CA Dept. of Transportation Warning

[CZ93X62]

Snow pack across Donner Summit is 254% of "normal" (whatever THAT is) historic December totals. We have had a fair amount of rain this month in the southern third of the state as well. More of that Liquid Sunshine is scheduled to arrive today and tomorrow. Good rain years in the desert produce "super blooms" of desert flowers in late February through April. Marie and I love when that happens, 2021 sucked for desert flower production--2022 looks a whole lot better, so far.

Our daughter Melissa's flight from Seattle got delayed 3 hours yesterday, and 25% of Alaska Airlines' flights from Sea-Tac were cancelled. Long day for all of us, when an 11 P.M. arrival turns into a 2 A.M. landing. We got into bed at 3 A.M.

 

[Joshua]

I'll ask the question I've asked of you westerners before- Why isn't every gully, canyon, arroyo, ditch, etc dammed up to save the spring run off?

One of the great things about the West is the availability of public land to hunt on. As soon as something gets designated as a “Watershed” public access is diminished. The local utility district doesn’t want gut piles, or hunters/fishermen surface pooping in the area. I’m not in favor of loosing any more public access.

The history of water wars in the west is long and tumultuous. The list of mistakes is huge! Here are just a few.

California started draining the low land lakes 140 years ago. Many of the population centers in the Central Valley AKA “The Big Valley” are built on former swamp/lake bed. They created a huge amount of farmland by doing this, but the farmers have abused the surrounding underground aquifers.

Los Angeles (a desert town) and the surrounding areas could never have grown so large if they didn’t steal most of their water, thereby destroying the plush farmland of the Owens Valley.
Note: My step-siblings are actually related to one of the head LA City Engineer that was a big part of this water theft.

Ocean salt water intrusion into the coastal aquifers. This has been caused by over consumption of ground water from wells.

Growing massive amounts of cotton, alfalfa, and rice in semi arid areas, and then being surprised when the ground water gives out.

Unregulated short sighted housing growth after WWII in areas that didn’t have enough water to support that growth. The California Canal system is massive and was a solution to this problem. But it masked the underlying problem of unsuitable growth for many years.

And then there is the proliferation of swimming pools, and lawns in the drought prone southern half of the state. The average swimming pool in California evaporates around 19,500 gallons a year. Growing grass is an even worse waste of precious water.

 

[RicinYakima]

So this should help with the perpetual droughts, right? I'll ask the question I've asked of you westerners before- Why isn't every gully, canyon, arroyo, ditch, etc dammed up to save the spring run off?

Also where I live there is silt/sediment from the ice age floods. The four inches of rain a year we get soaks into the ground until it hit basalt. There is never anything to "pool". This is unlike the rocks and sands of AZ, NM and NV. What rain they get commonly pools in rock "tanks" and will last animals for a season.

There is a planned project to raise one of the dams, used for fish and irrigation, six feet. It will cost 1.5 billion dollars to buy out the private land and improve the delivery system.

 

[Bret4207]

So it's tree huggers, evil politicians and too darn many people in an area that can't possibly support them. IOW- the answers are obvious but the whiners win out every time. Got it.

 

[462]

One of the great things about the West is the availability of public land to hunt on. As soon as something gets designated as a “Watershed” public access is diminished. The local utility district doesn’t want gut piles, or hunters/fishermen surface pooping in the area. I’m not in favor of loosing any more public access.

The history of water wars in the west is long and tumultuous. The list of mistakes is huge! Here are just a few.

California started draining the low land lakes 140 years ago. Many of the population centers in the Central Valley AKA “The Big Valley” are built on former swamp/lake bed. They created a huge amount of farmland by doing this, but the farmers have abused the surrounding underground aquifers.

Los Angeles (a desert town) and the surrounding areas could never have grown so large if they didn’t steal most of their water, thereby destroying the plush farmland of the Owens Valley.
Note: My step-siblings are actually related to one of the head LA City Engineer that was a big part of this water theft.

Ocean salt water intrusion into the coastal aquifers. This has been caused by over consumption of ground water from wells.

Growing massive amounts of cotton, alfalfa, and rice in semi arid areas, and then being surprised when the ground water gives out.

Unregulated short sighted housing growth after WWII in areas that didn’t have enough water to support that growth. The California Canal system is massive and was a solution to this problem. But it masked the underlying problem of unsuitable growth for many years.

And then there is the proliferation of swimming pools, and lawns in the drought prone southern half of the state. The average swimming pool in California evaporates around 19,500 gallons a year. Growing grass is an even worse waste of precious water.

Locally, salt water intrusion in the Salinas Valley, the nation's salad bowl, is a serious problem. Crops are grown year-round and they all require huge amounts of water, so much so that sprinklers are turned on even when it's raining. A farmer I know recently spent $1 million to sink his wells deeper into the aquifer, and that means the price of lettuce goes up.
Almonds: California is the world's almond supplier. Each tree consumes 250-gallons of water per day. An almond farmer I know defends such waste by saying people eat almonds. Yep, but people drink water, too, and growing almond trees on arid acreage is senseless.
My home's water usage has been voluntarily or involuntarily rationed since the '70s. But, that doesn't stop a proliferation of water-sucking hotels and motels to be built and tourists to be beckoned.
California has found more ways to steal water, then waste it, than can be written about in a book any thinner than an encyclopedia.

 

[358156 hp]

Maybe spend a little less money on fancy electronic signs and a little more on snow plows?


And even if the sign was properly programed to display a correct message..........do we really need a government sign to tell us that snow tires are a good idea in the snow?

It is Kali, after all. Perhaps ten thousand or so people who can think for themselves, and a little over 39 million who can't or won't even try, 600 thousand of the ruling class, and an additional 50 million who are just "visiting" from Guadalajara, and no habla English.

 

[fiver]

plus they got a good business racket going pulling stuff out of the ditches.

here and other places just tell you the road is closed, if you decide to go on,, your on your own.
on your own to call a tow truck [which may or may not come till the road is open] or your buddy who has a truck like yours [who may or may not make it]
or simply on your own cause there ain't no cell service and you shoulda known better, cause you probably got stuck the last time your dumbass tried it.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

here and other places just tell you the road is closed, if you decide to go on,, your on your own.
on your own to call a tow truck [which may or may not come till the road is open] or your buddy who has a truck like yours [who may or may not make it]
or simply on your own cause there ain't no cell service and you shoulda known better, cause you probably got stuck the last time your dumbass tried it.

here and other places just tell you the road is closed, if you decide to go on,, your [sic] on your own.
That's life in general.
on your own to call a tow truck [which may or may not come till the road is open]
Still life in general
or your buddy who has a truck like yours [who may or may not make it]
Pick your friends carefully.
or simply on your own cause there ain't no cell service and you shoulda known better, cause you probably got stuck the last time your dumbass tried it.
Pretty much how life was about 30 years ago and we either made it or we didn't.

 

[RicinYakima]

"Invictus, meaning “unconquerable” or “undefeated” in Latin, is a poem by William Ernest Henley. This poem is about courage in the face of death, and holding on to one's own dignity despite the indignities life places before us. What does it mean I am the master of my fate I am the captain of my soul? I am the master of my fate and the captain of my soul means that it is me who determines what my future will bring by the way l see life and prepare myself to face its realities. It puts you in the driving seat of your life. ... It means it’s all about you, take responsibility of your life and don’t put blame on anybody else."

Sadly, this is no longer required reading for high school students in the US.

 

[358156 hp]

Individual thought and initiative are discouraged. Due to budget constraints, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off.