Rising Molalla River

I was planning on doing my 52 Weeks of Fairy Tales-Week 3 Post this afternoon, but with all of the rising rivers around here, we decided to take a quick trip to the Molalla River to see how high it is getting.  The rain has been coming down pretty good the last few days, and with the snow melting, the rivers and streams all around are rising.  So we headed over to Feyrer Park, which is about ten minutes outside of town, and right on the Molalla River.

We often visit Feyrer Park during the spring and summer for a nice walk or an impromptu picnic, so we are familiar with what the river normally looks like.  We were surprised how high and fast it is today.  Here are some  of the pictures we took.

The river is level with the grass, normally it is a good five feet down below.

The water is normally not brown like this, and the whole time we were noticing large tree trunks and branches moving down the river at a very fast pace.

I had to get a picture of this tree covered in pretty ferns.

You can see how high the water is compared to the picnic benches, which are usually not right next to the water.

Had to get a few family pictures next to the interesting trees.

I loved this knobby tree, looked like it would start talking in a low deep voice any minute!

We then took a walk to the other side of the park, where a tiny creek winds through the camping area, the creek was much wider and quicker than normal.

I love all of the cedar trees.

Joseph checking out the water.

Gary and Sarah looking up into some cedar trees.

After enjoying the little creek, we walked back over to the river, and got a picture of it's depth under the bridge, so we will be able to compare it this summer.

A few last looks, and the boys skipped a few rocks.

Here is a short video of the river, this gives a little better idea at how quick the river is moving.

On the way home we drove around some of the back roads, and realized that some of the houses and roads were flooding, so we decided to head home.  Then Mom called to make sure we were okay, she had no idea we were off exploring, she had heard on the news that the highway had gone out near Molalla, fortunately we were not near there, and the road was shut down before anyone got hurt.  I knew the water was high, but I hadn't realized the level of flooding, so my prayers go out to the people who will be dealing with flooding homes, and to all of the workers who will be out fixing bridges and power outages.