Bill Williams Canyon

"After three days in the desert fun I was looking at a river bed, and thes tory that told of a river that flowed made me sad to think it was dead"Horse with no name-America 2/72

The Santa Maria and Big Sandy Rivers are damned in Western Arizona to formAlamo Lake. This dam was built by the Army Corp. of Engineers for floodcontrol purposes in the Havasu area? Alamo Lake State Park with it'sartificial place in the desert is nothing to write home about.(Embedded image moved to file: pic07936.jpg)UGLY DamOut of the dam flows a pleasant looking stream through a canyon ofcolorful metamorphic rock Bill Williams River Canyon was the destination of Zo, Jake, Dingo Dan andLobo for a day of Canyoneering. We stopped in the economically challengedhamlet of Wenden at a hole in the wall restaurant for a lousy breakfastspiced with local flavor.After our arrival at the lake, we found the road closed to our entry pointinto the canyon and took an unplanned 2 ½ mile walk down the road.The road was closed because they were building guard rails. The State Parkguy told us that he could not let us drive the road due to the danger.There was of course, no danger.Crossing the pleasant stream did not end up a pleasant experience due todeep mud that unleashed a putrid smell. The nauseating odor was a result ofagriculture run off.We were further delayed getting down canyon by spending much time trying toclimb around a long deep pool at the beginning. No one wanted to swim thisone. We ended up rim locked several times and finally climbed a lengthy upand around route.(Embedded image moved to file: pic04088.jpg)There were many feral burro paths and the frequent burro crap added to ourenvironmental disillusion. There are supposed to be over a 1000 of thesewild animals in the area. The State Ranger told us that one was too many.We agree!(Embedded image moved to file: pic03502.jpg)Jake, Dingo Dan & LorenzoAfter going a short way down stream it was obvious that time was workingagainst us and we would not reach our original planned turn around point atan area where the river leaves the canyon and flows into a wide valley. Noone was inspired to continue to slog down the canyon.We had lunch and agreed that there are too many nice spots in Arizona thatoffer more natural beauty and that we would not return.On the road back to Phoenix we stopped again at Wenden for beers andburgers at an unusual establishment with an unfriendly proprietor. We tooknote of the baseball bat he had behind the bar and modified our behavioraccordingly.The ride home was long and arduous. Thanks to Zo for driving.This trip is rated a 4.5 and only gets points due to the company shared.Men Behaving BadlyDingo Dan for reminiscing about his days in college when he was a stud ponyand had a well endowed girl friend. (BoTaTas)Lobo for "interviewing" Dingo Dan and asking detailed probing questions.Dingo Dan commenting that "The best part of this trip was the wild ass!"Hmmmmmm, it seems that the dirty dog has a one track mind!Jake for several SBDs after beer and burgers on the long ride home anddenying responsibility for any of them.Lorenzo for frequently rolling down the window to get a blast of air thatblasted Lobo and not Jake.