Wettest and Snowiest December on Record

According to the National Weather Service, this has been the wettest and snowiest December recorded according to weather statistics from Ely, Nevada. Here's the bulletin they issued:

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ELKO NV
441 PM PST SUN DEC 26 2010

...SNOWIEST AND WETTEST DECEMBER IN ELY, NV...

THIS DECEMBER HAS BEEN THE ALL-TIME SNOWIEST AND WETTEST DECEMBER
ON RECORD IN ELY, NV. HERE ARE THE TOP 5 DECEMBERS IN EACH CATEGORY.

 SNOWIEST           WETTEST
25.7  2010         3.18  2010
23.3  2009         3.15  1894
22.3  1968         2.11  1966
21.0  1894         1.87  1909
18.9  1948         1.79  1964

NOTE: MORE PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED IN ELY BEFORE THE END OF THE
MONTH. STAY TUNED TO WWW.WEATHER.GOV/ELKO FOR THE FINAL STATISTICS.

Get Your Snake Valley Calendar Now!

Looking for that perfect Christmas gift? Look no further--the 2011 Snake Valley Calendar is easy to buy and full of beautiful images to enjoy for a full year!

Calendars are available for 2 for $25 or 1 for $15. They are on sale at the Border Inn or email c_g_baker @ yahoo.com if you'd like to have them sent to you.

Proceeds from these calendars benefit the Great Basin Water Network, which is working to protect Snake Valley from dewatering.

Thank you!

Smoke and Flames

Some recent sights at Great Basin National Park.



A fire crew came up from Lake Mead to burn over 75 wood piles. Pinyon and juniper were thinned around the park headquarters and residential area a couple years ago to make the area more defensible in case a large fire came. The dry wood put up quite a bit of smoke, making for some interesting photos.

Autumn is Here!

Summer took a while to get started, but then seemed to hang around for quite some time. September was a warm and dry month, and it almost seemed that summer had decided to stay. Then some of the aspens started turning the second week, and before long whole hillsides had turned varying shades of yellow, orange, and red. This transition to the colorful season is always a delight, and the longer, cooler evenings are harbingers of what's to come.

The temperatures still warmed during the days, and the contrast of the colorful leaves with the bright blue sky made me want to saunter under them all day, enjoying the view.

Autumn in Snake Valley is a glorious sight, although a bit unpredictable. The start and end are never fixed, and the duration can be short or long.

Today we went up to enjoy more fall colors and found that many of the aspens had already lost their leaves. With a forecasted week of stormy weather, it's likely that the brilliant fall colors that still cling to the trees will soon be upon the ground. The highest ones may even get dusted by snow.

International Observe the Moon Night

Tonight is the first International Observe the Moon Night, an event designated to get more people interested in the moon and other features beyond our earth.

Great Basin National Park is holding a special program at 7 p.m. at the Lehman Caves Visitor Center area. You can sure appreciate the night sky in the dark skies of Snake Valley!

To learn more about the moon, check out this LiveScience article with links to a moon map and moon viewing tips.

Yummy Snake Valley Days BBQ

The place to be for the young'uns Saturday was around this steaming cauldron of...root beer! The dry ice makes it seem so Halloween-like. The homemade root beer is always a big attraction of the annual Snake Valley Days barbeque, held on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend.

Tri-tip roasts were barbequed on the grill out back over charcoal, and this year the guys seasoned and smoked some of the roasts, along with the traditional barbeque flavor. They were all delicious!

Janille put up signs.

Meg sliced up watermelon.

The kids continued enjoying being out on the front porch, although they might be getting a little tired of stirring!

Inside, the potatoes were taken out of the oven, tomatoes sliced, beans mixed and cooked, and much more.

When all was ready, the big bell rang and the crowd started through the chow line. There was a good turnout, and everyone was treated to a delicious meal.

I didn't get many photos, but you can see some of the people who attended in these photos.

Fortunately there was some leftover meat to buy so anyone who wanted to enjoy the savory taste longer could.

Thanks to everyone who came and supported this fundraiser for the Snake Valley Volunteer Fire Department!

Coming Soon--Snake Valley Days

Saturday of Labor Day weekend is the annual Snake Valley Days BBQ and dance. This is a fun community event and is a fund raiser for the local fire department. It's open to the public, and many folks who like Snake Valley, live in Snake Valley, or used to live in Snake Valley attend.

The BBQ is at the cookhouse on Baker Ranch, and the weekend before was the cleanup weekend.
Cows love to break through the fences, so fence repair was a priority. Volunteers came to help with that, painting, mowing grass, cleaning the cookhouse, and more.
A fresh layer of paint made things look a lot better!
Two of the younger helpers find ways to keep busy in front of the cookhouse.
Kathy says hi! (I think my son took this photo.)
Apparently the cleanup was hard work!

We hope you can come and enjoy the BBQ at the cookhouse and the dance at the Border Inn. The BBQ starts at 4:00 p.m. (PDT). Cost is $10 for 16 and older, $5 for seniors and kids aged 6-15, free for children 5 and under. Live music at the Border Inn on Highway 6 & 50 begins at 8:00 p.m., with Loose Connection playing. There is no cover charge for the dance and no packaged liquor is allowed.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

More Triathlon Photos

Thanks to Beth, we have some more photos of the fun triathlon.

Exiting the water onto the muddy beach.



Tagging a teammate. Think the poodle wants to get involved?

Whew, that was a good workout!

The beginning of the longer-than-anticipated run.












Getting on the bike with his sister's encouragement.
Waiting for everyone to finish.
Ready to go again!

Thanks for sharing, Beth!

2010 Snake Valley Triathlon

Last weekend we went to the Snake Valley Triathlon. The route was to swim across Silver Creek Reservoir, run to the highway, and bike to the Border Inn. We had a great turnout despite mostly overcast skies.

Individuals and teams participated. The swimmers gathered on the far side of the reservoir.

Chandra waiting for the "official" start.
The water level has gone down quite a bit recently, shrinking the reservoir and leaving some water lines. It also made for some deep mud at the exit point.

And they're off!
The water was a surprisingly pleasant temperature.
Navigating the mud made for a tricky transition.
Ben was the lifeguard, watching the swimmers.
Some of the runners taking off.
We thought the run was only two miles, but it turned out to be almost three.
Here's the run to bike transition zone, complete with human and canine spectators. We thought the bike ride was only five miles, but it turned out to be seven. Everyone got a little extra exercise!
Meg said encouraging things to Jeremy, who finished in the top three.
There were a lot of fast runners in the race.
This is how the transition looked like as the runners approached it.
Andy getting close to the end of the run.


Some of the spectators had fun expressions!
Dave and Tana were part of the team that finished second.
Ben finishing the bike ride for his team.
Gretchen happy to have made it.
Water and yummy homemade coffee cake awaited participants and spectators.
Breanna was the youngest to complete the whole race by herself.
There was no awards ceremony (or awards), so everyone wandered around afterwards and tried to keep from getting stiff.
More spectators.
More finishers.
I love the expression on Cindy's face. Way to go!
She's happy to be done!
Heather and Tana discussing strategies for next year (maybe).

And here are most of the participants. Some of the kids were busy looking at the huge houseboat parked nearby--we don't see those too often in Snake Valley!

It was a fun triathlon, and hopefully we'll have another one next year!
Thanks to everyone who came!