We went back to the watershed, only this time, it was a much sunnier day. We went down to the shoreline, and played on the 'Tunnel Stump'... it was a fun morning!

The Water Drums
We got to the place before it actually opened... so we had some time to kill.

The Ledge
It was a clear, blue- day... it warmed my heart to hear him say it was too bright, and we headed for the shady areas.

The Cheese Log
He wanted to take a picture by the famouse tree, which was a seedling around the time of the American Independence

Heading down the path
We took a walk down the pathway leading to the shoreline of Rattlesnake Lake to wait for the place to open

Watching the water
Along the way, he likes to stop by a stream rushing under a bridge

Dipping a stick
lowering a stick into the water is pretty fun!

Waterfall!
Farther down the path, the stream is a water fall that dips under the pathway

Checking out the water
He likes to watch the water rush down and into the culvert

Watching the water
We spent a few minutes looking at the water.

Rattlesnake Lake
The lake was pretty smooth in the morning calmness.

The Ledge
Rattlesnake Ledge in all is glory

Playing under the stump
There's several stumps along the shoreline, washed up from storms. Rattlesnake lake formed as a byproduct of the Cedar Falls Dam, as the water behind the dam rose, so did the water table, which created Rattlesnake Lake (and flooding out the town of Mocton)

Throwing stuff
The little guy enjoys throwing stuff into the lake... rocks, sticks, whatever!

Climbers
While we were walking along the the shoreline, I noticed climbers had made it to the Ledge

Mt Si over the Lake
What a great place to be from!

Entering the tunnel stump
His favorite stump, by far, is the one with the tunnel!

Checking out the lookout
Halfway through, there's a lookout hole

The lookout from above
He likes to look out over the water from that vantage point.

Heading through
Parts of the tunnel are tall enough for him to mostly stand up

Having a blast
He really likes playing in the stump!

Inside with the balls
After the shoreline trek, we headed back up to the information center, which was open by then.

Getting the Balls
He collects several balls, and sends them around the room. The balls are supposed to be water droplets, and the area is showing the various stages of the water cycle... he doesn't care about that, he just likes to watch the balls shoot through the tubes!

lots of them!
He gets carried away sometimes...

Sending them on thier way
It didn't take him very long to figure out how to get them to go where he wanted them to go...

out at Olalie and the 'Big Waterfall'
After the watershed, he wanted to see the 'fast water', which is his word for the power plant at Olalie State Park

Slow water
There's two sections... the fast water, and the slow water... this is just above the powerplant's exit chute.. in the fall, you can see fish spawning here...

Warning sign
We're safely above this sign.. but when I was a kid, I used to play next to a very similar sign - that added the words 'DANGER OF DEATH'... yeah, that was a lot of fun!

The falls
Hidden in this view by the rocks, this is where the Olalie Falls are. There's a trail that takes you to a good vantage point... I guess I was too busy with the little guy to get a picture from there.

Description of the powerplant
The plant is an example of a 'damless'water station. Water is siphoned off upstream - and up hill - and sent down a pipe to the powerhouse, where we were.

The generator building
This is the power house, which has two turbines under this lid.. which the little guy loves to run around on!

Heading back to the truck
After a bit, when he was wore out, we went back to the truck... it was a very fun way to spend a Saturday Morning!

 

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