The Power of Water

OK. Let's go. You can sleep in just a little tomorrow! And we are going a little longer today too.
Sabino Canyon.

The trick is to get their EARLY (I didn't start until 7:15....next time I will start at 6:30!) to avoid other PEOPLE because this place can become an amusement park by 9:00 a.m. when the trams start running.

So you need (I need!) to get up and back out of the canyon before the madness starts!



Let's go!




I have seen only one mountain lion in this area in the last 30 years. So chances are slim. But wouldn't it be great to spot one?



It was at about this point where I could begin to hear the water and stopped hearing cars and busses toting kids to a nearby school.



There it is.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, this canyon has been "closed for repair" after a huge washout several years ago. The flooding completely changed much of this lower area that you see here. Picnic areas (along with the huge cement tables and benches) were ground into rubble and no longer exist. As I ran I could see large stretches of road that had been completely re-done.



There are nine bridges that allow one to transcend up into the canyon as the stream criss-crosses beneath you. This is bridge one.



Bridge two.



And three.



Four.



Number five..



Six. It's amazing how well they held up under the adverse conditions that moved large boulders around.
A big "YEAH" for those WPA projects...things were made to last.



The seventh bridge was the only one I saw with any damage. Here they were set up to make concrete...using the sand from the surrounding stream. I thought that was genius.



Eight. Doing well...still climbing. Put her in granny gear if you need to. No hurry! But prepared to get your feet wet!



That was fun...but kinda chilly! We will get to do it again on the way back down!



Last bridge! Number nine. Now it climbs steadily to the turn around...



You can almost see it....



Here we are! Great job!



This is what I came for!

Going up I saw maybe three other runners, a handful of walkers and a couple of old guys on their bikes. Coming out of the canyon, as I got closer to the parking lot, there were many more people. Those that hiked/walked alone wore headphones and I for the life of me could not understand why wouldn't they want to hear the water? Have you ever sat in total quiet by a stream for a long time? You can almost make out voices in the ripples as they travel over the stones. Maybe it's just me, but moving water talks to me, and stays with me for a long time. It's so calming. It's so...necessary.




I made it out of the canyon before the trams started running and it got really crowded.

Now the amusement park can begin.

Without me.