Paige headed to Michigan today with Luke, to see her new niece for a few days. So naturally, I took the older three on a trip to Grandma's house. Paige claims that every time she leaves town, I head to Grandma's, supposedly so that Grandma can watch the kids, and I can relax.
Hmph...
We had big plans of seeing the effect of all the water dumped on Phoenix over the last week. I haven't heard the official totals, but predictions were that we would get something like 5 or more inches of rain in a few days. Considering that our yearly total is typically around 7 inches, that is a lot of rain for this area.
I considered heading up to one of the lakes, to check out the water releases from the dam. But a call to the ranger station confirmed what I suspected... if it rained hard enough for them to release water, it also rained hard enough to close the roads. Bummer. I wanted to see raging water blasting out of the bottom of a dam.
I am sure Paige was relieved though, because she was sure I was going to lower the kids on a rope down the face of a dam, so that they could get a better view. Or some such stunt. She encouraged us to go feed some ducks at a nice calm park pond. She apparently thinks I can't be trusted to watch my children on my own, and will carelessly risk their life and limb without her motherly oversight.
Hmph...
So we headed up to Grandma's, and stopped to see the raging, might Salt River, flowing bank to bank...
Hmmmmm. Looks pretty much like Tempe Town Lake does the rest of the year, only muddier. Not exactly what I was hoping for. And don't worry Paige, they were told under no circumstances to climb the wall, so as not to be swept away by the raging torrent. ;)
After picking up Grandma and Aunt Gina, we headed out for the White Tank mountains, where there is a waterfall that flows only when Phoenix gets enough rain. I hiked it a few years ago, in the rain, and watched the water level rising in the wash. It was an awesome hike, with beautiful scenery, and virtually no one else on the trail. Here was the waterfall on that hike...
And on this hike? Well, let's just say that when it rains for 5 days straight in Phoenix, and we are all cooped up in our houses, more than one of us had the same idea...
The waterfall is off to the right, out of the picture. I didn't even get a picture of the actual waterfall, because I was a little worried I would drop the camera in the pool while ferrying the kids across the little rock path that had been build across the middle of it. You can see people walking across it in the picture above, and the water was several feet deep on either side of the semi-submerged path.
I count at least 68 people in the photo below, all attempting to make their way to an area the size of my living room, to get a view of a waterfall that probably has no more flow than a single fire hose. Myself, and three kids included. You would think all these desert dwellers had never seen rain or flowing water before. ;)
The kids had fun scrambling through the rocks. And don't worry Paige, I was very close by at all times so as to not let them fall to an untimely death. ;)
Noah missed going through them the first time, so I had to take him back around so he could do it. And Paige, as you can see, I was positioned at the bottom of the rock to catch him in case he should slip. ;)
If there is a puddle, of course you have to throw rocks into it. And don't worry Paige, Aunt Gina was standing very close by so as not to let them drown in the murky water. ;)
Levi had to stop to check in every drainage pipe along the trail to see if there was anything interesting. "Nope, only dirt!" he said after every one. And Paige, I was very close at hand for every pipe on the off chance that a rattler should have leapt out and bit his nose. ;)
Perfect day for a hike to see a rare sight in the desert...
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1 comment:
We hike the White Tanks a lot. I have never been there after it has rained though.
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