After attending a travel conference last month, Rodney and I had the opportunity to check an item off of our bucket list in Arizona.

While I was attending a two-day conference in Phoenix, we had arranged for Rodney to play golf with a friend. The temperature hit 110 the day we arrived in Phoenix, and we knew that he would need to be on the course early to survive the heat. After dropping me off at the conference, however, he didn’t feel well and wasn’t able to play. The courses in and around Phoenix are pricey but beautiful, and I was disappointed that it didn’t work out.

Fortunately, we had booked a few additional days to visit Scottsdale and the surrounding area. While he was taking a nap, I searched for interesting things to do on our one remaining day before we flew back home. By then, we had ventured around Phoenix and Camelback Mountain before relocating to Scottsdale for the last three days. Our hotel was within walking distance of Old Town Scottsdale, and we enjoyed visiting the shops, arts district, local restaurants and waterfront district along the Arizona Canal.

While retreating from the heat in the afternoon, I looked for something adventurous to do the next day. A Pinterest list of things to do in the area mentioned floating the Salt River near Meza beginning at Saguaro Lake Ranch. Most intriguing in the post was the possibility of seeing wild horses while floating the river. So, while Rodney slept, I booked a crack-of-dawn outing that would have us on Salt River by 7 a.m. the next morning, which meant leaving the hotel about 5:30 a.m. Since I’m the chronic night owl and he is the early bird, I hoped he would be on board, but also knew my idea sounded a little crazy.

We awoke early and were driving through the dessert by dawn. Upon our arrival, we received some instructions for the trip from the ranch crew, and I asked about the possibility of seeing wildlife along the way. I was surprised and thrilled when we were told that the chance of seeing wild horses was very likely – especially in the early morning hours. Although we were both a little nervous about floating over any rapids, we were in awe of the beautiful mountains and landscape that surrounded the river and excited to take on the adventure.

Soon after launching, I found myself clearing a riverbank with my face to avoid leaning over and flipping the kayak. It was a little painful but was clearly the better option. We stopped occasionally along the six-mile trip to rest, hydrate and enjoy the scenery. 

About halfway to our destination, I noticed some movement on the right bank. Wild horses were coming to the river for water. Before I knew it, there were three horses in an array of colors gathered on the bank. As I struggled to paddle with one hand and try to get photos with the over, I heard the sloshing of water grow louder. A beautiful wild horse had entered the river right beside me, splashing water just 10-15 feet away.

Do you know how hard it is to stop a kayak with one paddle in the river and video wild horses with the other when you are in a current? It’s likely that either you or your phone will be swimming with the fishes. Those are not the kind of risks Rodney takes, but to be honest, he was downstream so I simply did what any photographer would do when given the chance.

As we continued down the river, I looked ahead and saw a beautiful, black wild horse crossing the river in front of us. Visions of every Western movie I’ve ever seen filled my head as we passed through the mountains scouting horses.

In all, Rodney counted 18 wild horses along our Salt River float trip. It was the week of America’s 250th birthday and the perfect way to celebrate. We love a good Fourth of July fireworks show, but floating through the desert with wild horses was truly an American dream and an iconic adventure we will never forget.