Winter in the Watershed

In some areas the health of a watershed may depend on the amount of winter snow pack. This image of the San Miguel River watershed was submitted by Laurie L from the western slope of Colorado. 

" I like the waves "

My Your Our Water

Weather Delay

The east coast battles cold and snow, the west coast has it's own unique weather. Fog,  the low lying collection of water droplets suspended close to the earth's surface, is often generated by nearby moist grounds, marshes, bogs or nearby bodies of water like a lake or ocean.  

"The schools here ( Fresno) had a delayed start... we couldn't see a thing"

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Unmistakable Glow

There are some moments that inspire, create awe and simply need to be shared.  Katie D was kind enough to share one of these moments.

"Relaxing water. Sunset over Kauai. 

If you listen, carefully, you can hear the horn of the conch shell being blown"

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Coasting versus Cruising

Orange and Blue. Coasting down hill on a scenic section of the Crosscut canal through Tempe, the sparkle blue trike took a moment to hang with a burnt orange cruiser. Bryce, on the orange cruiser was restarting his biking regime for the new year. We discussed the multi use canal paths at length and studied the map detailing trails, canal connections and distances. We concluded that the 8 block grids on the map need some gosh darn street names. Where the heck are we ?

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Turbulent Water

This image by glaciologist Ian J of the Polar Science Center of University of Washington shows a 60ft deep canyon carved from turbulent water overflow from a large melt lake.

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Ironman

Triking along the Crosscut Canal through Papago Park is no walk in the park. This IronMan biked up beside the trike, pulled his earbuds out, and said, "I gotta ask, what's My Your Our Water? " This one speed trike kept pace with John as we conversed about water ways, canal paths, SRP, and desert winter living. Thanks for pausing your workout for a photo op!

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Colorado Hike

Access to water isn't always easy but it's always rewarding. This image of Hanging Lake in Glenwood Canyon, Colorado was submitted by Peg P.

"It's a steep 1 mile hike up the canyon cliffs but worth it to share this view."

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Always Sunny on the Canal

It was a regular triking along the Arizona Canal replete with blue sky, sunshine, ducks swimming in the not so swift canal current and many a spectator enjoying the NO waterfalls at Arizona  Falls.  That is correct there were many a sad face on the visitors at the beloved respite along the canal when it was discovered that the water was "turned off".  Gary, Rob, George and Sunny had hoped to enjoy the sites and sounds of the falls with their morning coffee.  Trike to the rescue! We filled the waterfall void with lively conversation about acres of irrigation land, dead citrus orchards, grazing lands and things with wheels. During the conversation George revealed he's seen us triking on the canal on different occassions. Glad to finally make your acquaintance and we approve of the chucks !

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Mayan Water Ways

Recent anthropological studies and excavations have revealed that the Mayans, 800 BC to 100 AD, constructed an extensive water system.  As an agrarian society in a tropical climate that teetered between overly wet and drought, the Mayans designed a solution. They created an elaborate water system replete with channels, wells to store water collected during the wet months, dams to gradually ration water during dry months, sluice gates to better control water distribution and switching stations that controlled the directional flow of water. It is also believed that they developed a rudimentary but effective filtration system using sand to sift their various water supplies. Their calendar may have been off but their water system was right on track !

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Papago Park

Triking the Crosscut Canal is a multi city adventure from Scottsdale to Tempe.  The path is paved and a truly enjoyable ride with fish sightings in the canal and great views through Papago Park. Make the time to trike or bike the path and enjoy the water and the weather!

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Generations

This encounter started on the Arizona Canal and continued along the Crosscut Canal.  Let's just say that Trike trikes faster than you'd imagine, even on a windy day. Brothers, Michael and Ed, were out for a lengthy but fun morning ride. We had the good fortune to strike up a conversation that bridged water, Arizona homesteading, family business, water rights, canal swimming, ground water depletion and the family tree. Michael and Ed are very familiar with the canal system and the history of the area through their very own extensive family tree. Their grandparents immigrated to Arizona from the Canton Region of China in the early 1900s. They had 12 children, 37 grandchildren and 65 great grandchildren. Thanks for sharing your family stories of water and early Arizona!

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Water from Above

A recent flight from Phoenix to Los Angeles resulted in this aerial view of our desert water reserves. This image was submitted by Eddie A.

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Canal Dry Up

The canal system goes through regular maintenance that involves yearly scheduled canal dry ups and fish round ups. These dry ups are necessary for a variety of reasons ranging from maintenance, improvements and new construction.  Schedules are posted on the SRP website, including a rotating 7 year dry up plan.

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My Water

"Remembering winter days spent collecting what the tide forgot."

This image was submitted by Sonya E. from Corolla, NC. 

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Watershed at Work

This image submitted by Dave G. illustrates a watershed in action. The snow packed mountains not only offer winter fun but supply the water needed for a healthy productive water system.  

" It was an Epic day of snowboarding."

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Trike Dog

We couldn't resist a puppy in the Trike Trunk photo. These faithful followers of My Your Our Water found us triking on the Crosscut Canal. This trio was out accomplishing morning errands and spotted the Trike crossing the intersection of Thomas & 64th street by the water treatment facility. Way to be on the look out! 

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Silicon Valley

This image of Lake Cunningham Regional Park was submitted by Andre M. It is nestled in the hills on the east side of San Jose. It is a 200 acre park with a 50 acre lake that allows sailing and fishing year round. 

