Day 1A Romero Visitor Center San Luis Reservoir - Page 2

(#2 on the map.) My theme the first two days was "We've got plenty of time!" I intended to stop at every intriguing place that I usually whip by on my way to dog agility events. First up, an hour into the trip: Romero Visitor Center at the San Luis Reservoir, which is 9 miles long and 5 miles wide and very hard to miss as you skirt its shores along highway 152.

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elf1 > Many nifty safety signs aimed at the younger set, like this one about how the sides of the California aqueduct, which steals (I mean reclaims) water from the Sacramento River delta for southern California, are slippery. In other words, you jump in, you die.

elf1 > Wayyyyyyy down there, those two dots are people hanging out on the so-called beach. This is not the sort of place I'd choose to go beaching. But when it's really hot (it is) and you're desperate for a swim--ya take what you can get.

elf1 > It's only May and the water level is already low.

elf1 > There is no stream feeding this reservoir. Water is pumped in from the aqueduct at night when power costs are lower, and let out during the day to generate more power.

elf1 > The back side of the dam. At the visitor center, we learn several nifty new words: penstock. stator. trashrack. And not so new but still just a fun word to say out loud: riprap.

elf1 > The empty parking lot. This stuff is cool! And nifty! Why don't more people stop? Oh, right--they're on their way to a dog agility event. Linda (right) roams back to our van (in the shade behind the white car; did I mention that it's hot?).

Many nifty safety signs aimed at the younger set, like this one about how the sides of the California aqueduct, which steals (I mean reclaims) water from the Sacramento River delta for southern California, are slippery. In other words, you jump in, you die.