Sandy Wash, Another Great Hike
As you drive by these dry washes (dry most of the time, flooded others) it is tempting to think, boring! All the same stuff, rocks and dirt. Nothing could be
further from the truth. Not only are they all different, with a personality all their own, each has a different topography and grand design. In some, a point
is reached where you either rock scramble, or give it up at that point. This one, similar to Harve Gulch, had one choke point where some serious climbing
in and around was necessary to make one's way on down the wash/canyon. In other words, it was an interesting and fun venture, as they all are.

Not much going on here. Maxie is saying, like Fred Savage said in the movie The Princess Bride, "When's it get good?"	These two lava rocks seen here, were seemingly all by themselves in this drainage. There were others, infrequently, but in this particular drainage they qualified as eccentrics.
The picture didn't do this tree justice. It is an alligator juniper I believe, and a very old soldier at that, probably 3-4 feet through at its base	Jumbles of rocks, common in this drainage
This was the beginning of the 'choke point' mentioned above. Better pictures on the way back up the drainage
	The San Francisco River. At least it is running here. At the intersection of Harve Gulch, it is commonly dry
Not a real good picture upstream. Couldn't get far enough out to see past the trees	Sometime in the past this Cottonwood had decided to lie down and planted itself right on top of a rock promontory. It was an extremely large specimen with massive branches that still tower overhead. Sometime after it fell, the during one of the high periods, the river completely covered the base of the tree with silt.
A view of the base area of this giant	Although it isn't immediately apparent, this is another tree whose base was in the immediate proximity to the other tree. It was a league beyond the other tree in size. When I stood next to this one it was taller than I am.
	I am always fascinated where plants and such choose to attempt to set up housekeeping. Out of the three paddles that make up this stunted little cactus, only two are still alive. Not a lot of nourishment in its present location
	This rock in the center was another that was not like anything around it. Once again it takes on the appearance of an eccentric, however I believe that this one must have ventured down into the drainage from above
	This was was standing here all by its lonesome. Must have been made of tougher stuff than that material that was once around it
The 'choke point' from below. It is a real hodgepoge of different rocks scattered in every direction
	As I said before, I am always fascinated where plants choose to establish residence, such as in the rock cracks
This was a side drainage that I found fascinating as it appeared to have a solid base as far as could be seen up the drainage	This tree is doing rather well considering that it thought that a crack in the rock would be an excellent place to hang out. Usually trees in a similar location are under nourished and underwatered, not doing well as a result