September 20th to 23rd

The community of Portal, where my friend Dirk lives a good part of the year, is located in the extreme southeast of Arizona. It’s a small place, but it’s big on scenery. This is Portal Road, that leads from Highway 80 to the Chiricauhua Montains…

…where we find the mouth of Cave Creek Canyon:

 

I’ve mentioned that Cave Creek Canyon, Portal and its surrounding areas have been very hard hit by the recent heavy rains in the southwest. This is one of the National Forest Service buildings in the Portal area, just a short way up the canyon:

 

And this is the view today just across the road, where the rains created a raging torrent a few days ago:

 

A nearby road is closed…

…and doesn’t look like it’ll be open again soon, to the great concern of the community:

 

Upstream and down, the same devastation…

…under continually menacing skies:

 

A ranger allows us to drive up to Sunny Flat Campground. I say “allows” because this road, too, will soon be closed to traffic…

At first glance, things don’t look too bad. Notice the heavy vegetation below the rock formations, the tall trees in particular:

The vegetation here, and the shelter of the canyon, make this area one of the most attractive bird watching areas in the world. Indeed, “birding” brings people here from everywhere. Scientists too, come here to study the riparian habitat of this very unique canyon.

 

But let’s leave the devastation for further investigation tomorrow. Here’s the sunset from Dirk’s house:

 

The eastern sky this evening is nice too:

 

The same eastern sky the next morning:

 

Here’s the house Dirk is building. The morning light hasn’t quite reached it yet:

 

A short distance way we see the house of Dirk’s neighbor. This house, though situated at some distance from the creek, was nevertheless flooded.

 

The western sky this morning:

I have to admit that Cave Creek Canyon is starting to exert a certain power over me.

 

This morning we decide to go for a hike to assess the damage. We park only a short way up the canyon…

 

…the view across the road is not encouraging:

 

Dirk sets out on the trail:

We’re on the Cave Creek Nature Trail, that will take us up the canyon along the creek to Sunny Flat Campground and further:

In some places the trail and its surroundings seem to be untouched…

…and we see the normal vegetation…

…like this cholla and this prickly pear…

…these flowers…

…a prickly poppy…

…and this wild morning glory. I told you I’d find one, didn’t I?

 

But suddenly the flood damage becomes apparent…

…the creek has cut new channels…

…we see just how high the water level rose…

…and the extent of the damage across the canyon floor.

 

The grass has been flattened…

…like this yucca…

The trail, too, became a channel in some places…

…much debris has been deposited…

…and this bench was under water…

 

Above Sunny Flat Campground the rock formations remain serene…

 

 

We follow the road back down the canyon towards Portal…

…silt and sand have been deposited all across the canyon floor.

This road has been partially washed out…

…and isn’t likely to be repaired soon.

 

Dirk wades through a still-flooded part of the road:

 

In some places the road is now part of the creek:

 

This camprgound was completely flooded…

…and nearby a new spring has appeared…

…which continues to pour water onto the grounds.

 

Later, back in Portal and on a lighter note, these javelinas, or peccaries, roam the village.

They’re a wild new world pig and not related to swine. I say “on a lighter note”, but in fact javelinas can be real pests.

You can learn more about them here.

The people of Portal are understandably concerned about how and when the infrastructure on which they all depend will be repaired. They’re also concerned about the canyon itself. As one of Dirk’s friends said to us, “This canyon is why we’re here.”

Mother Nature will likely find a way to take care of the canyon, though it will take time.

As I said ealier, Cave Creek Canyon is starting to exert a certain power over me. Here’s the canyon sky at the end of the day:

 

And in the evening of the following day…

 

The eastern sky at the same moment…

 

Early the next morning at Dirk’s house…

…both east…

…and west…

The Cave Creek Canyon area is, as they say, a hidden gem, or, one of the unknown ends of the earth.