Trekking Around Up North

Last week, my husband and I were in Payson, visiting my son, enjoying cooler temps and beautiful scenery.  While driving to Pine for lunch, we passed the entrance to Tonto Natural Bridge State Park.  We heard that the State was closing this Park due to lack of funds, so when we passed by and saw that the park appeared to be open, we decided that after lunch, we would drive in and spend a couple of hours.

Tonto Natural Bridge State Park is situated in a small canyon, surrounded by steep forrested walls.  At first glance, you will notice that you are in a small valley in the middle of a Pine forrest.  There is a beautiful building, green grass, picnic areas and parking lots.  The canyon opens to the South and offers a wonderful view beyond. 

In the following shots, you can see how errosion as shaped the walls leading to the bridge.

So where is the bridge? Hit the trails and you will eventually find what is believed to be the worlds largest natural travertine bridge.  These shots are directly under the bridge.
 

Further up stream, there is a waterfall that I would have loved to hike down into, not to mention hiking down to where I could get under the bridge, but sadly I did not have the proper foot attire on this trip.  So instead, I contented myself with taking pictures from up top. 

In addition to learning the hard way that I need throw my hiking shoes into the car for those "just in case" moments, I also learned the hard way that I need to make sure my camera battery is fully charged or bring along a spare.  Unfortunately, the battery was drained after I snapped these photos and I lost the opportunity to get some spectacular views of the bridge. 



Thankfully, Tonto Natural Bridge State Park is funded to remain open until July 2011.  We are planning another trip soon and you can be sure that I will bring the right gear so I can hike down this trail and get those amazing shots of this gorgeous place.