Good Morning!!!!!!

[LPS]

Morning boys.  It is 54 here now.  Gonna be a nice day.  Will try to do a river check today.  Trying to walk around more all the time.  Thank gawd for the Ranger.  Will try to spray some doc from it today or tomorrow.  Will be easy to see as one is as tall as me.  Will be fun to see that one wilt.  I see we have a little breeze going now.  Chance of rain later tonight.  The last couple of high percentage chances fizzled out completely.  Thank you for that.  Well you all have a good day.

[mike89]

mornin all, 63 here and again heading towards the low 80's..  saying a chance of storms later too..   don't need that...  got the yard mowed yesterday so that is done for now..  got a few other outside things done too...   not sure what I have going on today..   have a good day all!! 

[Jerkbiat]

The river keeps coming up, not sure how long that will continue but we are pretty well prepared.  I think.  lol

Starting to get kinda crazy. There were big rafts of cattail bogs floating by in the lake last night.

[Gunner55]

Mornin gang, 58 here & we should see 81. Went for a boat ride early yday when I no more than drop a line in & what happens...................... the wind switches to the WNW. Then I see what looks to be the start of a mayfly hatch. I mowed the front & the north side of the cabin around lunch time too. Not sure where I'll start today yet, have a good day.

[markn]

Just dropped off Lenny at the vet. Need to pick him up around 3:30 minus his manhood. Store wasn't open so I have to go back to town to get a belt for the Toro and get that back up and running which means a 184 mile round trip back up to Hubbard Co. to finish cutting the grass. Good thing gas is only $3.19. Have a great day all, later.......

[tangle tooth]

      Good morning campers. Woke to 71° and sunshine. They say we could hit 90° with this heat advisory. That will keep my activity level down a bit.
      To help you stay cool, Christmas Eve is six months from today.
      Stay safe everyone.

[roony]

It sounds like the dam may be failing at Rapidan
 Could be a really bad thing

[Steve-o]

I haven't seen anything on the interwebs yet, is this just TV news stories so far?

[Dotch]

Mornin' fellow gulag comrades! 68 at choretime heading for a high in the upper 80's with 30 mph wind gusts. Heat indices as high as 97. Unprecedented? Nope. It's summer. It's supposed to be hot. Right now we need some heat here. Gotta get it dried up somehow. The Le Sueur is over the bank on both sides at the golf course now. Where they were using the tractor & trash pump to draw the water off the fairway & dump it in the river, it's just recirculating it. May as well get the rig up out of there and let it run its course. Got a battle plan made for soybean spraying if & when we get a chance to get back at it. Should be pretty easy to follow & straight to the point. Looks like we might get only one shot at it so we better make it count.     

[LPS]

Do you mean Park Rapids Roony?

[LPS]

I just searched and see the dam at Mankato is failing.  It doesn't look good. It says that in MN people cannot be forced to evacuate.  They can only advise that people do it. The water is so high and with so much trees and debris it is going around the dam and made a new path.  Won't last much longer. There is a good video on the Mankato Free Press that came up on google.

[mike89]

that is a large dam too..  saying the water is breaching around it already...   fished below it many times...  the dam store at the end was always a good place to eat and have a beer or 2!!! 

[LPS]

Are there houses along the river below it?

[mike89]

I'm sure there are some but a ways down river if I remember right...  and a camp ground below the dam too...

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Devils+Gulch/@44.0931397,-94.1143412,2208m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m12!1m5!3m4!2zNDPCsDU5JzMyLjYiTiA5NcKwMDMnMDQuMSJX!8m2!3d43.9923889!4d-95.0511389!3m5!1s0x87f4478d211884a5:0x7d9477375216562d!8m2!3d44.1111898!4d-94.1084895!16s%2Fg%2F11mv18mkg9?hl=en&entry=ttu

take a look and zoom in

[mike89]

they just issued a flash flood warning for them now until 430 today

https://x.com/WCCO/status/1805269496661241860?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

[Steve-o]

I'm sure there are some but a ways down river if I remember right...  and a camp ground below the dam too...

