We had a ælittle rainÆ yesterday eveningà Approximately 3-inches of the stuff dropped from the sky in about an hour; and even though our town sits on the side of a mountain û with an elevation that is higher than any other incorporated municipality, east of Denver, Colorado - it flooded.

At about 6PM, water was running down the hill in front of our house in such an amazing quantity that I looked at Miss Kathy and said, öLetÆs go see what it looks like out there!ö --- Yes, I know it isnÆt exactly wise to go for a drive in the middle of a National Weather Service Flash Flood Warning, but I know my RodeoÆs limitationsà and more importantly, I know the local terrainà There were a number of spots that we encountered where the water was quite deep and moving very quickly, which I opted NOT to traverse. --- Still, I just couldnÆt help myself from driving down College Avenue to a low-lying intersection thatÆs located on the Virginia boarder.

Approaching from the West Virginia side, the water was literally a river running more than a foot-deep down the middle of the thoroughfareà at the curbs it was probably closer to two-and-a-half-feet deep. --- The water was moving with such intensity that it was literally blowing the manhole covers off of the storm drains, and sending plumes into the airà it looked like the water was boiling-up from below the surface.

From the Virginia side, the city police had set-up road blocks at both of the streets located on their end of the intersection, and were turning people awayà allowing no one to cross-over to the West Virginia sideà the side that I had just driven down.

Kathy and I turned at the light, and pulled into the convenience store on the corner. --- We stayed there for a while, and watched the spectacle, before returning the way we had come (bypassing the roadblocks, by never having crossed to the other side of them in the first place. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/coolg.gif" alt="" /> )



Imagine my surprise when Kathy woke me up this morning to tell me that we are on the front page of the news paper, shown fording the water at that very intersection, moments before we stopped at the convenience store! --- Talk about good Isuzu publicity! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Admittedly, at the point the photo was taken, the water wasnÆt even up to my hubsà but as a whole, itÆs not as if the trip was without peril.


And YES, I took my camera with me, however, it will be a while before I have the time to upload and host any of the photosà I promise IÆll add them to this thread as soon as I get a chance.



This is not the first time that we have had this sort of flooding around here. --- I have seen, first-hand, what happens to the homes and property of the unfortunate souls that live downstream. --- While I was out puddle-jumping and playing around, they were likely abandoning their homes in search of higher ground. --- My thoughts and prayers are with them.


Cheers! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />
Smiley