Mountains, Floods, and Other Things

         As I mentioned last time, we are now on a mission trip to eastern Colorado, and while most of us arrived on Saturday, the work began today. There are some important things to know when you come from the coast of California to work in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. First and foremost, there is no air up here! Even though I was raised in Colorado, I have been gone for 40 years, and the old lungs ain't what they used to be! Many of my teammates are suffering from the same adjustments: shortness of breath, headaches, wobbly knees, exhaustion. To help just a bit, we went sight-seeing yesterday, both to see the area and to get a tiny bit adjusted. While part of the sight-seeing involved looking at the areas of damage, another part was looking at the splendor that is Rocky Mountain National Park.I will talk more about the park sometime in the future, but suffice it to say that at the main visitor center, which is located at 11,700 feet, there is REALLY no air there!

        The reason we are here has to do with a weather catastrophe...on September 9, 2013, it began to rain in the foothills, Twenty-four inches of rain fell in three days in a land which sees normally 15-18 inches in a season. The Little Thompson River which normally runs at 30 cubic feet per second hit somewhere around 50,000 cfs before the flow meter washed away! A small creek near Berthoud, Colorado, which has a normal flow of 15 cfs came in at 15,000. Six people were killed, 17,494 homes damaged, 1500 homes destroyed, and 11,700 people evacuated from their homes. There is much work to be done.

         This morning, we divided into four teams and headed out to get some of that work done. The first team headed out toward Greeley to do drywall work and painting on a house located so far from the river as to not be considered on the flood plain. Of course, the river was two miles wide (normally 200 yards) at the time of the flood. The second group headed to Berthoud to begin repairs on about a mile of agricultural fence...one of the team members spoke of farm equipment buried in silt and steel fence posts set in concrete which had been yanked out of the ground, concrete and all. A third group went to a small resort in the town of Drake, a small resort which had not brought any income to the family for one year. Electrical work, painting, drywall, and other tasks will hopefully bring the resort partially to life before the winter snows. The final group went to a home between Loveland and Drake to assist an elderly couple who had been living in their second story for a year. Painting and carpentry will help this family possibly be able to return to the first floor of their home soon.

           I was working in the fourth group, and it was heartbreaking to hear the 89 year old man fuss at his helplessness. This was the second time in the 40+ years he had lived in this house that there had been a flood. Before, he could help with the repairs, but this time he could not. Even so he was determined when he told us he expected to live at least 10 more years and die in the house he loved. Every one of the twenty-two people on this trip has a story, and I will relate some of them as I go, but in the meantime I have a new appreciation for those who paint houses!!

           In the meantime, I think I will spend time giving thanks for the blessings in my life, recognizing once again that all can be lost in the day of a storm.....