This year's record snow in the high mountains has been officially declared melted. Usually all the snow would have been gone by mid-June.

July 22, 2011:



June 20, 2011:



Also around June 20, there is a visitors' center under there somewhere:



May 20, 2011:



It wasn't just winter snow that added to the snowpack, we had some good storms in May, and for once the snow had a high water content. We have been in drought since at least 2001, so this has been a big help for all concerned here in the dry plains.

But one man's abundance can be another man's curse, and folks along the flooded Mississippi and other rivers are still struggling to get their lives back. The Las Vegas Water Authority has suggested that excess water from the Mississippi be piped west to irrigated lands in the midwest so instead of bringing water from the west slope of the mountains, it could be sent down the river to benefit Nevada, California, and Arizona.

Yes, we have reservoirs here that can store snow runoff, but all of them are full to the brim this year, and more are needed. There is at least one in the works, but the environmentalists are fighting it.