Posted by a guest this summer, really shows off the highlights of anyone's visit here and pays homage to the movie.
Very nicely done!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhLXr9bXHAs
--dB
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Sandbag update
Last week we had hoped to plug the holes in our lake with sandbags. We actually had the first few bags loaded in our jonboat and were ready to go. Then our divers came up to the surface with bad news. Silt had covered the holes where we needed to place the sandbags. Silt, the consistency of mayonnaise, has been migrating down the steep sides of the lake, pulled down by gravity and washed in with rain and getting deeper and deeper into the bottom of the lake. The silt has slowed the exodus of water from the lake, but has not seemed to have much effect on the water loss.
We have hydrologists and other engineers studying our problem and working toward a thoughtful and responsible solution. We'll keep you updated here in the meantime.
Enjoy some pix we took recently as we GPS'd the around the lake's edge - sometimes we had to wade through mud as deep as our waists. You can see the we found a lost boat among other things that included a variety of beer cans dating back about as far as beer cans go, and some interesting shapes and patterns from the recently dried mud higher up the receding shoreline. Notice the rings in the last picture - they were fish beds that dried up.
We have hydrologists and other engineers studying our problem and working toward a thoughtful and responsible solution. We'll keep you updated here in the meantime.
Enjoy some pix we took recently as we GPS'd the around the lake's edge - sometimes we had to wade through mud as deep as our waists. You can see the we found a lost boat among other things that included a variety of beer cans dating back about as far as beer cans go, and some interesting shapes and patterns from the recently dried mud higher up the receding shoreline. Notice the rings in the last picture - they were fish beds that dried up.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Virginia Tech Long Distance Running Camp Visits MLC!
Last week we were excited to host the Virginia Tech Long Distance Running Camp with James DeMarcos of Runabout Sports. 
The weather was perfect for the runners as they breezed their way up Rt. 700 over the 6.5 mile climb that ascends about 2,750' to an elevation of over 4,200'.
The 125+ ravenous runners enjoyed a special brunch prepared by Mountain Lake's chefs
and spent the rest of the morning enjoying various recreational opportunities led by our staff.
Check out the pix...
The weather was perfect for the runners as they breezed their way up Rt. 700 over the 6.5 mile climb that ascends about 2,750' to an elevation of over 4,200'.The 125+ ravenous runners enjoyed a special brunch prepared by Mountain Lake's chefs
and spent the rest of the morning enjoying various recreational opportunities led by our staff.Check out the pix...
Sandbaggers to the Rescue
If you have been following the lake as it continues to recede you may have wondered, "is there anything we can do to stop the water loss?"
In an attempt to answer this question, The Mountain Lake Board has commissioned some divers to try to fix a major part of the suspected problem. The divers have recently found 18 holes in the lake's bottom. One hole is approximately the size of a pickup truck bed.
Obviously, with the combination of other major factors conspiring against us there is only so much we can do. The other cracks, seismic faults and sandstone geology also contribute to the lake's constant water loss. The droughts we have suffered since 1999 are the biggest issue and have affected lakes all over the southeast.
It is hoped that by attempting to plug the hole with sandbags we can at least decrease the rate output enough for normal rainfall to be able to turn things around. So the Conservancy's Recreation staff spent most of the afternoon yesterday preparing sandbags for the divers and placing them on the shoreline.
Check out the pictu
res..
.
In an attempt to answer this question, The Mountain Lake Board has commissioned some divers to try to fix a major part of the suspected problem. The divers have recently found 18 holes in the lake's bottom. One hole is approximately the size of a pickup truck bed.
Obviously, with the combination of other major factors conspiring against us there is only so much we can do. The other cracks, seismic faults and sandstone geology also contribute to the lake's constant water loss. The droughts we have suffered since 1999 are the biggest issue and have affected lakes all over the southeast.
It is hoped that by attempting to plug the hole with sandbags we can at least decrease the rate output enough for normal rainfall to be able to turn things around. So the Conservancy's Recreation staff spent most of the afternoon yesterday preparing sandbags for the divers and placing them on the shoreline.
Check out the pictu
res..
.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Adventure Mountain Lake Week Starts today!
Adventure Mountain Lake Week is here at last! We have all kinds of special fun things to do for both our hotel and day guests.We've already had lots of folks trying out their skills on our portable climbing wall!
Don't miss out, the climbing wall is only here till Friday then it is gone till next year!
Find out the schedule for what all else we'll have to do here...
http://www.mtnlakeconservancy.org/special-adventure.html
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Lakebed Cleanup While We Can! Trash or Treasure?
