Monsoon!

[Pahaska]

My trailer is in the yard, all loaded for a short trip and we are in the midst of a virtual monsoon. After months of drought, it has to rain cats and dogs just as I want to go to Canyon of the Eagles.

Lake Travis (and it is a BIG lake) came up 4 feet just in the last couple days. This morning, it rained so hard that I couldn't see the house across the street and my yard is now a small lake. This morning, I had to take the long way into town because my usual road is barricaded because of a flooded low-water crossing.

I'll call the park in a few minutes to make sure there are no flooded low-water crossings between me and them. If I can get there, I don't care how hard it rains, I'll go. It's a good chance to pull the new trailer in the rain and wind without any need to make a lot of miles. I'll take the laptop and a handful of DVDs and some good books and just enjoy the quiet.

[uwe]

Nothing as soothing as the sound of rain on a quiet day.......way to go!
Uwe
Do drive careful, though.

[Pahaska]

I just reached Canyon of the Eagles. Roads are fine. I'm on my way soon as I grab some lunch.

[whitsend]

John - Be careful. My roads just a tad south & west of you (RR12 & RR2325) are washed out in some of the low water crossings. Folks are rounding a bend in the road, finding the roads covered in water, and having trouble stopping in time.

My new septic tank for the trailer shed has popped out of the ground!!! And, I'm supposed be celebrating finally having my Safari on my land by having 18 folks for a day of BBQ & longnecks on Saturday. I'm thinking a postponement may be called for?

But I do wanna get out there to enjoy the sounds & experience of sleeping in my A/S with the rains pouring down. To each his own, but for me total peace.

Hope your trip went safely.

Jim

[PeterH-350LE]

John,
Hope you had a good time at canyon of the eagles.
Its a nice new park, except most of their hook-up sites are not very level.
You seem to go to the same parks we visit. One of these days we should run into each other.

[Pahaska]

Just got home from Canyon of the Eagles.

I left for there in unbelievable rain. Hit a closed road about a mile from home and had to turn around in someone's driveway. FM1826 was closed, so I couldn't get to Oak Hill and I had to take TX45 and MOPAC. Radio said 290 was closed to Dripping Springs, so I took TX 71. By Bee Caves, the monsoon had slacked enough that the drive was pleasant the rest of the way. It took me 1:15 to get away from Austin that usually takes 15 minutes. I actually had to use the heater on July 2nd in Texas!

Not raining yet at COE, so I unhitched dry, but it started soon after. The RV park had only 2 sites occupied when I arrived, so I picked a good site. I ended up watching 4 DVDs, plotted a future trip on the laptop, and read a good book over the next 2 days. I love the rain on the roof, reminds me of when I was a kid sleeping under a flat dormer roof.

Wednesday was dry from about 10am until mid-evening. I hiked some trails and took a few photos. The rain held off just long enough to grill my steak.

This morning, I hooked up in hard rain, but just about a mile from the park it was totally dry. It was cold enough that I had to use the heater, again. I didn't hit rain again till 1/4 mile from the storage yard, so I had to unhitch in the rain.

I can't wait to take my wife to COE. She'll love it.

Here's a photo of Sabre-D in the rain at COE.

[jcanavera]

In our pop up days we did a weekend at a site where you had to cross a small stream that had three low water crossings prior to entering the campground. We also noticed a lot of debris about 4 feet up in the trees. I asked the owner how rain affects getting in and out. She said it really wasn't a problem. I then said to her... but what about if it really rains? She said last time that happened was on Easter and the kids couldn't get back from school for 3 days.

I guess I should have taken that as a warning for the next night we got 5 inches of rain overnight during some tremendous thunderstorms. I knew things weren't good when upon daybreak I exited my camper only to find water around my ankle. I looked around and noticed that all the tent campers were either in their cars or were laying on top of the picnic tables.

Once the ground water subsided I walked over to the first low water crossing and now saw a torrent of water 30 feet across. Needless to say we were trapped and for the first time I thanked my wife for over packing foodstuffs and diapers for our son.

For others, the campground had to have food floated in. Some folks didn't have any money so the campground put them to work painting, cleaning and doing the work that was planned for the coming Memorial day weekend.

By Wednesday, four days after the rain, the highway department had graded the gravel to the edges of the concrete slabs on the low water crossings. Water was still too deep at one crossing so they rigged up a tractor and chains to pull the cars and trucks from one side of the crossing to the other.

Some folks wanted to take their pop-ups with them (I left mine behind) so about six guys sat on top of the campers to keep them from floating as they and their tow vehicles were being pulled through the water.

I was pulling with a 73 Old Cutlass at the time and I remember the guys hooking up the chains to my car telling me to stay in neutral and to keep the engine at high rpm's. As they pulled us through I remember seeing the water seeping in around the doors and the fan belt squealing.

