A Visual and Verbal Narrative of Arizona's Salt River
July 4, 2023 – Having visited several of the canals north of the Salt River, I felt the need to see one to the south. The maps showed a long bike path on the Consolidated Canal, so I picked that one to explore. The day promised to be hot with temperatures forecasted to reach 115 …
June 8, 2023 – For three hours I drove from San Carlos, Arizona, on the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation to the Black River Crossing. It was 45 miles of axle-busting dirt road, and I was glad to finally reach my destination and get out of the truck. My purpose for the drive was simple: …
May 24, 2023 – The Phoenix-area canals are one of the central stories of the Salt River. Dating back more than 1,500 years to Hohokam times, the story of the lower Salt River is inextricably linked to the story of the canals that are fed by it. No story of the Salt River would be …
April 30, 2023 – We headed north to visit the area around Canyon Lake, which is formed by the impoundment of the Salt River by the Mormon Flat Dam. Our plan was to camp at the lake and visit the dam if we could reach it. When we arrived at the lake, the temperature was …
March 27, 2023 – When I thought about whitewater rafting in Arizona only one place came to mind: the Grand Canyon. Though I’ve never done it, I know rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon is a once-in-a-lifetime trip that river rats dream about. At least I did. And my dreams about it were …
March 26, 2023 – We visited Roosevelt Dam, which was the first and largest dam built on the Salt River. Without a doubt, it is an impressive structure. We were amazed standing downstream and looking up at this monolith holding back the waters of the Salt River in the narrow, steep canyon where Tonto Creek …
March 26, 2023 – The Salado culture occupied the Salt River Canyon country from 1250 to 1450 CE. It was sandwiched between the Hohokam on the lower Salt River and the Mogollon on the upper Salt and Gila Rivers. Accordingly, it traded with and borrowed from those cultures, yet developed its own distinct way of …
March 6, 2023 – The Salt River is perennial from its headwaters in the White Mountains until it reaches the Granite Reef Diversion Dam near the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community where all the water is then diverted into canals. From Granite Reef until its confluence with the Gila River, the Salt is ephemeral, running …
February 21, 2023 – The next day we turned our attention from searching for petroglyphs to visiting the ruins of a Hohokam village called Pueblo Grande. (Pueblo Grande has since been renamed S’edav Va’aki.) Pueblo Grande lies in the heart of Phoenix, next to Sky Harbor International Airport. Around 600 CE, the people of the …
February 20, 2023 – In addition to the canals and pueblos they built, the people of the Hohokam culture etched petroglyphs throughout the Salt River Valley. These petroglyphs took a variety of geometric and representational forms. We traveled to Phoenix to search for and photograph a few of these sites. Our journey began in the …