Photo: Indian Bend Wash

Here is one more photo that shows how Scottsdale handles the occasional downpours that come in the desert in the July-September "monsoon" season.  The rain last Monday was a record rainfall for one day during the more than 100 years that they have been keeping records.

Indian Bend wash is a greenbelt designed to hold flood water when there is heavy rain, and to be a recreation area at all other times.

It gets heavy use, with bike trails, parks, golf courses, lakes, etc.  And when there is heavy rain, it holds extra water like this for a day or two.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers originally wanted to build a big concrete ditch like they have in Los Angeles.  What a disaster that would have been.   Scottsdale rejected the plan and built the greenbelt instead.  It was an act of civic planning brilliance.  

Photo: Record Rainfall in Phoenix/Scottsdale

Yesterday morning in the span of about 6 hours the official rainfall at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport was 3.29 inches (8.36 cm), which broke an all time record for rainfall in one day.  Some rain gauges in the area, including Scottsdale, recorded more than 4 inches of rain.

Before yesterday we had received only 2.14 inches of rain all year.  The surface streets had so much rain runoff that both Interstate Highways that travel through the area were closed because the underpasses temporarily turned into small lakes.

This is a cell phone photo that my mother took of the Indian Bend Wash at Hayden and Chaparral Roads.  What you see here is the water hitting the base of a bridge.  Normally people walk and ride bicycles under this bridge.  The bridge yesterday morning acted like a dam, but it held, as Indian Bend Wash did its job in providing a green belt for the storm water to flow until it recedes.

I had intended to post a photo today that follows up on the odd photo I posted yesterday, but I will delay that for a couple of days.  Tomorrow I will show a photo of what the weather looked like yesterday afternoon, on the day of the all-time record rainfall in Phoenix/Scottsdale.

This week we have photos from a festival in Punahka, Bhutan, in the Himalayas posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Indian Bend Wash Lake and Palm Trees

This is another typical view of the scenery on the Indian Bend Wash flood control greenbelt running through much  of the length of Scottsdale.

The height of these palm trees is a clue that the Indian Bend Wash project has been around for a while and is not new.  Date palm trees grow at the rate of about 1 foot per year, and these look to be about 50  feet tall.

That makes sense because Indian Bend Wash was planned during the 1960's.  Scottsdale insisted on the greenbelt as an alternative to the Corps of Engineers' plan to build a concrete channel that would have been 23 feet (7 m.) deep, 170 feet (51 m.) wide, 7 miles (11.3 km) long through the heart of Scottsdale.   That would have ruined the city.  Instead, the city achieved a treasured asset that people love and that enhances the property values of those who live nearby.

This week we have photos of a colorful tannery and madrasa in Fez, Morocco posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Indian Bend Wash

My husband and his son did a 24 mile (40 km) bicycle ride the Saturday before last down the Indian Bend Wash that runs from north to south through much of the Scottsdale.

As I have mentioned before, Indian Bend Wash is a masterpiece of urban planning and flood control.  Rather than concrete ditches like they have in Los Angeles, Scottsdale built a greenbelt for flood control.

There is a bicycle trail that runs the length of Indian Bend Wash, through parks, golf courses, dog parks, lakes, baseball fields, soccer fields, and other recreational amenities.  This is a typical scene of one the golf courses.  Once or twice a year, when there is a sustained thunderstorm, this area will be covered by water for a few hours or a day.

I will show some of other photos that Dave and Stuart took during their bike ride, including a photo that required teamwork and precision timing.

This week we have photos of a colorful tannery and madrasa in Fez, Morocco posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Indian Bend Wash

Here is one more photo of the Indian bend Wash greenbelt that runs through Scottsdale.  We had a rain storm two seeks ago and the wash did its job exactly as designed.

The rain water collected on grassy areas to minimize street flooding, and in a couple of hours the rain was gone.  And the rest of the year the retention area for flood control are parks, golf courses, bike and walking trails, and little ponds for ducks and geese.

