Tag Archives: canal

A Walk Along the CAP Canal

Just in case you were wondering, Phoenix has a grand total of zero natural waterways. We do, however, have a couple of canals. The Central Arizona Project Canal and the Salt River Project Canal. These take water from the Colorado River and the Salt River and bring it to the city because, well, there’s a city in the middle lf the desert with no water. Go figure. 


The CAP canal isn’t too far from our house; in fact, it runs through the middle of one of our favorite hiking ranges, Deem Hills. 


Deem Hills is in the Northwestern corner of Phonix. If you start at the east entrance of the trails, you can take the Circumference Trail a short distance to the path that goes along the edge of the canal. Unlike the hilly trail over the mountains, this is a nice flat trail, good for long walks and jogging.


The trail goes through the range, and then runs behind a neighborhood. It offers access to parks and playgrounds, and has nice views of the canal. 


When a canal’s all you’ve got, it’s actually a pretty desirable view. We did find a rattlesnake back there once, so keep an eye out just in case! 


Kito loved the trails. She’s still discovering new and interesting things, like quail and rabbits. She didn’t even mind when we ran the last mile! This is the first of many family hikes in Deem Hills.

Welland Canal Locks

Locks are cool! Our little league team has spent a good amount of time discussing canal locks during homework time over the past few months. So we were pretty excited to see a real one in action. During our team trip to Ontario, we stopped by the St. Catherine’s Museum and Welland Canal Center. Here’s a quick account from Lewis, a teen on our team. 

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We went to the Welland Canal.

“We saw the locks in action.” -Theo, 14

boat
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We went to the museum.

“I saw some of the classic weapons of World War I.” -Adonis, 12

lacrosse
There was so much to see and do at the museum, including St. Catherines’ history and the Harriet Tubman story. Of course, the most interesting display for the kids was a lacrosse game.

Then we saw a boat and the water drained.

“It takes 45 minutes to move up and down and its really amazing to see it up close.” -Tre, 14

lock
We watched as the lock slowly drained. The crew carefully steered the ship as she sank lower and lower into the narrow canal. Finally, the doors of the lock opened and the boat floated out into the next level of the canal.

Subscribe (right sidebar) for more articles from these kids from Sint Maarten! They love it when you read their writing. 

Read Tre’s article on camping

Read Theo’s article on Safari Niagara

Read Tristan’s article on Harriet Tubman

Read Adonis’ article on the Ontario Science Centre

Read Skijlaar’s article on Niagara Falls fireworks and magic

Read Big King’s article on Niagara Falls and the Maid of the Mist boat ride