It’s the time of year for saving money!
This morning I was greeted by a beautiful cloudless sunrise.
Compared to what the sunrise looked like a week ago – misty, white, and very
wet, this was a most welcome beginning to the day.
I want to thank everyone who sent me good wishes and offers
of help. I even heard from some relatives I hadn’t spoken to in years. The
short 411 is that I’m fine, my family is fine, my house is fine, my driveway
has a lot more ruts and reasons for UPS and FED-X drivers to hate me, and my
commuting time into Boulder has doubled from twelve to twenty-four minutes. All
and all, not much damage for a 100-year flood.
But many of my neighbors were not so lucky. The flood
rendered a number of the homes that were nestled next to Four Mile Creek
inhabitable. Even some of the houses that weren’t touched directly by the water
were stripped of their septic and well systems.
And then there’s the roads. On the first one mile section of
119, which was the main thoroughfare from Nederland to Boulder, there are three
sections where the road is so undercut that it’s less than a lane wide. It’s
going to take quite a while to restore it to functionality.
The town of Lyons, which was a hotbed of musical activity,
has been reduced to a ghost town, with many of the houses uninhabitable. A
portion of Lyons’ housing stock will probably never be restored because the two
forks of the Saint Vrain river have moved, taking over land that used to hold
homes.
Lyons was also the home of Planet Bluegrass, which is where
the Rockygrass Bluegrass Festival and Academy grounds are located. The entire
facility was flooded and the river has cut a new path in front of the main
stage. The second stage, called the Wildflower pavilion (where I’ve made some
great recordings) is simply GONE. Planet Bluegrass plans to be back up and
running in time for the next Rockygrass Festival in July 2014. I wish them the
best.
Looking around the foothills that surround my house it’s
abundantly obvious they were formed by wind, water, and volcanic activity. So
far I’ve experienced two out of the three…I’ll pass on the third, thank you.