Chris and I ventured out on Monday, June 23rd for a solid 4 hour mud intensive cleanup around the receded lake. Since there is not a clue as to when the water will rise again, we have decided to seize the wonderful opportunity to gather decades and decades of revealed trash and TAR! Yes, there was a mess of tar down very close to the water. We can only hope that this was not dumped recently. Chris and I folded the tar over on itself several times to make it more manageable. The viscous black substance seized all the earth within reach even modling to our arms like pizza dough as we lifted.
We collected everything from ancient 'talking cameras' to boxer shorts abandoned by skinny dippers of the past. Chris and I concluded that the drink of choice back in the day must have been Pabst Blue Ribbon. Pabst barely beat out Coca-Cola as the most popular bottles/cans we found around the lake. There was also an old fence which may have marked low water levels of the past. The steel fence posts had rusted into a rubbery substance. There was also quite a variety of homemade anchors, the most interesting of which being a long piece of phone line strapped to an old brake drum with a leather belt. We also found a giant piece of auto glass, which had been broken in a couple places.
The most challenging obstacle to out cleanup was the black, all consuming, "quick-mud" that immediately surrounds the water. We used some scrap wood from old sunken boat hauls and tossed them ahead in lines to balance beam our way out to recover a rusty can, mucky bottle or shoe!. An incredible treasure that I have noticed among the waste left in the lake are these naturally forming terrariums! Some of the bottles have actually used the greenhouse effect of nurturing seedlings with no assistance from humans other than the act of littering. I have brought one home so far and plan to either drill some holes or score and break the top open to encourage further growth. So maybe the bottles aren't all bad, but the plants will definitely need a hand towards the next step of freedom.
We have also been saving all intact bottles which I am personally cleaning and recycling. I've recently picked up the hobby of home brewing and decided it would be neat to fill these lake bed bottles with my own carbonated beverage. There should be more pictures to come on this topic, and believe it or not I'm sure we will find even more spectacular treasures. I wish we had a camera for the tar and fishing rods we found.
Chris and I also stumbled upon an incredible wildlife encounter while trudging through the mud. There was a small pool with hundreds of salamanders dipping in and out of the lake. This seemed to be very out of character for salamanders to be so social and out in broad daylight! Whelp that's about all I can remember for now. When Chris gets back in I'm sure there will be more to share.
Toodles and talking cameras,
Greg
We collected everything from ancient 'talking cameras' to boxer shorts abandoned by skinny dippers of the past. Chris and I concluded that the drink of choice back in the day must have been Pabst Blue Ribbon. Pabst barely beat out Coca-Cola as the most popular bottles/cans we found around the lake. There was also an old fence which may have marked low water levels of the past. The steel fence posts had rusted into a rubbery substance. There was also quite a variety of homemade anchors, the most interesting of which being a long piece of phone line strapped to an old brake drum with a leather belt. We also found a giant piece of auto glass, which had been broken in a couple places.
The most challenging obstacle to out cleanup was the black, all consuming, "quick-mud" that immediately surrounds the water. We used some scrap wood from old sunken boat hauls and tossed them ahead in lines to balance beam our way out to recover a rusty can, mucky bottle or shoe!. An incredible treasure that I have noticed among the waste left in the lake are these naturally forming terrariums! Some of the bottles have actually used the greenhouse effect of nurturing seedlings with no assistance from humans other than the act of littering. I have brought one home so far and plan to either drill some holes or score and break the top open to encourage further growth. So maybe the bottles aren't all bad, but the plants will definitely need a hand towards the next step of freedom.
We have also been saving all intact bottles which I am personally cleaning and recycling. I've recently picked up the hobby of home brewing and decided it would be neat to fill these lake bed bottles with my own carbonated beverage. There should be more pictures to come on this topic, and believe it or not I'm sure we will find even more spectacular treasures. I wish we had a camera for the tar and fishing rods we found.
Chris and I also stumbled upon an incredible wildlife encounter while trudging through the mud. There was a small pool with hundreds of salamanders dipping in and out of the lake. This seemed to be very out of character for salamanders to be so social and out in broad daylight! Whelp that's about all I can remember for now. When Chris gets back in I'm sure there will be more to share.
Toodles and talking cameras,
Greg
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Dirty Dawg!!
This weekend, as we all know, was the big Dirty Dawg bike race weekend here at Mountain Lake. I was at marshal station 5 and had a great group coming through. Everyone was so psyched for the race and kicked butt coming up those hills. One guy asked me "so, this is the relay point where I pass my bike off to you & you finish for me, right??" :] Everyone did an awesome job & I was excited to be a part of it. After everyone was finished with the race, Kyle and I headed up to the horse barn to check out the post-race festivities. Everyone was in high spirits and having an awesome time. We cooked and provided concessions for everyone, and watched Greg's "Captain Insano" kid's challenge, which looked like a blast. We hung out and listened to everyone swap race stories for the next few hours. All in all, an awesome weekend!!
-Mallory
-Mallory
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