Luke’s Life

Driving through eastern Washington I began to wonder about irrigation.  The dictionary simply calls irrigation the supply of water to land. 

I wonder where the water comes from, and if people did not bring water here what would the land be like? 

Time to read and learn.

On the road the best way for me is to Google, Wikipedia, Irrigation and start reading.  

In sprinkler or overhead irrigation, water is piped to one or more central locations within the field and distributed by overhead high-pressure sprinklers or guns. A system utilizing sprinklers, sprays, or guns mounted overhead on permanently installed risers is often referred to as a solid-set irrigation system. Higher pressure sprinklers that rotate are called rotors and are driven by a ball drive, gear drive, or impact mechanism.

When we go to our stores at home we see labels saying grown in Washington State on a lot of fruits and vegetables. 

Sprinklers may also be mounted on moving platforms connected to the water source by a hose. Automatically moving wheeled systems known as traveling sprinklers may irrigate areas such as small farms, sports fields, parks, pastures, and cemeteries unattended.

These cable-type travelers are definitely old technology and their use is limited in today’s modern irrigation projects.

Center pivot irrigation is a form of sprinkler irrigation consisting of several segments of pipe (usually galvanized steel or aluminum) joined together and supported by trusses, mounted on wheeled towers with sprinklers positioned along its length. The system moves in a circular pattern and is fed with water from the pivot point at the center of the arc. These systems are common in parts of the United States where terrain is flat.

Irrigation makes the land a much prettier color. 

Most center pivot systems now have drops hanging from a u-shaped pipe called a gooseneck attached at the top of the pipe with sprinkler heads that are positioned a few feet (at most) above the crop, thus limiting evaporative losses.

Lateral move irrigation

A series of pipes, each with a wheel of about 1.5 m diameter permanently affixed to its midpoint and sprinklers along its length, are coupled together at one edge of a field. Water is supplied at one end using a large hose. After sufficient water has been applied, the hose is removed and the remaining assembly rotated either by hand or with a purpose-built mechanism, so that the sprinklers move 10 m across the field. The hose is reconnected. The process is repeated until the opposite edge of the field is reached. This system is less expensive to install than a center pivot, but much more labor intensive to operate, and it is limited in the amount of water it can carry. Most systems utilize 4 or 5-inch (130 mm) diameter aluminum pipe. One feature of a lateral move system is that it consists of sections that can be easily disconnected. They are most often used for small or oddly-shaped fields, such as those found in hilly or mountainous regions, or in regions where labor is inexpensive.

However sometimes no mater how much water you have nothing grows, as you still need good dirt.

Columbia River, at Vantage, Washington exit 136 on Interstate 90.  

Even though I read and learned a lot today the ride was still long and boring for me!

I did it, I did it, I went to the first National Park in the United States.

Volcano’s and Glacier’s formed Yellowstone Park as well as the area around it. 

After the last Glaciers melted away a long long time ago, meadows blossomed and forests grew.  Dear, bison, elk, moose, bighorn sheep, wolves, and bears all returned.  Once the rivers that were created flowed free of ice the eagles, and osprey returned as they were able to fish for food.

Non Indian explorers began to arrive in Yellowstone Country in the early 1800′s.  A man named John Colter came west with the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1804.  John enjoyed the wilderness so much he returned to trap beaver the winter of 1807 – 1808.  One day he came to a land of wonders.  He was surprised by the geysers, hot springs, and bubbling mud.  When John told others what he had seen they did not believe him.

A geyser is an unusual thermal feature that periodically erupts.  Yellowstone Park has more than 300 active geysers, more than half of the total on earth.

They are made by lots of very hot water boiling through a narrow opening in the rock.

Old Faithful is named because it’s eruptions are regular.  Old Faithful Facts.

Height: varies from 106 to 184 feet.

Duration: 1.5 to 5 minutes.

Intervals between eruptions: 45 to 120 minutes.

Amount of water in each eruption: 3,700 to 8,400 gallons of boiling water.

