Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Lake Pleasant

2/4/09 Took a ride up to Lake Pleasant

Weather - Beautiful day, about 72.

We decided to take a ride up to Lake Pleasant today for a day trip. It's only about a 45 minute drive north of Phoenix and easy to get to from Peoria since Tracey lives on the northwest corner of Phoenix. Lake Pleasant is an integral part of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) which serves to bring water from the Colorado River to Phoenix and on down to Tucson.

Even though it's relatively easy to get to the lake we managed to get a little lost on the way there but we eventually found our way to the marina and the RV Resort. The RV Resort has a 5 star rating and is probably one of the best you'll find anywhere. They have 254 full hookup sites and the resort has all the amenities including heated pool, spa, and all kinds of activities to keep retirees busy and out of trouble.

The Maricopa county park on the lake is also very nice and spread out over many acres with scattered clusters of campsites. We had a nice chat with the host of the visitor center and found out that she and her husband volunteer there 20 hours a week and in return get a free campsite, all utilities, and a golf cart to run around the park. We may have to investigate that possibility some more but on the other hand maybe we don't want to be tied down to working 20 hours a week.



Click on photos to enlarge!


Lake Pleasant!

Maricopa County has the sheriff that makes inmates live in tents, wear pink underwear, and generally makes them work for a living.

Pleasant Lake apparently is known for record size largemouth bass, crappie, catfish, and talapia. Also stripped bass have also been introduced to the lake. I brought fishing equipment with us so may have to investigate that possibility also. Out of state license is a little pricey at $32 for a five day license for out of staters. But then few fishermen calculate the cost per pound of their catches assuming that you catch anything. I guess catching fish is one of those priceless experiences that even if you don't catch anything is still a priceless experience.

The water supply for Phoenix was originally for the most part pumped from wells from underground aquafers. However they were finding that it was creating a net deficit of water and the distinct possibility of running out of water existed. It was decided to build what became named the Central Arizona Project (CAP) to supply water from the Colorado River to Phoenix, some other towns along the way, to one million acres of farmland, and on down to and ending at Tucson. Water is an issue that we don't have to deal with in Ohio, at least not to the extent of those living in Southwest desert areas. A lot of information about the CAP is available on the website below:

The CAP must have been a civil engineers dream project to work on including all the elevation issues to worry about, design of the canal and concrete lining, boreholes through mountains, pumping stations, etc. Besides the engineering issues, it took 22 years to get it approved by congress before construction and then 20 more years to actually build. The management of the water resources is incredibly complex.



Click on image to enlarge!
336 miles of waterway.


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