Chat
11-23-2022, 09:20 AM
This was the big day. We'd be walking up a tributary to the Escalante river which drains an area that we've been watching from a distance as thunder storms hit it over and over and over. Most of the water had drained out by now, to my surprise. Now, you know goats hate to get one drop of water on them... So this is going to be interesting.
The floor of this river is smooth clean rock. To the sides, between the sheer canyon walls, there are little raised strips of dirt with trees and poison ivy. Of course the goats liked to go up onto those rather than walk through the water at first. Now, due to the recent flooding, sand banks had built up against these 'edge islands'. Phil quickly discovered that some of them were unstable and would turn to quicksand within seconds.
Phil dug himself out, but it took several minutes.
While the floor of the river was flat, we started finding hidden pot-holes under the still silty water flow. We started figuring out how to find them by watching the way the water's surface burbled and churned. The goats were good at finding them a different way....
The floor of this river is smooth clean rock. To the sides, between the sheer canyon walls, there are little raised strips of dirt with trees and poison ivy. Of course the goats liked to go up onto those rather than walk through the water at first. Now, due to the recent flooding, sand banks had built up against these 'edge islands'. Phil quickly discovered that some of them were unstable and would turn to quicksand within seconds.
Phil dug himself out, but it took several minutes.
While the floor of the river was flat, we started finding hidden pot-holes under the still silty water flow. We started figuring out how to find them by watching the way the water's surface burbled and churned. The goats were good at finding them a different way....
I don't drink beer, but if I did, I'd prefer Dos Equis. Stay thirsty my friends!