Thursday afternoon, I rented a canoe and paddled Jello over to the 72 foot high (~21 m) earthen dam that created this reservoir. Constructed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in 1910-11, and reconstructed in 1969, the Conconully Dam is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
View of the dam taken on my morning walk (7/21) from Shady Pines to Salmon Creek.
1,075 feet (328 m) long at its crest, the dam impounds Salmon Creek for flood control and irrigation storage. I remembered the creek valley on the other side and wanted to see it again.
Off-leash, Jello sniffed and romped as we walked along the crest.
From the dam we cruised the north shore to the delta of Salmon Creek.
In the marsh I spotted a pair of Cedar Waxwings, while Belted Kingfishers scolded and dove for small fry, and Pintail Ducks scooted through the reeds and took flight.
As I came to the drop-off from the creek to the basin, memories of fun and adventure over 55 years ago, filled me with joy!
Though Scotch Thistle Onopordum acanthium, is an invasive weed, seeing one silhouetted upon Queen Anne’s lace Daucus carota, is my cherry on top!
Lindy Low LeCoq 
A majestic day to be topped off.
I thought so too — and the photo challenge gave me an excuse to pull in the thistle photo!
Beautiful scenery! 🙂
So quiet and peaceful — sometimes small is really good!!
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