This is so much better than the concrete ditch that the Army Corps of Engineers wanted to build, like they did in Los Angeles, and that Scottsdale had the foresight to create a greenbelt instead about 50 years ago.

This week we are showing photos Cabra Castle, northwest of Dublin, Ireland, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  It is a castle hotel that is a delightful place to stay.

Photo: Water Mark Horse Statue Spouting Storm Water Runoff

Here is a closer view of one of the Water Mark horse statues with storm water runoff streaming through its mouth.  These are like giant aluminum gargoyles.

As the clouds in the background show, we went out to see if there was water running through the horses soon after the storm ended.

This week we are showing photos Cabra Castle, northwest of Dublin, Ireland, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  It is a castle hotel that is a delightful place to stay.

Photo: Rain runoff through McCormick Ranch Golf Course

The Indian Bend Wash flood control project runs the length of Scottsdale, with a greenbelt of parks, bike trails, and golf courses.  The Wash is dry except for a few days each year after a hard desert thunderstorm.

The McCormick Ranch Golf Course is just upstream from the horse statues that I showed the last two days.  This is a photo of rain runoff water streaming through the middle of the golf course just after the rain storm last Sunday.

Parts of our Valley of the Sun received as much as 2 inches of rain in less than one hour.  We receive only 7 inches or rain per hear, and the broad, flat Valley experiences water runoff problems for an hour or two after the sudden, intense sumer thunderstorms.  The green belt is such a better solution to flood control than the concrete ditches that they have in Los Angeles, which Scottsdale refused to allow in Scottsdale and used a greenbelt approach to flood control instead.

This week we are showing photos of Cabra Castle, a castle-hotel northwest of Dublin, Ireland, on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Indian Bend Wash Storm Water Runoff

While taking photos of the horse statues that I have shown the last two days, the water streaming down Indian Bend Wash started to flow over the concrete abutment that achieves a drop in elevation from the McCormick Ranch Golf Course to carry water runoff under Indian Bend Road.

The bridge over the wash at Indian Bend Road, which is at the left of this photo, has red stripes to mark how high the water runoff is flowing.  During the 15 or 20 minutes of taking photos, the water rose to about 4 or 5 feet (1.2-1.5 meters) deep rushing under the bridge.

Today is Sunday, so we have new photos posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.  This week we are showing photos of Cabra Castle, a castle hotel about an hour northwest of Dublin, Ireland.  If you have not stayed in a castle, you are invited to come take a look.

Photo: Water Mark Horse Sculptures Spouting Water

Here is a closer view of the Water Mark Horse Statues in Indian Bend Wash.  It is a good thing that we got this photo when we did, just after the rain storm ended last Sunday.  About 10 minutes later the spot from which this photo was taken was covered with rushing storm water being carried down Indian Bend Wash.

This week we are showing photos of Paris on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site, including photos of several of its museums.

Photo: Trees in Indian Bend Wash

This is a telephoto shot down Indian Bend Wash following our day of rain two weeks ago.  This illustrates a principle of composition that my husband, David, discussed on his Tamarindo, Costa Rica Daily Photo site a week or so ago.

The principle of composition in this photo is separation.  The trunks do not overlap with one another.

This photo also demonstrates layering in composition.   There are at least three layers in this photo, with a foreground, middle ground and a background.  The composition carries the eye through the photo.

This week we are showing photos of everyday life and the wildlife of Tanzania on our  Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Geese enjoying the extra water

A week ago Sunday, the day after more than one inch of rain, there were not many runners, walkers or cyclists out enjoying the trails in the Indian Bend Wash greenbelt.  Instead, it was popular with some Canadian gees who came over to enjoy the extra water in this area that is normally just grass, without water.

These geese usually live on an island in a lake in Chaparral Park, across the street from  the flooded area shown in this photo.

This week we are showing photos of everyday life and the wildlife of Tanzania on our  Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Indian Bend Wash

This is another photo of Indian Bend Wash doing its job.  Water flows harmlessly over a few roads and is stored temporarily in a green belt flood plain of parks.  There is no damage from the flooding, and the community can enjoy the parks, walking and biking trails and golf courses throughout the year.

