I had Friday off. It wasn’t for fun that I had Friday off, but on-going research into the deep mystery of the Kidney Stone That Will Not Be Moved (I had a procedure called an IVP which is, simply put, a series of x-rays taken while an iodine dye solution courses through my kidneys.
But that is not what I am going to bore you with.
Since I had the day off and we were on the tail end of one whopper of a “Pineapple Express” (which followed our brush with snow), I knew that the Willamette River would be running high and it might be a good time to go down and take a few photos. I was not the only person who thought it would be fun to stand and watch big trees cascade down the Willamette Falls: the little parking lot overlooking the falls from Highway 99 was packed with sight-seers.
Willamette Falls is the second-largest water falls in the USA and 18th largest in the world (the latter is by volume, not size).
This is what the Falls look like on a nice day (photo was taken 11/11/2009).
This is what they looked like yesterday, as the river was working its way up flood levels. The most recent article I read put the Willamette at 64′, which is just shy of major flood stage (67′).
Panorama of a calm Willamette Falls (November 2009).
Compared to the flood stage Willamette Falls.
And then, because I am such an astute sort of person, it dawned on me that my new camera also takes video. VIDEO. As in, I could take an amateur video of the flood…
Jaci Dawn 
Oh my. All I could think of while watching the video was getting sucked into that. Ugh!
Oh, Jodi – it has happened! In the 1996 flood, a houseboat that brook its moorings went down that (the owners were not home, fortunately). And while the entire area is flagged and roped off, there have been the occasional ding-dongs who thought they could navigate a boat down it on a NORMAL day. Some even survived (the boats never do). It is pretty darned impressive…
Neat video. That’s a lot of water!
I saw some news coverage (the Weather Channel) where they pronounced Willamette “Will-a-met-tee”. I about fell off the couch.
AND later, when they talked about downhill skier Sarah Burke, Utah wasn’t “you tah”, it was a very short “you teh”.
THAT is… is… I don’t have words. It isn’t uncommon for strangers to get Willamette wrong (will – AM – ette) but usually they say something like “WILL-uh-mette”. But to mispronounce Utah? That’s just hysterical. You teh? Seriously? I think they should teach linguistics in college, especially for those who plan to go into broadcasting. Pronouncing place names and people’s names is important. But, then, I am from Neh-vah-dah and live in Or-uh-GONE… NOT.