Festival Music

Silver Sage Band playing at the Border Inn

If you're looking for some music, the Snake Valley Festival will have lots for you!

Friday evening, June 17, there will be music and entertainment during the ice cream social, which will be held at the Baker Community Center. This is right next to the playground, so it's perfect for family fun, with plenty of space for the younger kids to run around.

On Saturday from 1 - 3 p.m., entertainment will be provided at T&D's, located on main street in Baker. Roberta has lined up a great array of entertainment, so this will be an excellent way to kick back and relax after an exciting morning of browsing the booths and yard sale, watching the parade, and bidding on items at the silent auction.

Saturday evening at the Border Inn, Kirk Hoggard from the Silver Sage Band will provide roving music during the barbeque and after the live auction. He has donated two tickets to his Silver Sage Band Chuckwagon Show, which would be a great evening out to enjoy even more music!

So come on out and enjoy a great weekend! For a full festival schedule, click here.

Snake Valley Festival Facebook Page

Just wanted to let you know that the Snake Valley Festival now has a Facebook page. This is a great way to keep up to date with what's going on!

The Festival is June 17-19---coming up soon!

Check it out: Snake Valley Festival Facebook page.

Snake Valley Festival Countdown

Only 41 days until the Snake Valley Festival begins!

This year's festival has been expanded to cover three days, June 17-19, 2011.

Come join us for lots of fun!

Friday, June 17:
Ice Cream Social
Wine Tasting
Night Sky Program

Saturday, June 18:
Pancake Breakfast
Yard Sale
Book Sale
Booths
Parade
Entertainment
Kids' Games
Silent Auction
Water Fight
Barbeque
Auction
Music
Night Sky Program

Sunday, June 19:
5K/10K Trail Run/Walk
Pancake Breakfast
Enjoy the sights of Snake Valley!

To find out more about these events, click here.
We hope you can join us!

Enjoy the Snow in the High Country

There's still plenty of winter left at Great Basin National Park. Here are some ideas of what to do:

Spring Runoff Has Begun!

It might only be April and we still have freezing temperatures at night, but spring runoff has begun. We have historically reached peak flow on Baker and Lehman creeks on June 15. However, as in most of the West, climate change has caused warmer springs and earlier peak flows. This is of concern because then there's less water for the late summer and early fall, reducing habitat for fish and water for irrigating crops.

I had heard that Lexington Creek was running high, so I went down to check. This creek is usually dry year round down by Pruess Lake, but it was already running into it--in April.

On the southwest side of the lake I found this road being washed out by Lexington Creek.
The little waterfall was impressive. There were fairly recent tracks of someone fording it. That wouldn't be possible now.

The water was really brown. Most of the channel is dirt, so it erodes fast.

We might be seeing more of these washouts in the next couple months. Be sure to always check a crossing before you drive across it. You don't want your vehicle to be washed downstream and then filled with water and sediment!

Further upstream, where this road has been in place a long time, the crossing still looked in good shape, as long as you have high clearance and four-wheel drive.

Snake Valley Water Videos

County Seat TV 14 made these videos:
First, an overview of what's at stake if water is pumped out of Snake Valley.

A panel discussion with Phil Gardner from the USGS, Jon Harja with the Utah Governor's Office, and Millard County Commissioner. They discuss the science behind the numbers and what Millard County and Utah want to see happen in Snake Valley.

Snow Survey Results

Here are the results from last week's snow survey along the Baker Creek drainage:

March 31, 2011

Site Snow Depth Snow Water Equivalent Percent of Average
Baker Creek #1 24 in 7.8 in 134%
Baker Creek #2 61 in 20.2 in 143%
Baker Creek #3 72 in 17.3 in 101%

Additional snow course information for the region can be found at:
http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/ftpref/data/snow/basin_reports/nevada/wy2011/lostnv4.txt

This is down from the 152-182% from March, but we're still looking good.