Troy Puddle State Park

Today was my first day back at work after the big rain storm on Saturday.  My coworkers had done a great job cleaning up the park after the storm on my days off.  There were a few odd branches here and there still on the ground, but I could tell that it had been much worse.  The flood water had come back full force in the spring as well.  After having the spring open for two whole days last week, we are back to where we were at the beginning of the month.  At least it isn't cold.  By the end of my shift, I was able to shed my jacket and walk around comfortably outside without a coat on.  That was nice.
My drive through the park this morning was short.  The park drive was still under water and wasn't passable.  I put up the flags, but only opened half of the gate.  The incoming side stayed closed with a sign notifying would-be visitors that the park is closed temporarily because of flooding on the drive.  Then I proceeded to the office.  I did the zero-covered paperwork and checked my e-mail.  When I went for a walk around the park, a lot had changed.  There was evidence of the 5.5 inch rainstorm everywhere.  The leaves on the ground had been washed into piles here and there.  Bare areas of sand still had the tracks of flowing water.  The water in the spring was very noticeable from the cabin porch.  I saw no turtles sunning themselves.  There were no bare rocks.


I started one of the rain barrels to drain at the cabin and headed down towards the river.  I was very happy to see that the trail had held up well in the storm.  It showed scars from the rain, but there was no exposed soil.  The wood chips moved around a little, but mostly held to the trail.  The trail fared much better than it would have if it were still exposed soil.


At the river area, I noticed right away that a dead tree on the other side of the spring had lost its top.  It had been a favorite perch for Red-shouldered Hawks.  I posted a photo of one in that very spot a week or two ago.  I wonder if they will still use it now that it is lower.


I didn't spend a lot of time at the river.  I have seen too much of this flooded view already this year.  One thing was unusual about the river this soon after a big surge of water though.  There was no debris floating by.  All of the downed branches, logs, and garbage on the river banks had already been washed away, the river was very calm to be so full.


When I made my way around to the spring and down the walkway, I had a pretty good idea of where I would find the water.  I was right.  It was well over the dock and on its way up the walkway.  The dock was so nice and clean and clear of mud just a few days ago.   Its all back.


I headed back to the office to finish up some projects next.  I had to finalize a report to the well inspector stating how we have fixed each deficiency that was noted in our inspection.  I went out to the barn to get a photo of the well to add to the report.  When I was done, I went to check on the flooding on the road.  It was still not passable, but it had receded quite a bit.  I hope it will be clear by tomorrow.


The rest of the day was spent just busying myself with odds and ends.  I drained another rainbarrel, I added a roll of toilet paper to the women's restroom, I dug out some signs that another park needed to borrow, I e-mailed my assistant manager and got some questions answered, I went to town and filled up our gas cans and made sure that my vehicle log and gas receipts were up to date.  It was a very quiet day.