11 October 2008

Let's go play in the wash

Growing up in Oregon, with the Willamette River in my back yard, I was pretty sure I knew what a river was. Then I moved to California.
I noticed Valencia had all these cemented canals. I soon learned that the area was called the Wash. The what? Well, it's the river. Um, OK. So, a river in California is a dry cemented canal? Pretty much. I guess it is cemented so that if there does happen to be water flowing in the wash, it won't absorb into the natural dirt floor. Though, in addition to collecting the water, a wash collects dirt, trash, graffiti... you name it.

This wash actually has some water in it. I thought California was in a drought?

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