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Outdoor Activities => Outdoor Activities => : huck August 18, 2014, 07:43:20 PM
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Last winter I took my son for a dudes fishing weekend. We didn't catch anything, but we had a good time exploring some new parts of Arizona we hadn't seen before. The Tonto Natural Bridge was kind of a last minute decision. We were driving through Payson and saw a sign for it. We would have been about 3 hours too early to check in to our cabin, so we decided to check it out. Really glad we did.
View from the top
(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h261/thoffland/tonto1.jpg) (http://s66.photobucket.com/user/thoffland/media/tonto1.jpg.html)
He was anxious to get in there, so I stopped for more pics
(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h261/thoffland/tonto2.jpg) (http://s66.photobucket.com/user/thoffland/media/tonto2.jpg.html)
Moss growing underdeath the waterfall. Notice the people in the lower center to get an idea of the size of this hole
(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h261/thoffland/tonto3.jpg) (http://s66.photobucket.com/user/thoffland/media/tonto3.jpg.html)
Some pretty cool pools inside (no fish)
(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h261/thoffland/tonto4.jpg) (http://s66.photobucket.com/user/thoffland/media/tonto4.jpg.html)
And out the other side before the hill climb back to the car
(http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h261/thoffland/tonto5.jpg) (http://s66.photobucket.com/user/thoffland/media/tonto5.jpg.html)
Good father son time for sure.
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Tim, that is killer! Funny you said Payson. I was out there about 5 years ago looking for Placoderm fish fossils! They are some of the oldest fish species known in the US. Only a couple of people know their exact location as it is a heavily guarded secret to those who do, but we gave it a shot and surveyed a lot of land but couldn't find them. We did manage to find fossil corals and brachiopods, but it wasn't what we were after.
Great pics and I will let you know if I get out that way for any reason. :D
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Hey Tim, that is a cool place.
Funny thing about Payson, Tom, is the wife has family out there. Bet they know where the fossils are.
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Tom please do. And bring the fly rod if you have time. I'll show you what small fish look like. lol
Steve, it's really cool. I was really glad we checked it out. And I'm thankfull my son has an appreciation for nature too. We're not exactly "off the beaten path" here, but we're getting there.