Water Power

This boulder-strewn view is part of the Alluvial Fan left behind from the bursting of Lawn Lake in 1982.

Lawn Lake rests a little over six miles up into the mountains. That distance, however, didn't diminish the power of the water as it raced downhill.

Look at the swath the thundering water cut. That scar is nearly two stories high. Closer in, you can see the boulders that the water carried. Many of the boulders are the size of cars.

Rangers had about an hour and fifteen minutes to clear out a campground that lay in the path of the water. Pictures of Estes Park show the town full of trees and boulders and rock and dirt up to many of the shops' windows.

Today, however, the stream is merely splashy, and flowers grow in the nooks and crannies near the boulders.