River Flooding: March & April 2011

It appears that the river crested during the early morning on Wednesday.  So, that day, after Chloe’s nap we took a stroll down to see how high it was this year compared to last year.  I was a little disappointed.  I really expected it to be much higher than last year–but the unexpected snowstorm we got last week really slowed down the flooding.  I shouldn’t be sad because less flooding means that things will return to normal faster, but I was hoping to live through a “monumental” year.  Then we could talk about “the year of the flooding” 🙂

Anway, below is the gazebo in Huber park.

By the time I took pictures that day I could tell the river had already started to lower–as evidenced by the water mark on this tree…

And of course, below is Hwy 101.  It’s always strange for me to see a road that we drive a lot completely submerged.  I overheard some city workers talking about raising Hwy 41 that comes down out of Chaska–but it wouldn’t happen for a few more years.  Apparently they can’t raise 101 because the roads that lead right up to it are also just as low, so they would have to replace a lot of roads, not just this stretch of 101…

And since it’s hard to see the signs, I’ve zoomed in on the picture so you can get an idea of how high the water really is.

Chloe enjoyed seeing the river.  She kept asking to see ducks, and I tried to explain that I can’t make ducks appear out of thin air… 🙂

I, on the other hand, actually had a really tough time with the walk down to the river that day–I had to sit and rest for a while at the park because my contractions were starting to bother me.  In fact the tightness got so bad that I finally called Tim to come down (the 6 blocks) and pick us up.  But in my defense the 6 blocks back home are all uphill!  🙂