The Mysterious Lower Salt River Canyon

While on our way home from Payson, Arizona we stopped for a bit at The Lower Salt River to take in some of it's beauty. It was getting late in the day, which was perfect because that is probably when the mountains and plateaus look their best.

The setting sun gives the mountains a nice orangish tint:

These particular mountains are shrouded in secrecy and mystery. 

Many people have lost their lives while climbing and hiking up in those mountains. There are rumors of a lost gold mine up there that many people have tried to find, but to no avail.

Some even go as far as to say the mountains are haunted because of all the disappearances and strange deaths that have occurred up there...

As you can see the water level in the Salt River was really low when I took these pictures. They haven't turned on the flow out of Saguaro Lake just yet. Usually by the end of March they will start increasing the flow rate out of the dam as the lake fills up with water from the snow melt coming from the rivers above. 

It makes for a great recreation area for tubers and fisherman alike. I have even seen some people panning for gold in the area, but I won't say who... ;)

Yes I have been known to swirl a pan around in the dirt from time to time...

The Lower Salt River is a nice little oasis just 20 minutes north of The Valley (greater Phoenix area). There are wild horses and donkeys in the area as well as mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, and a host of reptiles and amphibians. It would make for a great place to fish if there weren't so many tubers! It's pretty hard to get a line out anywhere in the late spring or summer without a tuber floating by and spooking the fish.

Live well my friends!

*Images taken by me this past weekend

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