In the water

Dave says: Phoenix is fun but it can be hot this time of year. We've been waking up most days to exercise at 5 am (usually mountain or road biking). However, we've also taken advantage of the heat to do a few fun water-related trips.

The first was floating down the Salt River which is less than 15 minutes from our house. We rented tubes and got dropped off at the top and made our way down for about 6 miles to the take out point. The Salt is a pretty lazy river with only occasional small rapids to keep things interesting and speed up the adventure. Along the way there are lots of birds and wild horses to look at. The river is also one big party, even on a weekday. Even with tons of sunscreen on we managed to cook ourselves a bit over several hours. It's pretty cool to be in the middle of the desert and have a giant river not too far from your house.

Our second water adventure was a fun canyoneering trip with my dad down the Salome Jug. I was almost a mean husband who kept Alisha from going but she persuaded me and it turned out to be a good time. It was really hot on the trail which made getting in the creek and even doing some swimming feel great. The water temperature was perfect for a hot day and there was lots of wading, sliding, and swimming on this hike. At the end there is one big rappel down into a pool so we brought ropes and harnesses. On the way back to Phoenix, we drove the Apache Trail past all the lakes and stopped at Tortilla Flats for a bit of wild west ambiance and some good food.