Y flood - Spet 12, 2013

 While all the flooding was going on in all the canyons heading down to the front range, the Y was dealing with its own aspect of the flood.

In Marketing Dept's own words.... Front Entrance and Dorsey Lake

M tried to keep in contact as best as possible, but when communications went down mid-afternoon she was as lost as anyone.  She finally heard from her boss Saturday morning and found out both her employees were safe and on their way to the Y for safety and shelter.  Since all roads into Estes were closed to public travel, M just had to sit and wait for information from her boss as to the status of the Y and the roads leading there.  By Sunday evening, two roads were opened to residents and essential traffic.  So Tuesday morning, we loaded up the truck to head up.  Since the open road was from I-70, we had to head down to Denver, west to Central City and then back north; in other words a town we normally get to in an hour was almost 4 hours away by road.  Along the way M saw the aftermath of the flood.  The last 1/2 mile to the Y was were the road was damaged. 
Then M got to the entrance and the sight that met us was unbelievable.  The flood across the road had caused the turn lane to collapse.

At the entrance to the Y is the little pond that I've skated on every winter.  However 24 hours of 9+ inches of water running over the bridge deposited so much silt and gravel, that the little lake is no longer there.  Instead a river runs through it!  The tree used to be on a little island, now it is the shoreline.

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The little "dam" that was at the far end of Dorsey Lake was washed out in the flood.

Further along the river was more evidence of damage, as the back road into the Y was also washed out.  All that remains is the gas pipeline that ran underneath.

After supper the first night, we headed down to explore a little more.  The runoff was still running alongside the road, so I just had to stop and play.

We also got a closer look at the collapsed pavement on the entrance road.

There was so much debris in the creek below the lake.

At one point, you can even see the alternate path the flood took.  The original creek went one way and the flood waters went another, so now there are two channels around the tree.