News
ENLARGE
Fall always marks a traditional family ritual. No, it's not burning leaves or carving pumpkins but something that is a direct result of having been raised in the country. Walking the empty canal beds after the irrigation water is cut off. Yes, it's illegal but it never stopped me.
My friend Charlie Guenther who works for Grand Valley Irrigation will probably scold me after I tell this tale, but that won't stop me either.
I grew up next to the canal, more precisely, The Flume at First and F 1/2 roads. With water in it, this particular part of the canal was thrilling. Many locals remember bravely “shooting The Flume.” It was really fast and it was really scary. I never did it; I simply wasn't brave enough and I knew that if getting all my skin scraped off didn't kill me, my mother would.
It became quite a party place for Mesa College kids and local high school daredevils, and mostly at night when they were partying.
Our house sat right above The Flume and Daddy would watch through his binoculars at the revelry. If they woke him up in the middle of the night, he would go out and yell and them to keep it down; but otherwise, I think he enjoyed the voyeurism. He was wild like that. But Brother Baird says that, “The popularity grew until Daddy got Grand Valley Irrigation to put concrete in the bottom of the flume and later to put up fencing to keep those hippy kids out. How dare they have some fun?” Funny how people remember the same thing differently.
Baird confesses he never had the courage to go down but I sure do remember him throwing Jimmy Chapman's dog in the canal to see how that nice old dog made it down. And he and Kansas Cousin Larry witnessed the first person ever who went down in an inflatable raft (the type you float on in a pool). He said “It wasn't pretty as he was not able to hold onto the raft and ended up with some pretty good “flume rash.” There were a few horrific accidents but no one ever really died.
But when the canal is drained and gets as empty as it can, that's the time to go treasure hunting. You'll find the usual tires and tennis shoes, lots of empty bottles, hubcaps and stuff you don't know what it is.
One time my best friend, Melanie Johnson Doody, and I found a bloated carcass. We really didn't know what the species was, a pig or a dog. We just knew it was a blast to throw rocks at it and then dodge the rocks as they bounced off. It was pretty icky and adventuresome at the same time. It sounded like “Boing….ewwww. Boing… ewwww.”
Some of you might remember when Patterson or F Road had a dangerous curve in it between Seventh and 12th Street. Sometime in the early '60s the canal was re-routed and F Road was straightened. One time, Baird and some buddy were walking in the empty canal and they found a wallet. The wallet still held identification and a buck or two. Being Good Samaritans, they returned the wallet and got a reward. Story goes, the poor schmuck's car had plunged into the canal on that dangerous curve and he lost his wallet. I love that story.
Then there was The Falls, a multi-use facility below Mantey Heights, and The Cliffs, off 32 Road where the Cadez's keep all their beer (wouldn't that have been handy back then) and Three or Four Bridges by Bookcliff Gardens and I'm sure you all know other illegal recreational hang outs on our magnificent canal system.
When settlers first came into the Grand Valley, they knew that in order to live in the harsh sagebrush desert, they needed to get water on the land. As soon as Mesa County and the town of Grand Junction were incorporated, the digging began. First by farmers on their own and with lots of trial and error.
The Grand Valley Irrigation Company was formed 115 years ago; as the towns grew, other companies were formed on Orchard Mesa, in Palisade and the Redlands Power and Water Company. They not only brought water to the thirsty farms and orchards but also provided hydroelectric power. Improvements are still being made to the systems to handle issues of salinity, endanger species habitats, and taking as little water out of the rivers as necessary.
So, someday, maybe they'll figure out a way to use the ditch banks legally. They make a great place to walk, ride your bike or picnic. Meanwhile, don't get caught!
My friend Charlie Guenther who works for Grand Valley Irrigation will probably scold me after I tell this tale, but that won't stop me either.
I grew up next to the canal, more precisely, The Flume at First and F 1/2 roads. With water in it, this particular part of the canal was thrilling. Many locals remember bravely “shooting The Flume.” It was really fast and it was really scary. I never did it; I simply wasn't brave enough and I knew that if getting all my skin scraped off didn't kill me, my mother would.
It became quite a party place for Mesa College kids and local high school daredevils, and mostly at night when they were partying.
Our house sat right above The Flume and Daddy would watch through his binoculars at the revelry. If they woke him up in the middle of the night, he would go out and yell and them to keep it down; but otherwise, I think he enjoyed the voyeurism. He was wild like that. But Brother Baird says that, “The popularity grew until Daddy got Grand Valley Irrigation to put concrete in the bottom of the flume and later to put up fencing to keep those hippy kids out. How dare they have some fun?” Funny how people remember the same thing differently.
Baird confesses he never had the courage to go down but I sure do remember him throwing Jimmy Chapman's dog in the canal to see how that nice old dog made it down. And he and Kansas Cousin Larry witnessed the first person ever who went down in an inflatable raft (the type you float on in a pool). He said “It wasn't pretty as he was not able to hold onto the raft and ended up with some pretty good “flume rash.” There were a few horrific accidents but no one ever really died.
But when the canal is drained and gets as empty as it can, that's the time to go treasure hunting. You'll find the usual tires and tennis shoes, lots of empty bottles, hubcaps and stuff you don't know what it is.
One time my best friend, Melanie Johnson Doody, and I found a bloated carcass. We really didn't know what the species was, a pig or a dog. We just knew it was a blast to throw rocks at it and then dodge the rocks as they bounced off. It was pretty icky and adventuresome at the same time. It sounded like “Boing….ewwww. Boing… ewwww.”
Some of you might remember when Patterson or F Road had a dangerous curve in it between Seventh and 12th Street. Sometime in the early '60s the canal was re-routed and F Road was straightened. One time, Baird and some buddy were walking in the empty canal and they found a wallet. The wallet still held identification and a buck or two. Being Good Samaritans, they returned the wallet and got a reward. Story goes, the poor schmuck's car had plunged into the canal on that dangerous curve and he lost his wallet. I love that story.
Then there was The Falls, a multi-use facility below Mantey Heights, and The Cliffs, off 32 Road where the Cadez's keep all their beer (wouldn't that have been handy back then) and Three or Four Bridges by Bookcliff Gardens and I'm sure you all know other illegal recreational hang outs on our magnificent canal system.
When settlers first came into the Grand Valley, they knew that in order to live in the harsh sagebrush desert, they needed to get water on the land. As soon as Mesa County and the town of Grand Junction were incorporated, the digging began. First by farmers on their own and with lots of trial and error.
The Grand Valley Irrigation Company was formed 115 years ago; as the towns grew, other companies were formed on Orchard Mesa, in Palisade and the Redlands Power and Water Company. They not only brought water to the thirsty farms and orchards but also provided hydroelectric power. Improvements are still being made to the systems to handle issues of salinity, endanger species habitats, and taking as little water out of the rivers as necessary.
So, someday, maybe they'll figure out a way to use the ditch banks legally. They make a great place to walk, ride your bike or picnic. Meanwhile, don't get caught!
