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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM LAURIE
A Day in Topock Gorge
STORY BY DEBORAH WALL
A great blue heron came out of nowhere, gave us a glance, and flew downriver. You don't see a heron every day in the Southwestern desert, but there was no mistaking the black stripe above the eye, those long slender legs, and dagger-shaped yellow bill. I was still exulting over our heron when more than 20 Canada geese flew north, trying to achieve their characteristic wedge formation. Meanwhile, two desert bighorn ewes were content just to hang about the west bank of the river.
All of this happened before I could find my binoculars.
Vibrant, multicolored volcanic rock and limestone surrounded us as we traveled by motorized raft through the translucent waters of Topock Gorge. One of the last remaining natural stretches of the Colorado River, it lies within the 44,371-acre Havasu National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge shelters 30 river miles and 300 miles of shoreline from Needles, California, to Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Although the area was set aside to preserve wildlife and habitat critical to its survival, people go there mainly to experience a landscape so scenic and unspoiled that wildlife can be considered a bonus.
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The March/April 2003 Issue is out. Find it at Las Vegas bookstores today.
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