Snow

Now I have been a big proponent for lots of snow and runoff to bring Bear Lake back to normal water levels. After so many years of drought it was great so see above average snowfalls during the winter. There is over 1000 cfs coming through the Rainbow canal right now. Now, I have to admit, I am sick of it. I haven't seen the ground around my place since November. That was OK because there is a ton of dog bones and other debris under the snow, but we received another foot last night and more for the weekend. I have been dealing with flooding in Garden City for a week with more promised for the future. I broke a cable on my snow blower yesterday blowing out the travel trailer which I foolishly though we might use. All of the little birds are colored up for nesting but they face starvation now. I don't see deer anymore. I have lived at Bear Lake since 1974 and I can not recall seeing this much snow in April. I really don't know why I am whining. There is nothing I can do about it so I am happy that my family is healthy and I haven't sheared Maggie's winter coat yet.

Two warm days at Bear Lake

The high snow is settling but the low elevation stuff has started to melt. The irrigation canal that circles around Garden City is full of snow and ice. When the snow melt hits it, the water has no place to go. The result is overtopping the canal bank and heading down to the fields and houses below. What amazes me is how much the wetlands that have yet to be developed around the lake act as big sponges to tame the runoff. The whole situation is frustrating because in many cases you can't do anything about it. Mother Earth does what she wants. This is just the beginning since there is billions of gallons of water in the hills. Everyone thinks it is someone else's problem. No, you need to take care of your property and blame someone else later.

Pot Guts

As I drive drove off Laketown Canyon summit toward Randolph along at a spot in the wasn't much snow a lone Pot gut (Uinta Mountain groung squirrel) ran across the road. It was skinny and could hardly run. Everyone knows that I love to watch (and shoot) guts in the spring. They are also great indicators of what is going on in the high sagebrush desert. Their numbers had finally started to increase last year since lows during the drought years. As I looked around the snow covered landscape it dawned on me that there are millions of pot guts in their burrows, hungry as he'll almost ready to give birth that are under tons of snow that shows no sign of melting. Usually this time of year they are runing around eating new grass and just enjoying life. Not this year. It will be a while before they can see the sky. Mother Earth is this way and most aniamls have evolved do deal with these ups and downs. I don't know what spring? will bring us but time will tell. So, pot guts..hold on, spring will come eventually.

Bear River

When I was a kid growing up in Cache Valley I spent a lot of time messing around on the Bear River. We fished for catfish, hunted waterfowl and pheasants, and bow hunted carp. During all that time, I only ever saw the Bear River as a turbid slough filled with cattails and garbage. In the years to come I saw the upper Bear River as it came out of the Uintas. A clear small stream headed for Evanston. After Wyoming in turned into another slow dirty old stream. I recent years I have hunted waterfowl by Grace and in the Onidea Narrows and the stream was somewhat clear and very productive with aquatic life.

Jim Stone always told me how great the fishing was in those sections but I never truly believed him. Last week we went fishing and I figured I might learn to fly fish better but that was it. To my surprise we caught fish, on little tiny flies on fly rods. There wasn't any snow along the river and it was beautiful. It was great sport and now I am a believer in fishing the Bear.

Winter

The sun may be out, it is Daylight Saving Time tomorrow but it is still winter at the Bear Lake Marina. Most of the ice is off and there is a channel to get out but it will be a while before we can put boats into slips. Fear not....summer is on the way and there will be much more water in the lake.

Vacations

Vacations are the focus of Cisco's Landing. That is what we do. We try and make sure that every one that comes down the gangway on vacation has a wonderful time. Most of them, especially the "Dads" worry about how much everything will cost and if it is safe. The Mom's just want to have fun, have good service, lots of attention, get the kids to quit crying and really don't let money get in the way. This is because they usually pay all the bills and Dad has no idea where the money goes once he makes it. The kids just want to feed carp, squeal and get wet. I think the Cisco Kids do a great job meeting these expectations.

Living at Bear Lake is like a vacation for me but I need to know what it is like to be a vacationeer to things into perspective so Doreen and I just took a "vacation". She drug me to the Caribbean for a cruise (sure) to check out service, tours, expectations and the overall experience. I watched and learned a lot. Initially, people just want to have things go the way they have imagined them to be. They just want to be happy and have fun. Unfortunately, little things get in the way. The van they are in is too hot, the employees could care less and you felt like you were imposing on them. The area is beautiful but no one can tell you a thing about it and the boats are dirty. Then there was the opposite. Great people, interesting discussions and lots of smiles. It was interesting to be on the other side, laying out the money, having expectations, filling out the boring paperwork and worrying about getting ripped off.

I learned that everyone deserves to be treated like they are special because they are, even the buttheads. We are part of making their precious vacation time an exciting memory, not a disastrous waste of money. We saw both sides but still had a great vacation. We were sitting in the sun while Bear Lake got two feet of snow. One thing is for sure. When they call Bear Lake the Caribbean of the Rockies, they are right.