Outing to Gila Box-Riparian Area

We took a outing to the Gila Box for a picnic and river play.  The 23,000-acre Gila Box Riparian National Conservation Area is truly an oasis in the desert. It has four perennial waterways - the Gila and San Francisco rivers and Bonita and Eagle creeks, which are the lifeline for this remarkable place. The Gila River canyon section, known as the Gila Box, is composed of patchy mesquite woodlands, mature cottonwoods, sandy beaches, and grand buff-colored cliffs. Bonita Creek, popular for birdwatching, hiking, and picnicking, is lined with large cottonwoods, sycamores, and willows. The perennial creek and riparian vegetation make this a cool year-round desert oasis.

In this hot desert any oasis is a welcome one.  Now that the summer heat as truly arrived any water escape is so refreshing.   We took tubes not knowing how deep the river would be sometimes the river is not deep enough to float on tubes.  Luckily for us, the water was waist deep just right for tubing.  This day the weather was quite cool for us and it was just as delightful on the bank as in the water.

Eddy prepares to go tubing

I take Zany for a float while Archer in green floaties and McCoy look on

Quinton enjoys the sparkling water

Eddy takes Archer for a float

Zany on the sandy beach

Cheezy Cheeto smile!

Man sized rock throwing

On the cliff face about a hundred feet up were two silent observers 

Across the river in the cliff wall was a small cave just right for a bit of a lounge.

Declan and Quinton

Quinton considers letting Declan join him

Look how well they are getting along . . .

until Quinton pushes Declan in the water

Quinton enjoys some reading on the beach

McCoy dropped his ball in the water and when he was rushing to grab it before it floated off downriver he stubbed his toe on a rock and was out of commission for the rest of the trip. I was worried he broke it but he may just lose part of his toenail. So he wasn't in the group photo.

River party

With the heat now upon us and it routinely being in the 100's we may be headed back soon!