How to Make a Boring Day Awesome

I woke up today determined to see something new. I've been given the job (well, half the job) of finding pictures for the case study a bunch of us are presenting in November on the Bear River. Naturally I was psyched because I'm studying the Bear River, and I love any opportunity to get to know my study area better.

Oh, quick side-topic. I live in an old house, I can hear everything that goes on around me, and it's driving me crazy. Every morning something wakes me up, and it's usually this big stupid Dodge truck that doesn't know how to use it's quiet voice, even though it gets up at 7:00 every morning. I figure I have two options, I can get ear plugs or I can put sugar in the trucks engine (or some other form of monkey wrenching). I know which option is the polite and legal option, but wouldn't wearing ear plugs to bed just give a win to big, dumb, early-rising trucks everywhere? And will I still be able to hear my alarm clock?

Back to the matter at hand. After ensuring that I got enough sleep for the days adventure, I tried to map out a way to see everything I wanted to. The Bear River is 500 miles long, and I didn't have time to see all that. I have pictures from the 3 federal wildlife refuges along the river, so I thought I'd focus on seeing something new, namely Cutler Dam, Bear River Bottoms, and Oneida Narrows Dam. Turns out, none of these were easy to see.

My first stop was Cutler Dam. Turns out I've been there before. Me and my old friend the Cockatoo went there 3 years ago, and as I remember it we didn't have any trouble getting right up next to the dam. So you can imagine my surprise when I couldn't find the correct road to turn onto (and the surprise of the residents of Beaver Dam who were out and about that morning and saw me drive by 3 times) and then found two "No Trespassing" signs in between me and the dam. This is all I could see from the other side of the gates, not what I was looking for.

Luckily for me, I only obey No Trespassing signs if I think I could be shot. Seeing as it was 3:00 on a Saturday afternoon, I guessed that there wouldn't anyone from the power company out working on the dam. And if there was someone, I'm pretty sure company policy discourages shooting people.

Anyways, Cutler is one of the places along the river where it's possible to completely dry the river up (there are two others), as two major canals get their water just above the dam and use that to irrigate a good portion of Box Elder County.

The CanalThe River

Then I drove over the world's scariest bridge. It has a 3 ton weight limit, and my truck isn't nearly that heavy, but the noises the bridge made as I drove over it nearly made me pee.

Before I headed back into Cache Valley I took the scenic route around the east end of Box Elder County. It was farmy. The next stop was Cutler Marsh. I've been there a few times, but never with a camera. Unfortunately there wasn't much to take pictures of today (go in the evening and you can get great shots of big, nasty carp). I did see some pelicans, who still make me happy, even if they eat cell phones. I also saw a redhead, a duck I'm sure was named after me. I also tried to get some pictures of agriculture that weren't just pictures of fields, don't really know if I succeeded.

Then I tried to find the Bear River Bottoms. I did find a sign for the Bottoms, but as far as I know it's not managed at all by DNR. There were lots of fences and notices posted, many by hunting clubs. I decided not to trespass there, as I know hunters have guns, and I wasn't wearing my bright yellow don't-hit-me-with-your-car/don't-shoot-me shirt.

This was a little disappointing, but now I know where the Bottoms are. Next I set off for Oneida Dam. It would totally be cool if they made dinner plates and flatware there, but mostly they just make hydro-power. This dam is in southern Idaho, near-ish Preston, and the drive there was wonderful. I drove along the river for like 10 miles through a peaceful canyon, I'll probably go back soon and paddle or tube the river there.

Eventually I got to the top of the dam, but then I couldn't drive along it, or even get anywhere with a good view of the spill way. Remember back in the day, before terrorism was a good excuse for making awesome things lame, when you could drive over the tops of earthen dams everywhere? I miss those days (especially because I didn't own a vehicle in those days). I did find a cement wall to climb, but there was nothing cool to see. I really wanted to explore more, but all those dang fences were making it difficult.
The drive back was uneventful, but nice. I like driving. Every tree-hugger instinct in me wants to dislike it, but I love a good road trip. Eh. I figure I drive places maybe twice a week, so I'm good. (I walked myself over to see "Inglorious Basterds" last night, and I liked it)

And that, my friends, is how you turn a potentially boring Saturday into something wonderful.