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Published: April 3rd 2010
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Salt Springs Canyon
There is really no way to describe these scenes. Really. Just awe-inspiring is the best I can do We left fairly early this morning but not as early as we had hoped. We headed up Bush Hwy to 77 to get to Payson and then a little further east to head down another dirt road that is supposed to be as scenic and beautiful as the Apache Trail. We were going to look for another trail to hike, but weren't sure which one we'd be doing. We saw a state park sign and lit on down the road to find Stewart Dam which for a small dam was pretty darned impressive. Beyond that, Suguaro Lake that had been created by the dam. It was beautiful! A few boats and jet skiis skattered around this huge lake surrounded by hills covered with green. When we got to payson, we found ourselves at 4800 feet and it was a bit on the nippy side. As we headed farther along in our journey, we climbed all the way up to 7700 feet and 37 degrees, Burrrrrr - no hiking here, bud! There was a lot of snow on the ground and a gal at the store in Heber said that it had been 18 that morning and that in January it snowed
Salt Springs Canyon 2
Pictures don't give you the depth and magnitude of this. 9 feet in 3 days. Another patron there told us they had 90 mph gusts of wind up there and he was coming to check his cabin to see how much damage was done. The area looked so much like home. There were Ponderosa Pines and all sorts of other big green trees that really filled in the landscape. At certain points you could see the forest for miles. After about 10 minutes, we got below the 7000 foot level, but stayed at over 6000 feet for almost an hour and a half! The contrast between the mountains of Washington and these in Arizona is frightening! Stevens pass is at 3500 feet. The top is brief and the road takes you up and down fast. On this road, you maintain the altitude and, oh! We were told that there was a fire in 2002 that burned one million (that's right ONE MILLION) acres of forest there, and because of the smoother landscape, you could see the devistation for miles and miles. In Washington, most of the fires and it's damage is up further in the hills where you don't see it, but here, well for most of the rest of
Another view of the canyon
I have like a thousand pictures from along this canyon area. I will however spare you. This time... hehehe our trip through the mountains you could see the damage left by the fire. There were huge areas of nothing but blackened stumps and other areas where the trees were still black from the heat. As we started down the other side we came accross Salt Springs Canyon at about 4600 feet. It was like the ground just all of a sudden dropped out from along side the road and there it was! You could see where the road was on the other side of the canyon, but before you got there, you dropped a bunch and then snaked your way back up. If the Grand Canyon is even remotely like this, well, lets just say it's a must see. On the way home, where we had seen the wild flowers along side the road, we found that more had bloomed. Along with the larger bushes of bright yellow flowers, there were bright purple spires and then taller ones that were mostly a bright salmon pink, white and a pale pink. There was a whole hillside of the larger bushes with the yellow flowers that made it look like just a dusting of yellow over the green. We will have to go back to get pictures of it. We figure the timing should be just about perfect within the next couple of days.
You know, Washington is a beautiful state, and I will always love it and call it my home, but I have to say that the variety of landscapes, the heighth of the mountains, the diversity of textures: tall white pillars of stone; boulders stacked on boulders stacked on boulders; trees; cactus; rivers; lakes; and of course desert - all make for an absolutely fascinating place to be. For anyone who visits here, taking the time to detour on some of the scenic routes may find themselves being truly inspired.
Oh, we did find a trail to hike in Globe, but it was too late to try it. We are going to hit it though, before we leave Apache junction (which, by the way may not be for an additional week. We'll see).
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