Enloe Reservoir

We heard a rumour - false, apparently - that the old Enloe Dam in Washington is slated for demolition this year.

 So we stopped by to take some pictures.

Downstream, the old powerhouse, and in the foreground, a piece of rough water called Similkameen Falls.

This is an interesting choice of names. There are two places on the Similkameen River that bear it, neither of them being real waterfalls. Instead they're both rather wild looking rapids. As far as I know, the only real waterfall on the Similkameen is the Enloe Dam itself.

Visible on the South side is the wooden flume that runs between the dam and the powerhouse. Above it is the abandoned VV&E railbed that used to go to Princeton in Canada. The area around the reservoir has a high concentration of fascinating old stuff.

There is no log boom before the edge of the dam. This cable is the last warning. Moral of the story: If ever, when out canoeing in the middle of the night, a rope should hit you in the face, pause and consider that there may be a message in it.

The lake is long, narrow and river like.

That horizontal line in the background is the old irrigation canal, about which I'll make another post.

The top of the dam is in the upper right corner of the picture below.

Mouth of the Shanker's Bend Tunnel on the rail line.

Silt build up in the reservoir.

The scenic spot where river turns into lake.