Ann - looking forward to you peeking into the discussion - the letter from Darby Nelson was in response to my writing and asking him to explain the 4 pages that deals with the birth of what he describes as a Ghost Lake that stretched from the northern States into Canada, was 4 times larger than Lake Superior and it disappeared before the history of man even arrived on the scene - it was birthed from the action of glaciers and when it breached the glacier made dams, that were created from the rocks and dirt picked up by the packed years of snow that turned into ice at various times, places these porous dams broke till the final breaks which allowed the lake to start its journey emptying that added to many of our rivers and lakes still with us.
I had no background in geology - none what so ever - had no idea what he was talking about using the elementary words known by anyone who is familiar with glaciers and how they affect the land - I read and re-read those pages at least 5 or 6 times and started to Google but it was still over my head - so I wrote and between what Darby Nelson shared in his email and the additional information I found Googling first the name of the lake and then the various individual words I am pretty confident we can really enjoy understanding how our land was affected and is still affected by glaciers.
All that in 4 pages of reading - the other pages are filled with his thoughts, experiences and concerns for things like algae - nothing new and challenging.
But before we get into the book itself - let's talk about the Introduction and the biggie - please introduce us to your lake.
Jean thanks for your introduction to two lakes - both in Pennsylvania - yes, a photo will be a treat for us to see 'your' lakes - I hope you can easily find those photo shots again. How great to be hearing about a lake that as you say, must be old since it is located in the Appalachian Mountains - I guess it never crossed my mind till reading this book if the Appalachians were created from glacier activity. So much of our landscape I just took for granted as is and always was - never crossed my mind it was developed from the action of other natural forces - I knew there are mountains that are so windswept the walls of the close passages between the rock formations are beautifully sandblasted into smooth rock and I know in our area there is a huge underground system of water ways and caves as well as areas that still have the foot imprints of Dinosaurs.
Well I spent time last evening trying to decide which of the nearby lakes I would use a reference while reading. In the process I looked and found many lakes are part of a river system. Remembering 4th grade geography that a lake was bounded by land I thought I should be looking for a nearby lake that is self contained but soon realized all the lakes in the book are not self contained.
The Lower Colorado runs through the middle of Austin and until, the dams were built would often flood just about the entire town - a series of 5, that have now become 6 dams were built with the lake in town still looking more like a river than the other broad spread out lakes in the chain. I was shocked to read that Darby Nelson knew of and mentions Town Lake in the book - Since his acquaintance with Town Lake it has been renamed a couple of years ago to Lady Bird Lake and just about completed now is a hike and bike trail that surrounds the lake with a couple of substantial foot bridges making the connection across the lake - however, there is only one spot that folks can still get in the water. For years that was a spot used by casual fishermen who came with the proverbial piece of cane cut from their backyard and some string or just the string with a bobber to keep the bait from sinking. Those old fishermen seem to have disappeared and now mostly young men and women with their dogs use the spot.
I just did not feel like getting into that mix or driving downtown - I do not even walk the trail any longer - yep, Austin has changed - the next lake in the chain is Lake Travis - it takes about 20 minutes to drive out there and it has several boat ramp areas where folks swim nearby - it is a broad and open lake - big enough for sailboats with lots of coves, a couple of yacht clubs and boat marinas, some private property with mansions worth several million where as, for years before Austin grew up it was where families had their summer house that was mostly a huge porch, with a bathroom, a small kitchen since most all cooking is done outside - no AC or for many no electricity. Those summer places are all gone now as the property was sold and substantial year round homes were built.
The layers of limestone and probably other rock layers are seen with only a few beach areas that are on pieces of land that poke out - When the dams were built, if you ever saw the Montgomery Clift movie, Wild River -- he is, during the 1930s a Tennessee Valley Authority Agent responsible for moving everyone so their house can be demolished in order to make way for the new lake - well that is the story of the demise of the small communities when this chain of lakes was developed also, in the 1930s.
East of town there is a small lake that was for years called Decker Dam - I do not know its history and then up in Georgetown that I can drive to it in about 40 minutes is Lake Georgetown that I remember when the San Gabriel was damed to form that lake only about 20 years ago - I just cannot think of a self contained lake in Central Texas.
Funny growing up we always lived near the ocean or the gulf - Florida, Georgia and City Island in NY - there was always an expanse of water with a big sky and a fresh breeze or when we lived north at times the cold settled in with ice and snow and there were things like deep sounding bells that rocked in the water to let boats know where they were - and boats using fog horns - and so when I saw my first lake - I have no idea where we were - I do remember we were on a picnic with my Aunt and Uncle and cousins in their vehicle and my Mom, Dad and Grandmother in our vehicle with me and my sister - My uncle's vehicle got a flat tire on the way and it seemed to take hours to get it fixed so that the quilts were spread on the side of the road and we had some of our picnic right there -
But when we got to this lake I just did not like it - kept looking and looking and all these people and it was hot, the sun beating down and no breeze. There were trees right up to the edge of the lake with a beach area with sand and some tall lifeguard stands - did not even want to get in the water - I just stood and did not like what I saw and certainly did not like the odor - not scent but odor to me - mostly a mixture of heat and humanity. I was so thankful when we set up the picnic under the trees out of the eyesight of that lake and after eating my dad and I went for a walk in the woods where he, like always, named all the trees and plants that grew wild. He would show me the difference in the bark and the shapes of the leaves that would tell me the name of the tree.
I did not again see a lake till I was a teen - a shaded small lake in the mountains that was lovely but most of my adult life living away from the coast the nearest swimming area was a river rather than a lake. Here in Austin in one sense they are a chain of lakes but they do empty as a river into the Gulf. Most lake areas of water in this state are called tanks and there are lots of creeks and streams that open up in spots to swimming holes and ponds. I love walking along Bull Creek that is about 10 minutes down the other side of this Mesa I live on. When I have been especially stressed out and the creek is still running (it tends to dry up during a hot summer) I just plop into the water, clothes and all and look up at the sky - then I have to sit on a boulder to dry out so I can get in my vehicle to drive home.
Then there is deterioration - think I will wait and talk about what little I know in another post tomorrow.
