Saguaro Lake

How different our lives are when we really know what is deeply important to us, and keeping that picture in mind, we manage ourselves each day to be and to do what really matters most.

Stephen Covey

It's been a quiet day today. I am feeling better and better, hooray! Mostly energy issues at the moment. Being very careful about what I eat and drink, don't want to experience another gastritis episode. Yesterday evening we had a lovely time on Saguaro Lake.

We started out just after 5 pm at dusk so not the best time of day to take photos, fabulous time though to be out in nature as the soft evening light is beautiful. Saguaro Lake was formed by the damming of the Salt River and is part of the Tonto National Forest and has a surface area of about 1200 acres (500 hectares), is 10 miles long with 20 miles of shoreline. It's beautiful.

So with Mike and Betsy, who own the boat, Paula, Jonathan, Glen and I set out to enjoy the sights and each others company. The boat is about 31 feet and very comfortable and the engine very quiet which I was pleased about. Betsy provided lovely snacks and dinner, the weather was great and the scenery absolutely stunning. We were also treated to a near full moon and a star studded sky, but i am getting ahead of myself. Joy also in that there was a smoochy dog called Willow on board.

Once we got away from the marina we picked up speed and headed across the open lake with views to distant mountains then through a lovely gorge bathed in late afternoon light. As we entered the gorge Mike slowed the boat and we cruised slowly and quietly along. Glen and I moved up to the bow of the boat to get the best view. There were sheer rocky walls plunging straight into the water, there were huge saguaros perched on impossible ledges, there were a variety of colours of lichen patches on vast expanses of rock. We spotted quite a few caves and there were cutaways in the wall with a sudden profusion of flora.

As we came out of the main gorge it opened out with ready banks and mountain views. There was a lovely contrast with the water and reeds then rocky cactus dotted hills with the mountains behind. Stunning. Little bats started to come out over the water doing their acrobatics catching insects. We came to the end of the navigable lake and stopped the engine and just floated as the night set in as we enjoyed the quiet and peace and day's end. The light then faded very quickly and the stars were soon visible. It is very dark out there so the stars are stunning.

Mike started the engine and we slowly slowly and quietly headed back while we ate dinner and chatted with Betsy. Soon the moon came up over the mountains and reflected beautifully in the water. The rocky sides of the gorge looked great in the soft moonlight on the enjoyably slow trip back to the mooring. What a great experience.

On the way back to the cars Betsy was hanging on to Willow saying that there were lots of skunks in the area. Barely had she uttered these words when a skunk appeared. Fortunately I managed to get the camera out just in time to take a photo before it disappeared behind some rocks. A little further along we saw another one scurry off. Apparently the nasty smell they give off is impossible to remove or cover up, you just have to wait for it to wear off. I thought, how bad can that be? Jonathan then said the smell was like the worst smelling pit toilet you could imagine. Ewww.

This morning Glen went on what was supposed to be a 2 hour walk with a few of the neighbours. Ended up being a 4 hour strenuous hike. Very satisfying but exhausting. looking forward to being able to do that sort of thing again.

Surviving and thriving

Linda