I went to my beach a week after going and finding that it was closed. I kind of have an idea about what the people in Iowa are going through.
I arrived at the park around 4:15pm and noticed that it was open *YAY!*. I drove down, and everything seemed okay, until I approached the pavilion (the large place where people have picnics).
I look down and already see three signs saying "Danger - High Water - Danger", and thought uh oh, this isn't good.
I go further down and notice that people were near the beach, only there was no beach! After over 10 days, the water still had not receded back to where it normally is!
Worse, I saw signs of exactly how bad the flooding really was. From the original water line to the pavilion, I would say it's a good 3,000ft distance, with one sidewalk paralleling at 500ft, and a second one and 1,750ft. Well, according to debris, the water exceeded the second sidewalk! I don't ever remember seeing come up that far. It was still a good distance from the pavilion, but if the entire area was underwater, I can see why they'd close the beach.
The worse news: no beach and the area affected was still water-logged and filthy, so I tried to find a place far enough up. It turned out to be the edge of the flood line. It looked okay, so I put my stuff down. I was there for almost two hours and couldn't believe how many ants I had to remove - I was a serial ant killer! I mean it's creepy when I am laying out in the sun and feel something on my arm, my leg, my back! I even had a tick try and get on my Army blanket.
I got some sun, but it was an uncomfortable experience. I don't think I'll go back tomorrow - I'll stay out on my newly-waterproofed deck instead ;)
