On One Fine Day —- Thursday, November 15, 2018

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On Sunday we saw an FB page from someone, who said they live at, or around Blue Mesa Reservoir.  On that page, he said that the water in the Blue Mesa Reservoir was so low that buildings from the Old town of Sapinero were starting to appear in the lake.  He then showed a photo of what he said was the old Sapinero grocery store.

Now Terry and I remember Sapinero, the old town, and we remember when the Blue Mesa Reservoir was filled completely covering the old town…not so very long ago.  It was in 1963.

We also know that even if the old town was completely covered with water, the New town of Sapinero was moved up on land above the Blue Mesa Reservoir making a complete community for those who wished to have their postal address say Sapinero, Colorado.

Off we drove looking for the buildings of the submerged old town of Sapinero.

The only buildings we saw were the dock houses.  (The water is extremely low.) So we stopped and talked to Park Ranger.  He looked at us as if we were nuts.

“No,” he said, shaking his head in puzzlement.  “No old buildings, just the two dock houses.  The water is terribly low” he went on to explain, but the reservoir is 39% of its capacity.” 

He asked us why we asked.  We explained about the FaceBook page.  He just shook his head and said…”Sounds like someone was using Photoshop.”

He shook our hands and we left.

So here you have it— only the boat dock houses are on the lake.  Although they have told all boats they can no longer use the lake because of the boat ramps being so high.

We stopped at an interpretive sign so I could take a photo of it to post to you–:)   As you can see Sapinero is way down at the bottom of a huge canyon.  We used to have to drive into the canyon following the train tracks to go to Gunnison, Colorado.

The old town of Sapinero is very close to where the dam is now.  For the water to be so low in the Blue Mesa Reservoir that the buildings were starting to appear…the whole reservoir would have to be empty.

Sigh!

So whoever it was that posted this really just made everything up.  BUT—-it did get us out of the house and up to the Reservoir for a little ride!  That turned out nicely!

You folks have a good one…we are still moving along with harvest!

Your friend on a western Colorado farm,

Linda

 

 

23 thoughts on “On One Fine Day —- Thursday, November 15, 2018”

  1. I’m glad you were able to enjoy your ride, even if it was prompted by a hoax. (I personally take most things I see on FB with a BIG grain of salt!). I hope the reservoir gets a lot of water this coming winter and spring.

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  3. Ha ha – the cretins of Facebook at work.
    I think you already know, Linda, my thoughts on Facebook but still
    it got you away from the farm for a break and after all seeing is believing.
    Hope all is progressing well with the harvesting.
    Cheers
    Colin ( from so-called sunny Terrigal where there has been precious little sun this
    Spring?????!!!!!!)

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  5. Wellll, that was interesting. Honestly I know I should remember before the reservoir, but… ? Someone thought they “saw” something, but didn’t know the history. Kind of like the old Dillon town site at the bottom of Dillon Res. Good story. At least it was a great drive! Glad you shared!

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  7. Lexington Reservoir sometimes gets low enough to expose the foundations of the buildings from the old towns of Lexington and Alma. My great grandparents knew those towns. It is eerie to see them now.

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  9. You had fun investigating the story so I guess it was worth it. I read this yesterday but didn’t get time to write a note. I worry about the changing water patterns as much as any farmer. It’s vital to all life forms. Too much or too little is never good and it’s all out of whack right now. Keeping my fingers crossed. Too many lakes drying up.

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