This week we have posted photos of everyday life and the wildlife of Tanzania on our  Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Bike Trail Under Water

The Indian Bend Wash bicycle trail normally goes under Chaparral Road at this point, so cyclists can avoid traffic and waiting at traffic lights.  In this photo you can see that the bike trail is flooded and there is only a little room left for the water to pass under the bridge.

The patio homes in the background is part of a gated community where my mother lives.  She likes to walk her dog in this area, except when it rains, of course.

This week we have posted photos of everyday life and the wildlife of Tanzania on our  Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Indian Bend Wash Does its Job

Here is a photo down Indian Bend Wash following our day of rain a week ago Saturday.  The wash did exactly what it is supposed to do.  It provided a place for the rain runoff to go, safely, without flooding any buildings.  By the next day, the water was gone.

During the rest of the year when Indian Bend Wash does not hold rain runoff for a day or two, the wash is a series of parks that are not damaged by the flooding.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers originally wanted to build a big concrete ditch through Scottsdale, similar to the ones in L.A. that you sometimes see in movie chase scenes, but Scottsdale had the wisdom to refuse and to insist on a greenbelt instead.

This week we have posted photos of everyday life and the wildlife of Tanzania on our  Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Rain in the Valley of the Sun

A week ago Saturday we had a day of rain in the desert, with more than one inch (2.5 cm) of rain.  (We get only 7 inches (18 cm) of rain per year.)  Sunday morning, this was the scene at Indian Bend Wash in Scottsdale.

Indian Bend Wash is a greenbelt of parks, bike trails and golf courses that runs the length of Scottsdale.  Many of the roads that cross the wash are at grade level and flood during the day or two every few years when we get too much rain.

This week we have posted photos of everyday life and the wildlife of Tanzania on our  Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Duck Family

Encanto Park in central Phoenix, which I showed yesterday, has a lake with ducks, paddle boats, and little rides for small children.  People like to feed the ducks.

People also like to feed the ducks in the series of lakes that dot Indian Bend Wash that runs through Scottsdale.  I took this photo of a duck family in Chaparral Park in Scottsdale.

This week we have photos of the the monks and ancient temples of Cambodia posted on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Horse Statue on Indian Bend Wash

Here is a photo of the artistic horse statues on Indian Bend Wash in Scottsdale.

These horses look like they are the racing blocks ready to gallop.

The horses really add style to the bridge.

Enjoy our travel photos of my river raft trip down the Grand Canyon at Viva la Voyage!

Photo: McCormick Ranch lake, apartments and Camelback Mountain

Camelback Mountain is visible from virtually all of Scottsdale and from much of the Phoenix metropolitan area.  In this photo, Camelback is visible on the horizon, across this lake that is part of the chain of lakes in the greenbelt that runs through McCormick Ranch.

My mother lives along the Indian Bend Wash greenbelt that runs the length of Scottsdale.  We can ride bicycles from the area next to her patio home all the way up to McCormick Ranch, about 5 miles away, and beyond.  We can also ride more than 5 miles in the other direction, south down the greenbelt past central Scottsdale towards Tempe Town Lake and Arizona State University.

This week we have photos of Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Steel Horse and Sky

here is a photo of a steel sculptured horse at Indian Bend Wash in Scottsdale.

A great idea to liven up the boring concrete at the wash.

It almost looks like you are at the races and the horses are ready to run.

Have you galloped on horses and how did you like it?

This week we have photos of Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.

Photo: Duck family

An advantage of living on a lake is the opportunity to enjoy observing the water fowl, which is something that you would not ordinarily expect in the middle of the Arizona desert. Scottsdale has a series of lakes and ponds running the length of the original city limits.

The Indian Bend Wash green belt provides pleasant hiking and bike trails and golf courses along what was originally proposed to be a big concrete drainage ditch like they have in Los Angeles. Thank goodness Scottsdale had the foresight to insist upon a natural greenbelt.

We have photos of Chicago during different lighting conditions this week on our Viva la Voyage travel photo site.