The Yellowstone River is formed by the Upper and Lower Falls.  The Upper Falls plunges 109 feet while the Lower Falls plunges 308 feet.  The river then journeys east and south until it joins with the Missouri River.

I hung on tight as it was windy.  I was also happier to be in the hands of little people who also enjoyed me more than the Falls.

I also had the opportunity to see a bald eagle, some elk, and many many bison.

I thank the Rangers as well as Josh and Raya for being so informative.

  I had a really, really good day.   

Prairie Dog—-a small, burrowing rodent of North America.

Yesterday I was afraid of them, then I saw a book about them.  I discovered they are very distant cousins of mine.

They eat grass not meat.  They are not a dog but a very special squirrel.  They are called a dog because they make a bark like warning call.

Unlike squirrels they have short tails, not long ones.  They live underground instead of in trees.  Plus they are stout, not slim, and like to live in family groups.

Prairie Dogs live together in large towns under ground, no one knows how large as they are underground.  They have a large and long tunnel system with each family having a room of their own.

Their towns are located in the short grass areas of the Great Plains.  Prairie Dogs do not live in long grass where their enemies can hide.  They prefer short grass prairies away from heavy rains that would flood their  burrows.

They keep the grass around their burrows chewed off short so they can watch for their enemies, like eagles, hawks, and rattlesnake.  Every group has a look out to sound a warning to others underground.  Many tunnels are connected underground so if a rattlesnake crawls in they can get out another way.

Last September when Grandpa Cheese was playing golf in Utah they helped his ball disappear.

I really like these rodent cousins of mine.  They are really smart.

Destination Devils Tower.  We drove about one hundred miles this morning, until we arrived at the base of a rock formation called Devils Tower. 

Once again I had the opportunity to meet a very nice lady Ranger.  I enjoyed our conversation very much.

The tower is a giant stump like formation, made by a volcano about 50 million years ago.  As it cooled it contracted and fractured into columns. Today many people come in a attempt to climb to the top.  You have to look close but if your eyes are good you can see them. 

Those are girls!  Maybe someday my sister Andie will come here for a climb.

At the bottom of the tower is a meadow where lots of Prairie Dogs live.  They are fun to watch, but you do not want to try to feed them as they might bite you.  Plus they are bigger then me and might use my fur for nesting in their house.

Tomorrow we are going for a long ride into Montana, so I think I will just rest and read a book.

I have been to the Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

Grandma Mouse and Big Cheese made sure my window to the world was clean.  My Gouda Aunt took the picture of them as cameras are just to heavy for me to handle.

The Memorial is a sculpture by Gutzon Borglum of four Presidents Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Lincoln.  done in the side of a mountain.  It was started in 1927 and with 400 workers it was finish in 1941.  It is so large you can see them from miles away.

I had the opportunity to talk to one of the rangers.  I learned that each on the faces is 60 feet tall.  Each eye is 11 feet wide.  Washington’s nose is 21 feet long, and his mouth is 18 feet wide.  The rest of the Presidents noses are 20 feet long.   You can even see President Roosevelt’s glasses.

Then just around the corner on the way to the Sculptors Studio was a beautiful large Mountain Goat.

It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and the temperatures in the low 80′s but best of all was the view.

That is me back in my window seat. 

A new adventure was started today, August 31, 2009. 

This year Grandma Mouse’s sister Karen is traveling with us.  Big Cheese took time to teach her how to drive our house this afternoon.  She drove us through bugs so by the time we arrived in South Dakota my view was getting pretty bad, Grandma Mouse washed the windshield at a service center so I could have a better view.

We stopped at Mitchell, SD to see the Corn Palace.  It is very interesting when you discover they redecorate it every year with a new theme.  They use natural colored corn and grains grown locally. 

Photo’s of all the past Corn Palaces are on the interior walls.  The idea came from L.O. Gale to showcase the crops grown in the area and to attract immigrant farmers to settle here.