Stan Almost Gets Arrested at the Guntersville Dam

Hi Adeline,
It's just me now. My brother Stanley is off on his own adventures. I hope he's reading this blog so he'll know what I've been up to.

Here I am in front of the sign
that marks the road to the dam.

After I left Stan in Huntsville, I went to see a dam in Guntersville, Ala. A dam is a thick wall built across the path of a river to control the water. The dam has openings that let some water through, but it holds back most of the water in a big lake.

The Guntersville Dam is a hydroelectric dam. That means the water that flows through the dam generates electricity.

The lake behind the dam is pretty.

The Guntersville Dam is operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority -- TVA for short -- and is owned by the United States government. Many years ago, the Tennessee River flooded farms and homes in north Alabama every year after heavy rains. The government created the TVA to build dams all along the river to collect all that rainwater into lakes. Now, people living there can fish, boat and swim in the lakes. Their homes do not get flooded every time it rains. And they have electricity to run their lights, refrigerators, TVs and computers. Pretty good deal, huh?

When I got to the dam, it was starting to get dark and the wind was blowing pretty hard. I thought the lake was pretty. The dam looked big and strong, but I couldn't see where the water came through.

The water is high behind the dam. It is lower on the other side.

I was caught red-handed trying to take a picture of the dam.

I tried to get a picture of the main part of the dam, but the sun was behind it, so I couldn't see it very well.

The guards in the dam saw me trying to take a picture and they yelled at me over the loudspeaker. It was far away, and I couldn't hear very well with the wind blowing, but this is what I think they said:

"Stop what you are doing. You may not photograph the dam!"

What did I do? What would you do? I ran away as fast as I could!

Run away!

Wow, that was scary. I hope my next adventure will be less adventurous. And maybe I can get something to eat. I'm hungry!