From the desert to the rim top

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Yesterday we drove from Rio Verde into the Tonto National Forest and up to the town of Payson, about an hour north of here. In Payson we found an all-terrain mountain buggy trip to take. Our guide was Charlie, and he took us on quite an adventure. We met Charlie in a parking lot in town, and followed him to a remote location in the mountains. Here we were following a complete stranger and hoping it wouldn't turn out to be like a scene out of Deliverance. . . as it turned out Charlie was a nice Christian guy who showed us all kinds of neat things, and our only "danger" turned out to be from the weather.

The trip's first highlight was a jaunt onto a rough and rocky off-road trail. From there we traveled on an old frontier-day wagon trail into the canyon. At the canyon we got out and hiked along the canyon wall to view huge Ponderosa pines and interesting rock formations. About halfway through we started getting rained upon, and when the first lightning cracked in the distance we started quickly heading back to the buggy. By now we were at a much higher elevation and the temperature was dropping. But when Charlie passed me a towel, it wasn't to keep me warm -- it was to protect me from all the clay the rain had created and was now pelting me in the back seat! We continued up to the top of the Mogollon Rim, elevation about 7400 ft., where there is a fire observation tower. Fortunately the rain and lightning had stopped, so we were allowed to climb the tower where we could see the monsoon clouds in the distance over the mountain peaks. What a difference from the Saguaro-dotted desert just an hour and a half drive away! On the way back down to our car, we stopped to view one of the many lakes in the area that they call rim lakes and are kept stocked with trout.

Charlie said many people in Phoenix don't even realize they are so close to such a different climate, and even many people in Payson have not seen some of the scenery we did. During the course of our adventure we experienced a temperature change of about 40 degrees. On our trip back to the desert we watched the temp. guage in our car gradually rise from the 60's back up to the 100's! And of course, not a drop of the rain made it much further south than Payson.

Well, that's it for now guys. A few pictures follow.

We head for the Grand Canyon tomorrow. To be continued later . . .

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Comments

[Mom]

What an Adventure!!
That is so interesting about the temperature. Looks like you are off to a great start....I love reading about it and seeing it. Our day at the Shower/Dinner was terrific...great visit and fun. Enjoy...Love, Mom

[Lora Pancoast]

Awesome!
Hey there, Wow sounds like a great fun day! Including the rain! Great pics! When we were in Sedona, we took a similar excursion in a jeep with a guide. It was very fun! Glad you are able to do this and explore like another world!