Cache la Poudre River -- "My" River

The Cache la Poudre River runs low in late March.

Claude Monet devoted some 30 paintings to the haystacks in a field near his house at Giverny between 1890-1891.

Paul Cezanne painted Mount Sainte Victoire dozens of times, just up the hill from his studio.

Frost covers the tall grasses along the banks of the Cache la Poudre River.

Toby Baker has taken a bazillion photos of the Cache la Poudre River, just a short walk down the hill from her house since moving to Colorado in 2011.

Monet's "Haystacks" was the first group of paintings that he exhibited as a series.  He was captivated by the how the sun varied what he was seeing as he painted during different times each day.  In a note to critic Gustave Geoffroy, he wrote "...at this season the sun sets so fast I cannot follow it...The more I continue, the more I see that a great deal of work is necessary in order to succeed in rendering what I seek."

A Canadian Goose and her goslings navigate shallow water
in the Cache La Poudre River before spring run-off.

Cezanne referred to Mount Sainte Victoire as "his" mountain.  He painted more than 60 versions of the mountain in various states of light and mood, from different points of view and in relationship to a constantly changing cast of other elements. 

And, I am entranced by how the seasons, light, weather and a cast of constantly changing elements affect and transform this mighty river that is essential to more than a half-million of us in the northern Colorado Front Range.

Rock and sand bars emerge from low water before the snow begins
to melt in the Rocky Mountains.

I walk along the Poudre several times a week, always with camera in hand, ready to capture a fleeting moment in the ever-changing life of this relatively short river that runs just 125 miles. 

It originates high in the Rocky Mountains and drops some 7,000 feet, moving through Fort Collins and Windsor before flowing into the South Platte River near Greeley.

Earlier this spring I read that city crews were planning to remove the large wide rock and sand bar near the County Road 13 bridge that would certainly hinder the flow of water once the snow began to melt in the Rocky Mountains.  

So, I persuaded Ken one fine and crisp morning that we should visit this rock and sand bar before it disappeared and the Poudre replaced it with new sand and rocks after this year's spring flooding.

Ken zips his vest before helping me to "save" a few boxes of rocks.
(He is a really GREAT sport!)

You can see how high the rock and sand bar is to the base of the bridge.

Crews began to remove the accumulation as promised and by the end of the day, the river was wide and clear of obstacles prior to our big spring melt, which should be considerable due to above average snowfall in the Rocky Mountains.

Note the water depth barely registering on the chart beneath the bridge.

Water depth last Sunday, May 28, as snow melt begins.

View of the same bend in the river as shown five photos up as it looked
at the end of May.

The Cache la Poudre River refers to a "cache of powder," hidden by French trappers caught by a snowstorm in the 1820s and were forced to bury part of their gunpowder along the banks of the river.

It is also the heart of the National Heritage Area that follows the Poudre downstream for 45 miles.

Like Monet and Cezanne, I will continue to be entranced and bewitched by this beautiful "working river" that supports an agricultural economy, meets water needs of urban development in northern Colorado, gives trout fishermen a thrill and white-water rafters a wilder thrill--and still provides a home to wildlife along the river corridor.  

Like an old friend, I will return again and again to spend time walking along its banks, capturing moments of beauty with my camera and absorbing the wonderful sound of water rushing down from Rocky Mountain National Park to the Great Plains.