Monday, January 18, 2016

STUNNING VIEWS

Lake Gregory,
about a block and a half from our cabin two weekends ago.

The area, originally known as Houston Flat, was developed by and named for its developer, Redlands citrus grower Arthur Gregory, Sr. Gregory bought and developed land in an area known today as Valley of the Moon.
Work began in 1937 under a Works Progress Administration (WPA) grant to dam the east and west forks of Houston Creek, whose waters drain into tributaries of the Mojave River, thereby "going to waste". The project was nearly completed by March 1938, but federal funds had run out. Gregory financed the completion of the project, lending money to the district for the completion. The eventual cost was US$225,000, of which US$160,000 came from the federal government, with the balance funded by the water district.
Heavy rains that March put the dam to its first test. It had been estimated that it would take three years to fill the lake. So heavy were the rains that the lake filled in only three days. An unconfirmed, but plausible urban legend claims that the construction equipment left on the lake bed in 1938 during the rains remains at the bottom of the lake to this day.
 There was more snow here then we've seen in the 2 years we've been up here.
It's 3 miles around and the walk is glorious.
We were worried this summer.
The lake was way low because of the drought.
But with the rains and snow we've had this season, 
it's starting to fill back up.
YEAH!

5 comments:

  1. You're so fortunate to have a pond ... Our creekbed only fills when we get five or more inches of rain and is gone the next day!

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    1. Yeah, this lake is huge, takes a good hour or so to walk the whole thing

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  2. I used to go fishing at Lake Gregory with my boyfriend from high school. The good old days! We grew up in Ontario and in those days, a drive up to the mountains was a breeze. So glad you got snow so you can get the full experience of having a cabin in the woods.

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    1. Wait till you see the pix I'm posting today of the snow. It was incredible!

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    2. Wait till you see the pix I'm posting today of the snow. It was incredible!

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