TravelingMel

It's hot. Not Africa hot. Not southern US hot. Not even Livingston in August hot. But, it is still hot.

The City pool is still closed--and probably will be all summer--and the river is way too high for swimming, so Anders and I headed to the Best Western to use their pool. When we got there we were told "there was a minor accident and the pool will be closed for at least 3 days to disinfect it."

Minor accident? Three days? I've worked around pools before and even when some kid poops or pukes in a pool you can shock it with chlorine and have it up and running in a matter of hours. (Not that I'm anxious to jump into a poopy or over-chlorinated pool...). What could have happened?

So, we went to buy dog food instead. They have air conditioning there, so it's just like swimming. When the clerk rang up my purchase I was surprised--no shocked--to find out that the price of a 40 lb bag had gone from $32.99 to $49.99. Needless to say, after this bag, the boys are switching to a more economical food. Rigby has had almost 7 years of good eating and Diesel almost 5, so I think that's all they can really ask for. $50 dog food? They go through 2 bags a month.

Plus, Rigby eats such nasty stuff anyway (and by that I mean carcass--did I mention the absolutely disgusting tapeworm I pulled out of him last week? I almost threw up.) his body probably won't register the lower quality food. And Diesel finds his own gross items to eat, so he's no better or worse off than Rigs.

So, I guess Anders and I will play with the water table this afternoon. He'll be plenty happy, but I'll miss being weightlessly submerged in cool liquid.

A few days ago I posted about the eminent collapse of the 9th Street Bridge. Well, no collapse, yet. One of the pilings is slowly sinking into the river, but that's hardly exciting to watch. None the less it is still the talk of the town. At a 2 year-old birthday party we went to on Sunday, everyone was talking about it. At the coffee shop, at the store, everyone is talking about it...and kind of hoping to witness a dramatic flailing of the bridge into the water.

After picking up Anders from daycare today, he and I walked down to the river to check the progress. The Bailey bridge is almost completed, the river was at 9.4 feet yesterday and 9.3 feet the day before, and people are still hanging out waiting for the collapse. Then we can all sing, "Where's the bridge? Has anybody seen the bridge?"

The scene from Waterworks Hill. You can't really get very close to the bridge as it is all cordoned off.

From the designated viewing spot, people watch the Bailey Bridge being assembled.

A Search and Rescue boat hangs out between the first two pilings just in case a bridge builder falls in the water. Another person watches up stream and alerts the boat of large debris coming its way. A couple other women and I surmised that the boys just like to bring out all their equipment.

Property for sale on the island. My guess is that this place won't be selling quickly, even when people can get over there to look at it.

With the river so high, the ground water is also quite high and flooding parts of Sacajawea Park.

Since the City pool is closed indefinitely due to a leak and the river is above flood stage, this may be the only safe swimming around.

Anders reacts to all the high water excitement.

Looking upstream at the Bailey bridge.

(Links at the bottom of the post for NOAA and other official reports)

This would be a better story if I was reporting that the 9th Street Bridge collapsed and went tumbling down the river. But it hasn't. I checked this morning and again at 4:30pm. It is still there.

The Yellowstone River was beyond flood stage yesterday and a whole lot of junk is floating down with the snowmelt. Big trees, brush, maybe a car. And lots and lots of water. This river detritus is getting caught on a bridge that connects two small islands to the rest of us. And the water is pushing hard. And the bridge is old.

Yesterday, part of the bridge started to collapse. It doesn't look like much, but in this sleepy little town everyone came out to watch. There were 24 or so people stranded on the island (including a 6 month old who spends his days out there with grandpa while mom and dad work), plus dogs, cats, horses and assorted other animals.

Rumor has it that they are bringing in a temporary army bridge to get people back and forth until another bridge can be built.

Anders and I headed down yesterday afternoon to see what all the excitement was about.

What looks to be every emergency vehicle in the county is lined up at the foot of the bridge. A helicopter was flying back and forth to evacuate people from the island. The Sheriff's jet boat was there, too, but the river was deemed to dangerous for crossing.

9th Street Island Bridge.

Folks brought lawn chairs, cameras, picnic lunches and their kids in hope of seeing the bridge collapse.

Steel to reinforce the bridge or build a temporary one.

9th Street Bridge from downstream.

The Incident Command Center at Sacajawea Park.

For comparison here are three views of the river from around the same place. The first is from yesterday.

View of the Yellowstone downstream of the bridge. If you squint you can see the bridge.

This is May 21 when we all thought the river was peaking.

The river on May 20, 2008...

...the same location mid-September 2007.

The Livingston Enterprise ran a story about the bridge collapse and one about two guys whose boat capsized in the river a few days ago. Not a good time for boating the Yellowstone.

Here is what NOAA and the National Weather Service has to say about the outlook for the river.

WARM TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEKEND ALLOWING
ADDITIONAL SNOW TO MELT FROM THE MOUNTAINS. AREA RIVERS AND CREEKS
WILL CONTINUE TO RISE THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. IN
PARTICULAR...THE RIVER LEVELS ON THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER NEAR LIVINGSTON
REMAIN ABOVE FLOOD STAGE...AND ARE EXPECTED TO REMAIN ABOVE FLOOD STAGE
THROUGH EARLY NEXT WEEK. AT THIS TIME...RIVER LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO
EXCEED 9 FEET ON SUNDAY AND MAY EXCEED 10 FEET BY MONDAY MORNING. IF
THE RATE OF SNOW MELT IS GREATER THAN CURRENTLY
FORECAST...LEVELS ON THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER MAY RISE SLIGHTLY HIGHER.

Get the full report here.

The latest stages and forecasts for rivers and streams.

Yellowstone River Canoeing Recommendations Based on Streamflow and Stage

I was just googling the phone number of a local bookstore when this article, written by my friend Lynn Donaldson, came up. It made me glad to live in such a cool town (not that I wasn't glad before) and it might make you want to come visit me...

From the article:
I live in a town of 7,300 at the head of a valley named Paradise in southwestern Montana, just an hour north of a world-renowned natural wonder. "Yellowstone National Park—gateway to Livingston" is the town’s unofficial motto, and that sidelong boast might be grating if it weren’t in part true.

The park claims geysers and bison and wolves and waterfalls—all spectacular. But Livingston is full of exceptional people, and it seems most excel at some kind of art. I know sculptors, boatbuilders, flytiers, novelists, wood carvers, painters, furniture makers, photographers, movie stars, river guides, chefs, and lithographers.

Read the rest of the article here. Then tell me what makes you glad you live in your town.

As warm winds blew through Livingston this morning (perhaps a portent of change? If so, this would be one of the most dynamic communities on earth) I headed out to the polling place.

In a primary season that has (exhaustively) lasted from January 3rd to June 3rd, Montana has the privilege to be the last best place to vote in the primaries. You may be thinking, "Wait, doesn't South Dakota vote today, too?". Very astute. However, since our polls close an hour later than the ones to the east, we get the last say.

I won't tell you who I voted for, but he or she was not listed on either of the ballots I got to choose from...I had to write in my candidate. (It wasn't Rigby, although I did consider a vote for him, but we disagree on his free carcass for everyone policy.)

Pulling up to the polling place at the Fair Grounds. What could be more apropos than voting somewhere with "fair" in the name?

I like clear directions.

My unfilled-in ballots.

Not quite as cute as sweet Rigby, but pretty darn adorable, these two dogs wait for their person and wonder why they don't get a say in the governmental workings of this country. They probably have more sound ideas than some folks. Not sounder than yours, of course.

Proof that I completed my civic duty. You are welcome, America.