A Truby in Tucson: Aftermath

I've gotten a bit behind. The usual combination of LIFE IS TOO HARD and BRAIN CHEMISTRY IS BROKEN. Nothing especially exciting, just busy busy at work and the usual mental health failings.

But that's boring. Let's talk about what happens after it snowed! So, of course by the next day the snow was all gone. It was warm and sunny and that snow just disappeared. But...I guess it's okay. It made our desert snow even more magical!

Remember that time it snowed so much Truby could levitate?

A few days later (Sunday), I needed to go to the barn after work, come hell or high water. I realized, as I was in the middle of bitching about how other people are trainwrecks, that I had forgotten to pay Truby's board. I immediately texted the barn owner, apologizing my fool head off, offered her my firstborn, and begged her not to kick Truby out into the cold, wet desert. I swore I'd drop off a check the next day.

Barn owner seemed completely unconcerned, probably because I'm AT the barn every day, sometimes twice a day, and am more of a flakey blonde than a potential sell-my-horse-for-back-board kinda person. Also, everyone loves Truby.

So, that's how I found myself HAVING to go to the barn after a long-ass workday. If I didn't have to drop off that check, I think I would have just gone home and collapsed. Instead, I headed down the road, easterly.

There's two ways to get there from my work. I usually go down Speedway, which runs East-West. I could also go down Tanque Verde, which run parallel to Speedway, and is the next road over to the north. From my work, it's easiest to go straight down Speedway, hook a left onto Wentworth, and then into the neighborhood.

So that's what I did. Seems straightforward. Go the more direct route, right? EXCEPT, the Tanque Verde Creek runs between Speedway and Tangue Verde. The "Creek" is actually a wash, so usually it's just a sandy riverbed with no water in it. There is a bridge spanning Tanque Verde Creek at one point, but the smaller roads running between Tanque Verde Road and Speedway just run across it at ground level.

I have no idea if any of that made sense to anyone. I'm so sorry if it doesn't. Come visit me in Tucson and I'll drive you around until it makes sense!

So, the whole reason I (poorly?) explained all that, is because when my tired, frazzled brain came upon this:

But how will I visit Truby????

We had a morning of light rain, but that was apparently enough to melt a lot of snow in the mountains and bring it all down into the valley. The wash did what washes do, and we had a river! So I did what anyone would do, hooked a U turn, parked, and got out to take pictures.

North towards the Rincons

Looking Northish. Wentworth Road follows those telephone poles

Looking west

Watched a dumbass kid drive a jacked up pickup through the running wash

Arizona has a "dumb driver law". If you drive through a running wash,

you are 100% solely responsible for the cost of your rescue.

I usually drive through a sandy wash. I like to slow down a bit and look around. Sometimes I see people riding horses, or walking their dogs. I once saw a family doing a photoshoot. Sometimes I see coyotes. That day I stood at the edge and marveled at the rushing water. The current was strong, the water was loud. It was bright and the water sparkled.

In addition to the dumb kid in the truck, I also watched an older man ride his horse down the wash. He came down the trail alongside Wentworth, and then just causally slogged through the edge of the water, and headed north on one of the 'islands'. The dumb kid made it (he stopped on the other side and then stood next to me to take glory pictures, we chatted a bit.) but I don't know what happened to the old guy. I guess he's fine, since I haven't seen any news reports about it.

Desert washes differ quite a bit from normal waterways. They're far more unpredictable. Water volume and speed can vary drastically in short amounts of time. Many times, people who get caught in them, either taken by surprise (the can pop up suddenly) or by foolish action, can be swept away and die. Sometimes they're not recovered. "Turn Around Don't Die" is a common motto out here. Because while beautiful, washes can be very deadly. It's just another thing to be aware of when hiking or trail riding. Water, sunscreen, weather report. Rain or snow recently can cause washes to flow. Sometimes a fun splashy trickle, but sometimes....

Anyway. After enjoying the view, I drove back down Speedway, took the bridge over Tanque Verde Creek, and then all the way back down to the barn. I paid my board, and let Truby out for some quality roll time.