Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Yikes. Not So Much The Lake Anymore


We were just up at Lake Delton/Wisconsin Dells, home of the famous Tommy Bartlett Ski Show (and many, many other tourist attractions).

TB & Co aren't doing so great. OK, so Mr. Bartlett has been dead ten years, we wouldn't expect his customary perkiness anymore, but "his" lake isn't doing a whole lot better.

'Twas on the national news, so perhaps you've seen it; the dam that created the lake held up to the torrential rains, but the pressure blew a new channel through the roadway nearby, and the whole shebang dumped into the Wisconsin River in minutes.

You can make out a couple of the ski jump ramps in the upper left. Resting on the rapidly-drying mud. This is the view from the lake inlet, in the background you can make out the mud flats of what used to be a pretty sizable lake (apologies for the micro-resolution movie), ringed with motels and other businesses.

Nobody killed, thank goodness, not even any major injuries, which is some kind of miracle. And the tourist businesses in the area seem to be making as much lemonade as they can out of their livelihood draining away; we saw one formerly shoreside establishment with a pile of pontoon boats (yes, some of them had in fact wound up on top of each other) and a sign on their marquee board:

PONTOONS
4 HR RENTAL -- 95ยข

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