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Thursday, March 5, 2015

Playing In The Sand

Sometimes skills you learned as a youngster pay off when you’re an adult.  When I was just a wee lad, I loved to go to the beach and dig in the sand.  Many a magnificent sand castle was built with my shovel, bucket and hands.

It’s be a while (decades) since I dug holes in a beach, but I was able to recall those talents and put them to good use here at Thurmond Lake.

Around the lake, there are numerous beaches maintained by the COE.  Due to budget cuts, some of these beaches have been closed for years.  Recently, some extra money was allotted to the COE and it is going to be used to reopen a formally closed beach.

Marti and I hopped in a Ranger truck and headed out for an hour long drive to get to this particular beach.  Because the beach has been closed for years, the sand needed to be inspected to see if there was a need for grooming, replacement or adding additional amounts.

Arriving at the beach, we walked around and looked at it.

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I had to dig several holes at various locations on the beach to measure the sand depth.

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In the mid part of the beach, the sand averaged about 12 inches in the several holes I dug.

At the waterline, it was less that three inches.

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Looking at the water’s edge, you could see how the sand had been eroded away over the several years the beach was closed.

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The bottom inside the swimming area is in need of a bunch of sand to bring it up to the COE standards.  Nobody would want to swim in this water with all the mud and rocks.

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We drove back and turned in our results to the park manager, who will arrange to get loads of sand to get the beach ready for opening this summer.

Another unusual job we’ve done, another reason we enjoy our workamping job here with the COE.  The variety of things we get to do is always fun and never boring.  We’ll be here for about another six weeks before we head out for our summer travels and look forward to see what interesting things we’ll do next.  Childhood skills proved to be helpful on this job.    :c)

Thanks for visiting and feel free to leave a comment.

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12 comments:

  1. Okay so you dug some holes in the sand. Now where's the pictures of the Sand Castles you made or does your boss read the blog too?
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  2. So I am guessing that on your resume, it is going to read erosion management evaluation expert?

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  3. Now that you have an extra beach let's get to the important part. Are RV sites going to be anyplace close? I'm looking for something to entice me to head that way. You know it's all about me. :)

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    1. There are wonderful RV sites all around Thurmond Lake with views to die for. Reserve.gov will get you there. I'm not telling you the best sites, though because I don't want to lose them. (Modoc Campground #20 or 30)

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  4. Variety in assignments is what I like best. Imperial scores close to a zero in that regard.

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  5. Playing in the sand is a job I would definitely apply for. Glad to hear they have gotten some much needed funds. I think all our federal parks would be well funded if we were asked how we'd like our tax dollars spent.

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  6. I was looking for pictures of your sand sculptures, or you did not post them?

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  7. How cool that you can relate your job to the way you use to play as a kid:o)) Wouldn't it be great if all jobs worked that way!!!

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  8. I bet hunting for sand is better than hunting for pins! Glad that the COE is able to open another beach.

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  9. I am so impressed that funding was found for this project! We keep hearing how beautiful Modoc is. Guess we'll have to find out for ourselves one day :)

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  10. Hi Paul! Great to see you guys traveling. Been a long time since quartzsite 2005! If you are ever coming thru Ohio let me know. Tab

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  11. BUT, you didn't show us any of your sand castle building skills. Did ya loose the touch?

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