Short Walk to the River

Ever since I read there was water in the river again, I've wanted to go. I finally had an opportunity this afternoon to take a short walk to the river. This was a joyous occasion for me, since we haven't had water in the river for a couple of years now. 

I parked on the road near the south entrance and took my favorite access path down to the river.

My Path to Access the Salinas River in Paso Robles, © B. Radisavljevic

This is the part of the riverbed it led to.

In the Riverbed of the Salinas River in Paso Robles, © B. Radisavljevic

In some years, this entire section has been filled with the flowing river,  but so far we haven't had enough rainfall to make that happen this year. In 2012 when I began my annual search for water in the river, it found me. Seeing the river fill was an amazing experience I captured in this video. I was so glad I had a video camera with me. I had never expected this.

This year only a couple of the channels have water so far. This one had the most. This photo is looking south.

Finally! The Salinas River in Paso Robles, © B. Radisavljevic

As I walked farther north in the riverbed, I came across the remains of the fire you see in the top photo. The police have recently cleaned up several homeless camps in the riverbed. Drownings have occurred in the past when homeless people are trapped on the sandbars where they are camping. In "U is for Under the Bridge" in the suggested articles below, you will see a memorial cross where probably few but the homeless would see it.

I made this poster in 2012 when the river was right up to the banks. It is the same path shown in the first large photo above.

Poster: Path to the Salinas River in March Poster 

Related articles

• U is for Under the Bridge
• Will We See Water In the River This Year?
• Water in the Salinas River in Templeton
• R is for the River