Rand's Web Page
Valhalla Opener 2022
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After almost 3 years away due to Covid I was finally able to get emergency dispensation to visit Valhalla. Customs was supposed to open May 15 but due to flooding conditions they still haven't opened. I visited by boat but couldn't land in June. At that time my docks were under water 1-2 feet. They were all still in place because I had wires holding them down but after another month of rising water and waves, they all gave way. |
| The bridge was mostly intact except the far ramp which had floated to the back of the lagoon. Tom and Mary had been there earlier and had pulled it out of the weeds for us but couldn't get it all the way back to the mouth of the lagoon. Jake and I were able to do so later in the week. |
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The lagoon was in disarray. Fortunately the floating docks stayed put but a couple boats sank. |
| This cropped view of the duck dynasty sign says it all. |
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There were many downed trees around the property. I was fortunate to have only one on my side. Jake's side had many more. The beaver was the cause of most of his downfalls. Mine was age and wind. Queen Anne hill had many downed trees from what looked like a straight line wind event. The trails had the normal amount of downed trees from what I would expect from a three year absence. I did hike the Brantner Loop with a chain saw. Because it was warm, I had covered up to avoid mosquitoes and I was carrying a chain saw, I almost died of heat stroke. |
| The Eagle's Landing supposedly has substantial damage but I could not find it. |
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Here you get a sense of the mess that was our shoreline. |
| We did a lot of brushing and dock work. The plug for the little boat was somewhere underwater and even after diving I couldn't find it. After all efforts failed I went back to Handberg's to buy one. That allowed me to go fishing. I caught a couple eater northerns the first day and this catch the second day. |
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A few interior pictures. The interior was in good shape. We had a few mice but no damage from them. |
| No Becky so a messy kitchen was the rule. |
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The hallway. |
| I was pleased with how well so much of the mechanics worked. The toilet worked immediately. The pump/water came on easily. The generator did not start at first but I just gave it a pull every time I walked by and ultimately it fired up. The motor on the little boat was no problem. |
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Becky sent me ahead to be sure that I cleared out all the mouse evidence before she came. It was actually very minimal. This is the only bed that had anything that I found and it was just a few pine nuts. |
| Our bed had no evidence at all. |
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The grill worked well and the tank had not run out. |
| The lift motor worked after a charge of the battery. |
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When I arrived I really didn't have a dock. I landed next to a dock that is usually on dry land. That was fine until the wind kicked up and started knocking the boat against a rock. It ultimately knocked the window loose and shifted the frame. Jake had arrived by then and help me set up this makeshift dock. The dock had been washed up too high to use at first but with lots of help we moved it to this position and it was better. |
| Before Jake came I had tried to move this floating dock out to my area but got stymied by rough waves. I set it up where he could use it instead. It was great for him because he brought his whole family (5) and three in-laws. |
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Both of my cribbings were intact. Because of the way I linked the cribbing to the deck the deck did not wash away but it was dislodged. Jake and I worked together to get it close to the original position but I will have to take it apart to do the final fix. The stand up paddle board had floated down shore. The kayaks are still lost. All the paddles were found in the water. |
| As the water continued to drop I locked this dock in place by giving it some permanent supports. We'll see if this is a good idea when the water drops to normal. |
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This is at the end of my time there. The breakwaters were still under water. |
| This is where the downed tree was on my side. I cleared it and most of Queen Anne hill. I have 7-10 haystacks ready to burn when the conditions are right. |
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If you look closely at this picture of the sauna you will see a line of needles that mark the highwater mark of the flood. I think it also reached the base of our stairs and the bottom portion of the transformer. |
| Jake brought his floating dock out to set himself up for the next time. You can see that he got his cribbing and deck back in place (they were on the shore). Then he added bracket to the floating dock. He hopes to return in 2 weeks. |
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The little boat had been driven onto a rock which wore a small hole in the bottom. Some alumaweld and flexseal helped for a day but didn't hold. I will have to take it into Handberg's next time. |
| Becky wanted a family photo as last time they were up they were a family of four. |
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