Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The Grand and Rogue River Confluence


This is a Earth Cache. Just had to go to the destination they pointed out and take a picture of yourself there.
This was the 1st of five we did today.

Here is the information they supplied on it: Pretty interesting!
River - A large natural stream of water emptying into an ocean, lake, or other body of water and usually fed along its course by converging tributaries.

Tributary - a stream or river which flows into a larger stream or river.

Confluence - The meeting of two or more bodies of water. It can be where a river meets a lake, sea, or ocean. Or in our case here, the junction point of a river and its tributary.

The Grand and Rogue River Confluence

Down river, 150 yards or so to the right from where you stand, the Rogue River enters the Grand River. This spot where the two rivers join together is called a confluence.

From here the mouth of the Rogue River may be hard to see at times because the Rogue is a much smaller river. But the contribution of its waters and their effect on the Grand River are unmistakable.

The Rogue River is 42 miles long and has 234 square miles of watershed. It varies from 15 feet wide in the upper sections to 80 feet wide near its end and is between 1 - 4 feet deep. There is one dam along its length- the Rockford dam.

The Grand River is Michigan’s longest river and has 8,592 square miles of watershed. Its headwaters are in Somerset Township, Hillsdale County and it flows into Lake Michigan approximately 260 miles downstream at Grand Haven. It has numerous dams along its length. Its major tributaries are the Red Cedar River, Looking Glass River, Maple River, Flat River, Thornapple River, and the Rogue River.

Early in our country's history both the Rogue River and the Grand were used as an important transportation routes by Indians, explorers, traders, and finally white settlers. During Michigan's lumber era in the late 1800s their waters floated timber to the mills along the shores of the Grand River. Today their uses are mainly recreational.

Logging Requirements

To log this cache you will need to complete the following. All that should be posted with your log will be a photo. The answers should be e-mailed to us and not posted in your log. Go ahead and log your find at the same time you're sending your email answers.

* Post a picture of yourself/team with the Grand River in the background.
(alternately: if you do not have a digital camera - include with your email the answer to this question - what is located at the posted coordinates?

Many times at a confluence the tributary will have a dramatic effect on the course and width of the river it is entering. Email us the answers to the following questions which can be found by observing the rivers from the posted coordinates.

1. Describe what happens at the confluence of the Rogue River and the Grand River. Is there any change in the course of the Grand River?

2. Is there any change in the width of the Grand River after the confluence?



I don't know if you can see it but there is a huge crane on the tree out there.


This is what we had to take a picture with..
Paige was scared she was going to fall in. I told her to hell with fallen in worry about what will come out of the water and snatch you off the dock..lol She hated me after that.

ACT-ing in Plainfield


Another cache located at a cemetery. Quick easy find! The second one found out of five today :)




Found it!

Signing Log..

Rogue River Gaging Station


3rd one of the day. This was another Earth Cache. Read all about it..

Rogue River Gaging Station

This earthcache is designed to show you how today’s rivers are monitored/regulated. The above coordinates will take you to a United States Geological Survey (USGS) gage station for the Rogue River near Rockford.

A Gaging Station is a facility used by hydrologists and others to monitor streams, rivers, lakes, canals, reservoirs, and other bodies of water. Gaging stations typically collect information such as water height and discharge (flow) through a stilling well or a vertical pipe that is located beneath the gage house. Water enters this well through one or more inlet pipes which in turn makes the water level equal to the stream or river. This information is recorded and sent to the USGS via telephone or a satellite communication system in real-time.

It is very important to monitor, and control the river’s flow for several reasons. We can start with the control of flooding or at least the warning of flooding. Since the Rogue Rivers flow is regulated by damming downstream, these gauging stations relay the information to do the necessary regulating of the dam. Another important reason for this gauging and regulating of the river is to limit erosion of the river banks. Even though erosion will always take place, it can be held to a minimal. Ground water also depends on these regulated flows. Ground waters include some small lakes, marshes and wetlands.

Gaging Station History
In the 1880's, John Wesley Powell, the second director of the USGS, requested that stream flow be monitored in eight river basins in the West. It was his idea to measure the flow of streams and rivers and determine the viability of irrigation systems for this acrid region. In 1889, the first U.S. stream gaging station was established on the Rio Grande River in New Mexico. At this station, standard stream flow measurement procedures were devised.

Today, the USGS operates and maintains more than 85% of the nation's stream gaging stations. There are over 7,000 stream gaging stations in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Territories of the Pacific Islands.

The USGS uses its stream gaging network to provide a free continuous source of well documented and archived water data. This data is used by government agencies and private companies to forecast flooding, design bridges, allocate drinking and irrigation water, for recreational use, and to manage our valuable surface water resources.

Paige with the Gage Station..


Pretty view near by..

xryiva


This was a mystery cache. You had to solve a puzzle to get the right cords. No way in hell would I have figured it out. The owner tried to show me but math is not one of my stronger points. So she helped me out another way.
Now Paige and I was all over with this one. We thought it was going to be at the very north end of Riverside Park. Nope, still way off. So we got in and drove closer. Parking was a bitch, but I parked at the construction place. No one said anything thank god.. lol
This was the 4th of the day. Alittle bit more searching involved with this one. I thought I was going in the water for a moment. :)
Really didn't take no pictures of this one. I think we were getting flustrated and hot and want to just find it.

I found it!!!


We had to strike a pose..


Took a Travel Bug..

Griff was Here


5th of the day. Paige pooped out on me with this one so had to find it on my own. Pretty easy find. They gave a clue of "MH", which screwed me all up. There was a pole with a marker on it that had the MH on it. So I was all over that and the man hole by it looking for the cache. Well it wasn't there, it was still about 14ft away.
But I found it :)



Monday, August 25, 2008

Back Scratcher


Indeed it does look like a huge ass back scratcher. To funny. Went out today on my own to grab this one. Pretty easy find. I had a few people watching me, but I'm sure they have been wondering why people are inspecting this yellow railing lately.

Really look at it..It does look like a back scratcher!


I found it!


Took a geocoin to pass along to another cache.
The Finnish Tram Geocoin

No Climbing This "Ladder"



I use to come here almost every day when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter. Just sit and read and relax. That was 18 years ago. I have visited it off and on over the years and it still to this day makes me feel very relaxed. And I live so close to it so there's really no reason not to start visiting it more often :)

This was a small cache. Easy find. Except for a few people wandering around. There was this bum chilling at the location I needed to be. Protecting his shirt he had hanging over the railing. He really didn't pay to much attention to me so I made a quick grab while he faced the other way.

Enjoy the pictures of this wonderful day at the Fish Ladder.

Found it..






Had to ask someone to ask to take a picture of me at the fish ladder. Those self taking pictures are hard..lol


Those are some damn big sucker fish.. I wouldn't want to go swimming with them at all. I think I would drown on purpose so I wouldn't have to touch them..lol