Tuesday, August 3
Lake Mcconaughy, know as Lake Mac to locals, is a beautiful place to visit. White fine sand, fresh blue/green water and plenty of lakeside spots for campers and RV made it an irresistible place to take our weekly day off for planning, chores and Lucky treatment. We are now at the western end of Nebraska and we definitely feel like we have made it to the “west”. The fauna is turning more cacti, the weather is dryer and hotter and the terrain has shifted to rolling hills.
We slept in today and had the pleasure of watching the sun rise over the lake with a cup of coffee paired with a cool morning. We were parked on the dune overlooking the lake and simply walked down the path to arrive at the lake’s edge. In addition to RV parking on the dunes, there are a limited number of permits issued to RV’s that can stay right at the lakes edge. And, with no tide or waves, they are literally at the edge.
Lucky is not feeling well as we await the blood results tomorrow. He hasn’t eaten much, is a little detached and sleeping a lot. The weekly angst, hopefully just a low in the cycle.
The big work of the day was planning the route into Salt Lake City through difficult terrain. And, I am happy with the result. We need to navigate a route that isn’t on Interstate 80 and won’t put the RV in jeopardy on dirt roads and mountain passes. I believe we have a realistic plan that will get us there by August 26th.
All for today - thank you for your ongoing support.
Cheers,
David.
Lucky sleeping in on day off
Sunrise from the lake
Lucky testing the proverbial water and realizes it isn’t the ocean so he can drink to his hearts content
Chris giving some love to Lucky who isn’t feeling great today
Who needs to eat out when Chris can make something better!
From the bed to the couch…
After our visit to Ogallala, we stopped at Kingsley Dam
Chris walked out on the ledge while I stayed back not wanting to risk any mishap
Heading back up the dune to the RV
As early as the 1880′s, citizens of south-central Nebraska discussed the possibility of bringing irrigation to the area. Interest in irrigation grew with each successive drought cycle until the drought and economic depression of the 1930s helped convince state and federal officials and community leaders of the need for irrigation.
The Public Works Administration approved funding for the hydro-irrigation project in 1935 and construction began in 1936. Kingsley Dam was closed and dedicated in 1941 and project operations began soon afterward.
The dam and reservoir are named for George P. Kingsley, a Minden, Nebraska banker, and C.W. McConaughy, a grain merchant and mayor of Holdrege, Nebraska, two of the leading promoters of the project. Although neither lived to see the completion of the project, their leadership and perseverance eventually culminated in a public power and irrigation project that helped Nebraska become one of the nation’s leading agricultural states.
Kingsley Dam, located 9 miles north of Ogallala, Nebraska, is the second largest, hydraulic fill dam in the world. It is over 162 feet high, 3.1 miles long, has 26 million cubic yards of material, and holds Lake McConaughy, which is 22 miles long and 142 feet deep.
Kingsley Dam was formed by the pumping of a mixture of loess soil and water into the ground, making a watertight core. Lake Ogallala was formed from the pumping of the soil into Kingsley Dam. It is 35 feet deep, 1.6 miles long, and .3 miles wide.
Even though it is smaller than Lake McConaughy, Lake Ogallala in the middle class size of lakes in Nebraska. Sand from the riverbed below was pumped to form the sides of the dam. Then, to make sure that nothing would try to go under the dam, giant steel sheets were driven into the watertight core and into the ground below. The water facing side of the dam is layered with limestone rocks from Wyoming and 180,000 “jackstones.”
A jackstone is a 6-pointed stone that looks similar to a toy jack, weighing over 800 pounds each, for a combined weight of 144 million pounds.
A unique feature to the Kingsley Dam is the water release and flood control system. The system is located on the south side of the dam, partially in the water and is composed of two parts, the outlet tower and the morning glory spillway. The outlet tower is 185 feet tall, 42 feet wide, has one ring gate, and 4 tractor gates that regulate normal water release functions like irrigation. The gates are located on the sides and middle of the structure. The structure is connected to a 20 foot wide, steel reinforced, concrete tube that runs underground to the power plant on the other side of the dam. When all the gates are open, it can release over 7,000 cubic feet per second, or over 420 thousand gallons a minute.