Contentment by design - Living - Places photo #1100

Just about ten years ago, our community was hit by what was at that time described as a once in a millennium flood, caused by days of very heavy rains over the entire watershed, up to the Rocky Mountain Continental Divide that feeds into the St. Vrain Creek and this valley. This whole area was under rushing water for a couple days and was stripped bare of vegetation. A lot of trees were swept away, too. The creek actually jumped out of its normal channel and created a whole new channel. This is a view afterwards. A quarter mile further up, a whole bridge was swept away. A lot of damage was done to homes, businesses, and infrastructure in our town and the surrounding area.

Over the next few years, a lot of work was done to divert the creek back into its previous channel, to clear away debris, to plant new vegetation, and to rebuild. But we've had a lot of hot, dry summers since then, so the recovery has been very, very slow. This spring and summer, we have been enjoying an abundance of rainfall (though not too much!). The vegetation has responded with an exuberance of growth. For the first time, it feels like we have finally mostly recovered from the flood. The next photo is a view of the same valley now. The St. Vrain Creek is barely visible in the center of the photo. The field is now a happy jumble of mostly native plants and bushes, included wild sunflowers (the splashes of yellow in the field). It's August and the hills are still tinged green, which is very unusual here.