Kerr Lake Days 2&3

Day 2 was pretty much like day 1. I enjoyed some serious hammock time and some bush whacking in the relatively sparse woods. Well, sparse enough to wander through for the most part, anyway. Being out during the week right now is great; you have the entire park pretty much to yourself. Maybe I’m getting value for my tax money now?

 

Day 3 was a short day. I was ready to be home to see my wife and enjoy a good home cooked meal. The only excitement of the day, Wednesday, was flying along a grass road on the edge of the pond at about 35mph that sees minimal traffic. There was a little something in the road up ahead so I slowed down. Fortunately I slammed the brakes on in time or I would have been buried up to the bumpers in swampy mud, miles away from civilization.

A few pics from days 2 and 3:

 

 

 

 

About Kerr Lake and John H Kerr dam:

• The purposes of the dam are both flood control (20 feet of reserve) and hydro power
• Total leakage across the dam, including expansion seams and bedrock, concrete and the dam itself is < 10 gallons per minute
• The power plant generates over 400B kWh of electricity per year for the local power grid
• There are 27 generators, ~225kW each and turn at 85 rpm
• The shaft to the power generator is almost 3 feet in diameter
• The dam was completed in 1953 after 6 years of construction
• The lake is about 50,000 acres. There is an additional 55,000 acres of land.
• For those interested in more details there’s a short write-up at the Corps of Engineers site here: http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/Locations/DistrictLakesandDams/JohnHKerr/Hydropower.aspx

 

 

 

Cool tugboat called “Dan”

This tugboat was put into service under the Corp of Engineers in 1948. It was used as a barge and a refueling vessel during the second world war. It served in Lake Superior and other locations before being transferred to Kerr Lake where it was used to raise sunken boats and driftwood using its 12 ton crane. In 1967 she was upfitted with a new 6 cylinder diesel engine that was being illegally shipped to Cuba. Dan was decommissioned in 1992 with her successor, Dan 2, taking over since then.