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Devils+Gulch/@44.0931397,-94.1143412,2208m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m12!1m5!3m4!2zNDPCsDU5JzMyLjYiTiA5NcKwMDMnMDQuMSJX!8m2!3d43.9923889!4d-95.0511389!3m5!1s0x87f4478d211884a5:0x7d9477375216562d!8m2!3d44.1111898!4d-94.1084895!16s%2Fg%2F11mv18mkg9?hl=en&entry=ttu

take a look and zoom in

If there is a silver lining...  that dam doesn't appear to be holding back a huge lake or reservoir.  Still, it will be devastating.  It is hard to imaging how the dam can survive with all that water scouring out the ground beside it.    Maybe if there is enough rock there so the side does not continue to erode.  I hope everyone heeds the warning to evac.

[LPS]

Yup.  Could blow any second.

[mike89]

lots of sand stone if I remember right around there...  and yes it's not a huge area above it, but still... 

[Steve-o]

There looks to be a good bit of rock to hold up the right side of the dam.  The question is...  will the river just wash a new channel around it.  It looks like that is happening.  And if the power station is already washed out, is there still a reason to leave the dam in place and built it back?

I know there are political issues surrounding dam removal.  Some want it.  Some don't.  Sometimes Mother Nature decides for you.

[mike89]

https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/rapidan-dam-fails-evacuation-blue-earth-county/

[roony]

I dont think they were still making electricity there. My oldest son use to fish for catfish there. The dam was built over 100 years ago

[glenn57]

afternoon fellers.......a full 7 hours.......need a nap.  not sure what i'm gonna do after that!!!!! maybe get the materials  for the fire ring forks together!!!!! got it all in the garage somewhere.

would like to finish up my grass seeding, but if its gonna storm i dont want it all running off!!!!! 

[Dotch]

I dont think they were still making electricity there. My oldest son use to fish for catfish there. The dam was built over 100 years ago

Built in 1908, sounds like they quit generating electricity in 2019.

https://www.blueearthcountymn.gov/DocumentCenter/View/7295/Rapidan-Dam_FAQ8

[Steve-o]

Sad, but sweet at the same time.  Granny is loading up all her 'valuables' and the first think she packs is her sewing.   

UPDATE: Rapidan Dam in 'imminent failure condition'; Mankato floodwalls expected to handle any surge

Joyce Roberts loads up a vehicle Monday outside her sister's residence near Sibley Park. Residents in the neighborhood were busy removing valuables from their homes in anticipation of flooding as water levels continue to rise.

[roony]

There is so much conflicting information. The City of Mankato says the river will rise six inches and there is no need for anyone to evacuate. Who knows???

[mike89]

https://www.youtube.com/live/eChQ9b8kOmA

Sharon found this and I'm posting it here, in the last 3 to 4 hours it's amazing how much has washed away....   

thanks Sharon for finding this.... 

[Steve-o]

Yes, it looks like there was at least another 20 feet of bank washed away since this morning.  Earlier today that building was solid, not it is hanging over the cliff.

[mike89]

the power of water!!! 

[tangle tooth]

      As I understand, the facility was generating power up till early Monday morning. Many homes lost power. One video shows some of that equipment being swept away.
      One of the biggest environmental issues is the release of years of sediment. I recall (correct me if I'm wrong) hearing that when the dam was put in to service, it was 80' from the top of the gates to the river bottom. As of a few years ago, it was something less than 20'. The dam is close to 475' long.
      Also, just a few years ago the was a debate over repairing or demolishing the dam.
      The food there was pretty good.

[Jerkbiat]

Morning boys. 66 here and they are claiming 73 for a high again today. We will see if that holds true or not today. They were just a tad off yesterday. It is Friday for us. Vacation starts tomorrow. We have a week and 1/2 off of work. That will be nice. Certainly should get some fishing in. Otherwise just getting ready for another day in the salt mines. Have a good one boys.