Mother Nature decided to quell Arizona's long, long drought with a statewide dowsing in practically one weekend...this past weekend! We arrived at the cabin with our two year old grandson, Kyler, around noon on Saturday. His mother had an event to attend in Sedona and we were excited to keep him at the cabin and Erin would pick him up on Sunday.
About an hour after unloading all our stuff, a neighbor said we should leave because Oak Creek was rising and water might flow over the bridge we use to get to the cabin. We hurriedly packed up everything only to find out it was too late. The creek waters had already covered the bridge.
The cause of these rising waters was due to a winter storm a few weeks ago leaving Flagstaff covered with snow. The following week saw record high temps, then the huge soaking rain. All of that snow melt, coupled with the rain brought flooding.
Oh well, nothing to do but wait until the waters receded. So we unpacked and decided to make the best of it. All day Saturday, neighbors passed along info to one another about the creek's condition. Our next door neighbor's were separated from each other. Troy had gone into town to pick up groceries and couldn't get back to Melissa and the boys. She needed milk and bread which we shared with her in return for peanut butter for Ky. Another neighbor, Suzanne, needed canned foods which we shared for a book to read,
Cabinology. Hard times always bring neighbors closer together.
We were fine except for the possibility of running out of diapers for Ky. Another neighbor gave us some Depends they had left over from an old family member. We planned to use them and duct tape to jerry-rig diapers if need be.
The raging creek kept flowing on Sunday. Old timers in the area reported that if Flagstaff (25 miles north) had a hard freeze that night, the creek water would slow significantly enough to be able to cross the bridge. At one point, there was a rumor that we might be stuck anywhere from 3-6 days. During the night, a thunderstorm rattled the canyon. Kyler had awakened and asked, "What's happening outside?" He is so sweet. A child's innocence really makes everything ok.
Morning arrived and about 1/2 inch of snow covered the ground. Our neighbor told us the water was under the bridge and she was leaving in about 10 minutes. We decided to tag-team with her and packed up lickety-split! I felt like a refugee just throwing things into the car. Poor Kyler was still in his pajamas as we loaded him into his car seat.
After crossing, Suzanne and I got out of our cars, briefly hugged and wiped the tears from our eyes. No one will ever forget that weekend! We never felt unsafe at anytime.
The trip back home was really uneventful. I didn't even mind being seen in public with a major case of "bed-head" when we stopped for breakfast. I wonder if anyone thought, "Why in the world would that woman leave home looking like that?" Oh if they only knew!!!
Lessons learned:
- No cabin trips during MAJOR storms
- Always keep extra supplies, especially diapers
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| A silhouetted neighbor standing near the flood waters |
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| Flood waters over the bridge joined by logs, branches, etc. |
