Tag Archives: water

Diablo Lake Changes with the Seasons

As fall heads towards winter, I want to make a trip up to the North Cascades Highway. It won’t be too long before the snow sets in up there and WSDOT stops clearing the road and allows it to be taken over by snow for the winter. A sunny Saturday provided a good chance for a trip, and we stopped off at the overlook for Diablo Lake while we were passing. Previous trips have shown how the color of the water in spring can be really vibrant. The water running off the mountains brings lots of sediment with it. The Skagit River will look quite milky in spring.

At this time of year, the color of the lake has changed noticeably. Similarly, the river looks more normal without the particles suspended within it. The comparison of the lake color from the different seasons is quite dramatic.

Water Treatment Plant by the Pacific

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The departure from LAX takes you out over the Pacific on most occasions. As you climb out and reach the shoreline, just south of your track is a large water treatment plant. Oceanfront property would be in high demand, I imagine, but this spot is taken with a far more functional purpose. The size and shapes involved are quite fascinating to me and I couldn’t resist getting some images as we flew by.

Old Filming in SF

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Making my way through old shots for other projects often results in finding stuff I had completely forgotten about. Before we lived in the Bay Area, I was there for some other reason. I was down near the water and there was a film crew working on a production of some sort. The character was on a dock and was approached by some other guys at which point he falls into the water. There was a diver that got set up in the water beforehand for safety purposes. Then they filmed the sequence. I don’t recall them doing it more than once which made it easier than drying the guy off and giving him fresh clothes, I guess!

Draining the Porch Roof Again

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We had the roof of the porch flood a while back and I realized then that the leaf mulch had blocked it. When I saw it was filling up again, I knew what to do. That is not just remove the mulch. It is also to be ready to film it properly. Here is the start of the draining process along with the various belching noises the downspout makes, and the water covers the opening. It takes for ages to drain, and I couldn’t be bothered to film the whole thing.

Convection Patterns in Boiling Water

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This one is something I kept meaning to do on multiple occasions but never was ready when it occurred to me. Boiling a pan of water, I am always fixated on the patterns that show up as shadows on the bottom of the pan as the heat affects the water by differing amounts resulting in convection flows across the pan. This is the sort of thing that only oddballs like me find fascinating. I finally thought to have the camera close to hand when boiling some water and got some footage of the patterns as they swirled. I was quite pleasantly surprised that the lens didn’t steam up during this. No doubt Nancy looked at me with that puzzled expression that has appeared many times after decades of knowing me!

Water Lilies

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I haven’t been to Juanita Bay Park much recently. The middle of summer is not a great time to go because the sun is high, the humidity is quite uncomfortable, the bugs can be in a bitey mood, haze makes photos even worse than the sun angles – you get the picture. I did head down one afternoon after work, though, just to see what was happening. The lake was covered in water lilies with the pads spread out in all directions. The flowers were not quite so common but there were still plenty. I was taken by how they were dominating a space that is normally wide open.

A Chilly Place To Be Lying In The Water!

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The grounds at Stourhead include some grottos. One of them has a statue of a woman lying in some water. It was not too warm when we were there and, once you go inside the grottos, they are decidedly cold and damp. The idea of lying in water in those conditions does not sound too appealing. However, she was clearly a hardy soul as she has been there for quite a while.

How Green Is Diablo Lake?

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The water running out of the mountains along the North Cascade Highway brings a lot of sediment with it. The result of this is that the rivers and lakes that form along the route of the pass have a distinct green color to them. The Skagit River in Newhalem has a clear green color to it. However, the more dramatic demonstration of this coloration is visible at Diablo Lake. This lake that is formed behind Diablo Dam has a very green appearance. It looks like it must have been created artificially but it is just the result of carrying the minerals down from the mountains above. Of course, a polarizer does a good job of highlighting the color when the reflections are removed.

I Guess The Lake Level Is Down Now

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Lake Chelan is a really deep body of water. According to some charts I saw, it is about 1,600’ to the very bottom at its deepest point. The water level does seem to fluctuate a bit. When I was walking along the shore at the resort, there were some swimming rafts. One was in the water but another was up on the land. I then realized that the jetties were a long way above the water surface and, what I thought was just a sandy area, was actually a beach.

I assume the run off from the winter melts results in the water level increasing. There is also a power plant at the end of the lake so that can control the water level. At this early time of year, there is no pressure to have the water too high. You can easily see where it is supposed to be in peak season, though. Given how big a lake it is, that is quite a lot of water to bring the level up that much. I doubt I shall be back in the summer but maybe I will see it as it is at its peak at some point.

Rushing Water Under Tokul Trestle

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Tokul Creek Gorge is the waterway that runs under the trestle at Tokul. With the heavy rains that had been falling in advance of my visit, the creek was flowing heavily. The trestle is a long way above the water so it was not easy to get a good look at it but I did try and get some shots. I also had a go at getting some video.