We signed up with the Desert Botanical Gardens for a sunrise float down the Lower Salt River. We left Payson at 5:00 am and got in the water at 6:30 am. It was COLD!
We had two rafts and two guides who knew a lot about the area. This is a great spot for tubing, biking and hiking. The lower stretch of the Salt River, though controlled by dams, flows perennially and is highly scenic in its setting among Arizona Upland Sonoran Desert vegetation.
My only problem was that I wore water sandals (no socks) and my feet were like popsicles. I assumed the sun would come out and warm us up.....it came out but it was not warm.
We saw juvenile Bald Eagles.....at least 4 but maybe 6. It was difficult to know if we were counting the same ones twice!
We also saw wild horses, heron, egret, waterfowl, and other riparian and upland birds. Migratory song birds are starting to appear. We noticed a beaver dam and we spotted the eagles' nest in one of the old Cottonwood trees.
We smelled a skunk but didn't see one. Our guide spent the night there and heard owls all night long. This area also is home to bighorn sheep, deer, javelina, coyotes, foxes and raccoons.
This is Red Mountain.....gorgeous light as the sun rose.
Randy got a photo of one of the eagles. The Tonto National Forest is about the size of Connecticut....a nice size range area for an eagle!
Fishermen were starting to arrive when we got out of the river. The area (Saguaro Lake) gets stocked with walleye, largemouth and yellow base, rainbow and brown trout, bluegills, channel catfish and crappie.
Neoprene socks are the ticket with the cold water. Wish I could have just sent them too you with some sort of magic.
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