"I am so lucky to go to work everyday and oversea this beauty"

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Sometimes Triking is a dirty job..

...but somebody has to do it !  Even after a good winter sprinkling, we take to the canal paths and pedal through the mud. Join us for a good triking. We like to get down and dirty in conversations about water, mobility and aesthetics.

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Buck a Block

Let's be honest, here in the United States, Water is cheap. The average price of water delivered to your home is about $1.50 for 1,000 gallons. At that rate, the cost is less than a penny for a gallon of clean water. Compare that to the current low national average price for one gallon of gas at $2.24.  Is water pricing reform on the horizon?

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Water Life

Dustin Thomas from Nahko and Medicine For The People showed his support for Water knowledge of our water and what's happening to it. He gave praise for the fresh new rains and the need to keep our water clean.

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"Where the Winter Summers"

It was by far the coldest triking morning of the season. I must confess to even wearing white gloves. It was on this terribly cold morning that we had the pleasure of meeting Jim, wearing shorts, on the Crosscut Canal at the start of his long bike ride. Jim is a native to Arizona and is well versed in canal history and anecdotes of water skiing on the canal behind a '59 Oldsmobile. As a previous marathon runner, he was even able to give the mileage of canal path distances!  Jim also shared the history of the neighboring area that was once home to the Luxury Ingleside Inn built in 1909  by William J. Murphy to woo cold tourists from the snowbound east to a warm west winter filled with horses and sunshine. Hope you had a great bike ride and your legs weren't cold!

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Water Love

We all have different connections and relationships with water that elicit a vast array of emotion and memory. Jamie S from California shared her personal connection to the Ocean. 

"My fondest memories are at the beach. My grandma, Ma2, was the Queen of the Beach. Every time I'm at the beach, she is too. The sound of the crashing waves, the feel of sand on my feet, the crisp salty air and not to mention the natural light, it is my place of peace. The grandness of the ocean makes me feel so grateful and its part of my/our responsibility to keep it that way. The Second photograph is my goddaughter Elizabeth and I playing pirates finding treasure at the same beach Ma2 and I would have our adventures. Getting to share the same special place with her is all I could ask for."

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Cali on the Canal

The canal paths call to locals and visitors alike, especially on blue sky sunny days. On a recent Triking adventure along the Arizona canal we had the chance to chat with this California native enjoying a quiet morning at Arizona Falls. While our water doesn't compare to the vast California Coast, we got a thumbs up for our water awareness in the desert.

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Clouds on the Canal

If you still have not made your way to a stretch of the canal for a walk, run or trike, seriously consider it. The 131 miles of canal offer an urban retreat from asphalt car dodging cardio. Check out the map and find a section of canal near you!

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Artist on the Waterfront

The Trike makes its way to the canal path most often via the Scottsdale Waterfront. It was along this stretch of canal front that we had the treat of bumping into Michael and Madelyne. This dynamic duo was setting up a tent for the weekly Artisan Market.  Madelyne, a ceramist, is well aware of the use of water in her artistic practice. Once again, water and aesthetics join forces!

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Fresh Breath in Florida 

Yes, we have all been instructed to turn off the water while we brush our teeth but how many of us actually follow through on that simple act? On average, one minute of brushing your teeth with the water running uses 4 gallons of water. 

This image shared by Christina L. in Florida is a great reminder to have a healthy mouth and smart water use.

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The Smart Fun Side of Water

Hydrodynamics or the study of fluids in motion and the forces immersed on solid bodies immersed in fluids and the relative motion, has a varied range of applications ranging from water conservancy, hydro power, coastal engineering, energy exploration, weather predictions, wave dynamics, river hydrology, pipeline flows and the list continues into a sublist of sublists of critical fields of study and practical applications. In the end, it's a whole lot of fun to throw multicolored plastic balls into a water vortex and watch 'em swirl.

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Santa Cruz Kayaking

 Tracy L. an Arizona Lifer sent in photos from a kayaking trip on the pacific coast. "I LOVE all of my water adventures... here in AZ and everywhere else."

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Glendale to Scottsdale

There are miles and miles and miles of canal path to adventure, stroll, run or trike. This out going and enthusiastic couple, Cheryl and Brian are from Glendale. They were exploring the multi use path along the Arizona Canal and enjoying the sunshine and brisk morning temperature. Our conversation ranged the spectrum of water, electricity, water treatment facility plants, National Forest lands and the rapidly sinking Mexico City.

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New to the Canal

 "I didn't know the Falls existed until a friend took me. Nice light and water. I had to capture the moment." 
This image at Arizona Falls , a restored hydro-electirc plant along the Arizona Canal at 56th street, was submitted by Raj G.  If you haven't had a chance to check out "WaterWorks at Arizona Falls" make it a point to visit, learn, reflect and enjoy!

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Resolutions

A new year often ushers in a set of resolutions involving health, wellness and change. If you've decided to get in shape for 2015 look for this Saturday morning training crew running along the multi use canal path. This gang of runners is in training for the P. F. Chang Rock n' Roll Marathon with Phoenix Fit. Believe it or Not they just finished running 22 miles of canal path and they weren't even winded or sweaty! If running isn't your idea of fun, kick the dust off your bike and ride with the Trike!

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