Fun Kat fact time, I am a sucker for a dam. Seriously, my brother and I were known to construct water holding structures of pretty excellent size when we were children. I think we might have came by that predisposition due to genetics, as my dad, uncle, and Papa also built a lot of dams. It might be a side effect of being a generational logger's kids. Who knows?
Anyway, whenever an opportunity arises to see a dam, I seize it! The engineering, the scope of the construction, the size and spectacle of them, dams are very intersting.
On our recent anniversary celebration foray to Orofino, Idaho, we visited the Dworshak Dam, and boy it didn't disappoint! When I read about it before we took off south on our journey, I got excited to see the monstrosity of concrete.
The Dworshak Dam is the largest straight axis dam in North America. What that means in non-engineering speak is that it is super tall, 717 feet to be exact! The completion of the dam also created the Dworshak Reservoir which is a 54 mile long body of water that was made by damming The Clearwater River.
Now, I know that dams have become a little controversial due to environmental concerns over the last couple decades, but I talked to some of the old timers and park guides, and apparently before the dam, The Clearwater River got pretty gnarly every spring melt off and life and property damage was a perennial thing. That all ceased when the dam was completed in the 1970's. It's an interesting thing to consider.
But back to the dam. In order to visit the dam, you have to go to Orofino via US Highway 12, cross The Clearwater River into that lovely burg, take a left, and follow the river back up the road a few miles to the tiny little burg of Ahsahka, Idaho. When I say tiny, I mean tiny, the only thing really there is the turn to the dam, a few houses, and the US National Fish Hatchery.
After winding up a mountain a bit, you arrive at the visitor center. One thing I loved about our visit is that we were basically the only people there aside from the National Park Service employees. It was a dam ghost town!
Our first good view of the dam was at the viewpoint just before the visitor center. The view didn't dissapoint.
Neither did the commemorative plaque.
Inside the visitor center were some amazingly awesome NPS employees who were super fun and informative to chat with, a massive interactive topographical map of the entire reservoir and surrounding area, plenty of history to peruse of the dam's construction and story, and an interactive exhibit of the local wildlife.
I've always found taxidermy to be slightly unsettling, but that stemmed from a childhood experience in Port St. Nicholas on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska. My dad knew a taxidermist and I have never quite got over when he showed me a tiny little fawn in a garbage sack in his freezer. Nightmare fuel that.
Anyway, I digress, I immediately got distracted by the children's section of the dam, because if you leave something around for me to pretend drive, I am gonna drive that thing! Especially when there is an imagination-spurring view like this one:
The hubs and I meandered around the mostly empty visitor center, taking in the sights. We didn't go into the little amphitheater and watch any of the educative showings because we were more in a walk about mood.
So to finish up our visit, we stopped and bought a couple things in the cute little gift area, and wandered out to the pavilion that overlooks the dam itself.
My friends, if you haven't ever visited Idaho, you should, our state is just so pretty.
Especially in the fall, the colors and grandiosity of the landscape invite a lot of staring and contented existential sighing.
One other thing that excited me about our dam visit is I found out just how massive and awesome Dworshak State Park is! Next year one of my goals is to hike the Big Eddy Trail. It winds 9 miles along the shores of the reservoir and is resplendent with waterfalls, fern gullies, and rushing creeks. You know that hike is happening!