Women Power at Box Canyon!
North Ranch: High 77/Low 51 Currently 75
We are in the desert, correct? There is little water, washes are usually dry as are the river beds.....well, not quite! In February we took a buggy ride to Box Canyon which is just
off the Hassayampa River, which flows mostly underground. The part above ground is usually another dry bed like the washes around which provide major ATV/UTV highways for us...! The pictures above were taken on a ride November 21, 2014. A side note: Rupert had to be carried because he works SO hard at ensuring that everyone is accounted for...but once he leaves one group, the other group moves off--he has a terrible time herding everyone on these rides!! In these pictures above notice how very dry everything is.
February 24, five of us gals decided on a ride to Box Canyon. Weather was chilly (for this part of Arizona!) but it had been a few days since the last rain..... So off we went!
See the Very DRY picture above? Then this to our left..... It is not the exact place, but it should give you the idea....water was flowing ABOVE ground, in the Hassayampa!
We charged through, carefully charging....looking before we drove into it, and managed to go across it a few times.....
We stopped for lunch, marveling in the beauty, noticing that Box Canyon had to be just to the west of us, around that corner!
We hung out here, to the left, eating lunch and judging carefully our next move. The Box Canyon was so close! Look? See? It is just around that bend, just a little ways.....
Remember, you can click on any picture to enlarge it, should you wish to look for the raging current!
Oh, and are you noticing the clouds in the pictures? Upriver (Prescott National Forest) is to the right of the picture. The rivers flows down from the mountains....we had earlier noticed some dark cloud activity over these mountains....ummmmmm..
There was a mild current, but keep in mind, after looking at the picture from November, usually the river bed is dry and sandy....
After much careful thinking, we felt like we could do it, so off we went! Notice the stocking cap (Seattle Seahawks!) the gal on the quad is wearing. It was a bit chilly!
Second vehicle embarks.....we wait cautiously, giving enough room between vehicles waiting our turn, then off we went....
Until.....Mike decided to put the buggy in reverse and back up quickly to dry ground!
Look at the river current as it turns to the left around the bend. There were sand bars on the right, and rocks, large rocks on the bank to the left of that turn.....
This is what happened, sadly, to the middle vehicle....!
Here you can see those large rocks! Because the river took that left turn around this bend, was the river deeper against those rocks, or did a "hole" in the sand open up to grab that rear tire--notice that you can hardly see the top...?
We (women power!) sprang into action! Boots and socks came off, pants were rolled up, and action! First the buggy stuck was lifted up a fraction, out of that hole. Then the quad tried to pull it, resulting in the quad digging into the sand. So, the couple of tow ropes were tied together, and a couple of the gals got into the water and pulled the buggy out, turning to the right in the process so she could get some traction, turning around back to the bank from which we had embarked! You might guess that those big rocks prevented anyone from getting close to the stuck buggy and the dry land was a ways behind...!
Lindy didn't get any more pictures. Not even of the two gals pulling the buggy out! We had spent a couple of hours working to remove the buggy from the water, and we still had 20 miles or so to get back to North Ranch. We left the river, so close to Box Canyon but not there...about 4 PM. We arrived back at North Ranch around 5:15, still with some light left, but cutting it pretty close!
Flash floods in the south west? Do we know about them? Should we have gone into the river....? Well, stay tuned, for we have another story to tell you about a buggy ride in mid March--back to, you guessed it, the Hassayampa River....!
Later!
Paws and Friends, having fun remembering our times with good friends at North Ranch and Swirvin around the Outback!
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| Rupert goes for a ride at Box Canyon |
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| Box Canyon |
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| The Very DRY Hassayampa! November 21, 2014 |
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| From our buggy...look how easy it is! |
See the Very DRY picture above? Then this to our left..... It is not the exact place, but it should give you the idea....water was flowing ABOVE ground, in the Hassayampa!
We charged through, carefully charging....looking before we drove into it, and managed to go across it a few times.....
We stopped for lunch, marveling in the beauty, noticing that Box Canyon had to be just to the west of us, around that corner!
 |
| Lunch, and thinking, before..... |
Remember, you can click on any picture to enlarge it, should you wish to look for the raging current!
Oh, and are you noticing the clouds in the pictures? Upriver (Prescott National Forest) is to the right of the picture. The rivers flows down from the mountains....we had earlier noticed some dark cloud activity over these mountains....ummmmmm..
There was a mild current, but keep in mind, after looking at the picture from November, usually the river bed is dry and sandy....
 |
| Well, let's do it! Off we go..... |
 |
| We were last, waiting for the 2nd one..... |
Second vehicle embarks.....we wait cautiously, giving enough room between vehicles waiting our turn, then off we went....
Until.....Mike decided to put the buggy in reverse and back up quickly to dry ground!
Look at the river current as it turns to the left around the bend. There were sand bars on the right, and rocks, large rocks on the bank to the left of that turn.....
This is what happened, sadly, to the middle vehicle....!
Here you can see those large rocks! Because the river took that left turn around this bend, was the river deeper against those rocks, or did a "hole" in the sand open up to grab that rear tire--notice that you can hardly see the top...?
We (women power!) sprang into action! Boots and socks came off, pants were rolled up, and action! First the buggy stuck was lifted up a fraction, out of that hole. Then the quad tried to pull it, resulting in the quad digging into the sand. So, the couple of tow ropes were tied together, and a couple of the gals got into the water and pulled the buggy out, turning to the right in the process so she could get some traction, turning around back to the bank from which we had embarked! You might guess that those big rocks prevented anyone from getting close to the stuck buggy and the dry land was a ways behind...!
Lindy didn't get any more pictures. Not even of the two gals pulling the buggy out! We had spent a couple of hours working to remove the buggy from the water, and we still had 20 miles or so to get back to North Ranch. We left the river, so close to Box Canyon but not there...about 4 PM. We arrived back at North Ranch around 5:15, still with some light left, but cutting it pretty close!
Flash floods in the south west? Do we know about them? Should we have gone into the river....? Well, stay tuned, for we have another story to tell you about a buggy ride in mid March--back to, you guessed it, the Hassayampa River....!
Later!
Paws and Friends, having fun remembering our times with good friends at North Ranch and Swirvin around the Outback!
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