Very early we leave Fountain Hills, in search of Salt River Rafting.
We queued and hired our tubes.

The bus takes riders to point 1 to begin their float.

Our cooler clipped to the side of the ring, ensures we have water and snacks.

The temperatures at 08.30 in the car were 85 degrees, we expect the morning to get hot.

The cool water was heaven, we passed through some tiny rapids and ran aground on raised rocks.

Ian's knees before they got sunburned!

We pulled out onto a small beach, where 2 young girls were letting their horses drink.

The scenery was great as the heat rose & the black rubber tubes scorched our arms.

At point 4, a mere 4 hours later we got back into our bus, for a journey back to the car park.

We headed over to Montezuma's castle. not so much a castle as a mud and wood structure, high up in the mud cliffs.

Conservationists have been trying to preserve the powdery structures since the 1930's, not allowing visitors to climb up to the rooms since the 1960's.

This tame squirrel was demonstrating that local wildlife, like the seeds scattered under the trees.

The area was home to a large community of indiginous people from  the 9th century up until 1450 when the settlement was abandoned, no one is sure why.

Like we hadn't had enough water today, the obligatory dip in the hotel pool before dinner.

We last visited the Indian Palace in 2011 and noted in the blog it was  very nice.. The food lived up to it's reputation.

Goodnight dear reader, see you when the fog lifts xx