On our way from Lake Conconully to Moses Lake, WA, we decided to go see Coulee Dam or Grand Coulee Dam, depending on whom you talk with. Grand Coulee dam is on the Columbia River and it's -- well, grand in scope. According to our trusty guide, Exploring Washington's Past, the dam is the largest all-concrete structure on earth and is nearly a mile long. There are larger dams, but they have earth-filled cores. President Franklin Roosevelt approved funds for the dam's construction as part of the National Recovery Act's program of putting men to work on public building projects. The dam was begun on 3 December 1933 and completed in September 1941, ultimately a high dam for the generation of irrigation water and electricity. Three months later, the United States entered World War II, and the huge electricity generating capability of the dam supported the aluminium manufacturing process for airplane manufacture. An economic boon for Washington, to be sure!
It's so grand that you can't get it in one frame without a super wide angle lens. There's a park at the base of the dam in the town of Coulee Dam that is kept in beautiful condition and in May it was very green and full of blooms.
Furry was fixing to stay in the car, but we lured her out by taking her little purple cave out so she'd have a hidey hole in case there were things that required fleeing. Notice the lush apple blossoms; we must not be in south Dakota any more!
She got out and took in the dam. She'd been asking about hydroelectric power, and here it was in spades.
You could see how the dam had been formed right around the huge rock outcroppings that anchored it. At the time of building, engineers had little experience with such a huge river so they learned on the job! When mud persistently oozed from a hillside, they used a refrigeration unit to hold the hill in place by freezing it.
In places where the rock had to go, they drilled and blasted it away.
The gray concrete isn't without its aesthetic aspects.
As we walked along the tree covered walk shown above, we started noticing movement in the rock and then later, in the grass on our side of the walkway. Furry, of course, noticed them before we did -- resident marmots.
Some of the marmots were more sanguine than others.
The marmots had a very aesthetic place to hang out -- especially in spring.
Louise went for a walk in the little town of Coulee Dam, built as the dam was constructed. It's a lovely town with well-kept houses and beautiful gardens. A way downstream, Louise discovered a lovely public access riverside park. Of course, she insisted that I take a look and take pictures! She finds wonderful photo ops.
The park had views both upstream to the dam and downstream to the highway bridge the brings you in the town of Grand Coulee.
After we left the park we drove back across the bridge to see the back side of the dam.
Our final shot is a panorama view from downriver -- the whole dam thing.
Text by Brian and Louise, Photos by Brian. Text and Photos copyright Goin Mobyle LLC 2011
Dam Downstream Side
The Dam and Park Plantings
4-Runner and Furry's Travel Cave
Furry Ponders the Dam
Furry Wonders About Hydroelectric Power
Big Dam Rock
Explosives Drill Holes in the Rock
Hoist and Wall Design
Flow Tubes on Dam Face
Wall Design and Curved Tunnel
Side of Dam Panorama with Trees
Furry on Marmot Watch
Furry on Marmot Watch Close Up
Marmot on Furry Watch
Furry Spots a Marmot Buddha
Marmot on the Rocks
Magnolias in Bloom
A Riverside Park Downstream from the Dam
View Downstream from Riverside Park
Louise at Riverside Park
Back of Dam from Upstream Side
Grand Coulee Back Side
Grand Coulee Back Side in Black and White
The Whole Dam Thing in Black and White