Floating on the Salt River

I have never enjoyed sitting in a black tire-looking tube as much as I did today, floating down Arizona's Salt River (no, for some reason it’s not salty) with my friends and classmates. The river was picture perfect, although I am still trying to decide if “beautiful” is the correct adjective to describe the desert and sand hills that surrounded the river. Anything so natural, though, holds some degree of loveliness and I was almost convinced that “wondrous” would describe the surroundings when I encountered three wild mustangs drinking on the banks of the river. I kept desperately wishing aloud to my company that I wanted a camera for the ride but whenever we got hit by a torrent of water they would laughingly say, “So, do you want your camera now?”

When we got to the last pick-up station, my little tube was behind the majority of the group and from the banks someone yelled, “Stand up.” Being very obedient, I did stand up, only to find myself in a strong current in which I lost my footwear and my footing. There was no way I could stand up and still hold on to the black tube, so I tottered back and forth in the water until some kind soul in my company decided to stop laughing and offer me a hand. I guess I wasn’t really supposed to stand up where I did, but as I finally walked onto the banks, my friend laughed and said, “I so desperately wanted a camera.” But at this point I was very glad that none was to be found.

So, the pictures show no Salt River, but only the parking lot, tube rental station, surrounding desert, and fun sun hat that I found in a recent care package from my sweet college roommates (thanks Kristiane and Trina!).