I have a picture of the tow through the water somewhere, I'll have to find it. Since then I have avoided campgrounds in flood plains or requiring access via low water crossings.

Jack

[Pahaska]

Canyon of the Eagles was high and dry and the 14 miles of Farm to Market road to the park is high and has a good bridge the one place it crosses an arm of the lake. Heavy rains in that area caused no problem at all.

My problem was getting out of Austin itself. Seemed like every reasonably direct route was blocked by low-water crossings or flooded streets. Problem in built-up areas is that the water has no place to go.

I will say that my International is really water tight because it endured the heaviest rain that I have ever seen without a drop of leakage.

I did get a chance to test the water sensors on my Fantastic fans during the light periods. The fans work quite well .

[PeterH-350LE]

John,
the floods around Austin/San Antonio are really something.
Many of our favorite parks are flooded.
Pedernales, Guadalupe and Palmetto State Park are closed. All the campgrounds along River Road down by New Braunsfeld were evacuated and the residents have been fleeing the area.
Doesn't look good.

[Pahaska]

The Pedernales was really something to see when I crossed the bridge at Johnson City at about noon. Looked like just a couple of feet under the bridge and big waves rolling down. I'm not surprised that Pedernales Falls SP is closed.

Palmetto SP is a swamp to start with. Must be really wet down there by now. I like Palmetto, but not in the summer.

I've been to Guadalupe SP a few times, but never stayed overnight. I have stopped there to eat lunch a couple of times on the way back from Seminole Canyon SP.

I suspect Blanco SP is closed, also since Canyon Lake is over the spillway. I don't know whether you can get out of Blanco SP campground any way other than the low water bridge.

I'm glad I picked Canyon of the Eagles. No high water worries at all.

[Pahaska]

Weather guessers were wrong again. They said we would have no more than scattered showers starting yesterday, but we had major thunderstorms for much of the night and I still see lightning and hear lots of thunder. No hail, thank goodness, just torrential rain.

There is a line of storms going up western Hays County and Blanco County, headed right for the worst-hit areas again.

You may have heard that the famous hamlet of Lukenbach is just about wiped out. The cotton gin is gone, thanks to the Pedernales River overflowing. There was never very much in Lukenbach to start with and most of that is now apparently destroyed.

Canyon Lake is over the spillway for the first time since the dam was built 50 years ago. Lake Travis is expected to rise 5' today.

[davidz71]

My son spent a week just outside San Antonio and returned middle of the week. While going through Houston, he hydroplaned in his '01 Nissan Maxima and ended up in the median buried up to the axles in mud. Fortunately it wasn't as spectacular as his last wreck which included numerous donuts then flipping end over end 3 times before crashing into some trees and resting on its side next to the interstate down in GA. This time, someone pulled him out of the mud and he made a quick stop at a car wash to hose out the underside. He had spent time with my mother and sister in Corpus Christi before going to a waterpark outside SA. Let me see, that's 2 lives for the cat, 7 left.

[Pahaska]

Your son no doubt spent time at Schlitterbahn water park in New Braunfels. Schlitterbahn means "Slippery road" in German. Quite a coincidence with what happened to him.

Just heard from my daughter in Marion, near Seguin. She is high and dry (probably damp, though), but the roads out from where she lives are closing down one by one. Seguin is preparing for a major flood.

Also just heard the weather forecast and they think we will be in this weather pattern till at least next mid-week. That will be a full 10 days of heavy rain in an area that normally gets about 32 inches a year and almost none in the summer.

What happened to that drought we were in? My yard went from dust to bright green and needs mowed already.

[53flyingcloud]

John..Just reading abt all your rain, etc. It didn't hit home till this evening news showed this house slowly floating by in river and, in the background people struggling to get to hi grounds. I could've sworn they said spmething abt Canyon of the Eagles, didn't catch what it was..
We wish you folks well..
ciao

[PeterH-350LE]

It's Canyon Lake, canyon of the eagles is a park at a different lake.
Some interesting and scary facts:
Canyon Lake normally releases 100-200 cfs (cubic feet per second). Right now the water is going over the spillway @ 70 000 (seventy thousand) cfs!!!
Some areas had up 31" of rain in the last few days.
Lake Travis by Austin is 60 miles long and rose over 20' in the last few days and is still rising!

[PeterH-350LE]

John,
thanx for the thumbs up on Canyon of the Eagles.
We went out there for an overnighter and it was great. I even had a chance to ride my new classic
Raleigh cruiser down the miles of nature trails.
I am going to pinstripe the bike to match the Airstream.

[Pahaska]

Great looking rig. I'll keep an eye out for you in the campgrounds.

I'll probably be going back to Canyon of the Eagles a couple of more times this year. I really like the place and it's a reasonable distance from home.