I often visit Oak Creek Canyon in the summer to dip my feet in the creek at Ensinoso Falls. Because Oak Creek is spring fed, its waters are always breath-stoppingly cold, a welcome refreshment on a summer’s day!

This year because of the Slide Fire, all of Oak Creek Canyon is closed to visitors, so I drove to the East Verde Valley to encounter Wet Beaver Creek instead.

When I arrived the park was deserted. The camp host was nowhere to be seen. Even his hammock was empty!

The camp cat gave me a sniff before she deserted me for better pickings elsewhere.

As I walked down to the Creek, I spotted first one abandoned sock:

Then two more, nestled like wooly caterpillars among the rocks:

The sound of water roaring, roaring, roaring, told me why no one was sun-bathing today:

The heavy monsoons upstream had caused high waters, swiftly running, muddy, churning. No swimming today in the floods:

The currents pushed against logs, turning them over in its eagerness to move forward, and the water knife-edged into white water:

Where the water eddied, it created not ponds for wading, but entire lakes:

In side pools, the shadows reflected in water holding its breath for a moment:

And in one special place the foam had created a pattern as clear as a thumb print:

If you visit a place with expectations, you may be disappointed.

If you visit with an open mind, the world can be full of surprises.