CARDINALS GAME

PAYSON - TONTO NATURAL BRIDGE PART 2

The only time the boys got tired was the switchback trail out of the creek bed.  They climbed, jumped, and crawled.  The views from the backside of the bridge was worth it.

Coming down this was the only tricky part.  The stone was slick
from water and time and really required stressing to the kids the
importance of listening and going slow.  The did great!  Another hiker
came over to help, so Dave could help one kid across and then the pass him down
to flat rock and the other hiker.

When we had made it to the very end (we just had to
jump a few rocks to get to the man made bridge out) Dave said
Henry wanted to go back and look at how much he had climbed (it was about a mile total)

Dave (with Henry on his back) hiked the last ascent much faster
and went for the car.  Isaac and I took the 200ft ascent slowly
(they had strategic benches for resting) and waiting at the trailhead for Dave to come
pick us up.  We were tired but PROUD!

PAYSON - TONTO NATURAL BRIDGE PART 1

We headed to the Tonto Natural Bridge State Park in the hopes of getting in a couple of small hikes. We started on the waterfall trail, which was more a series of steps and graded areas that led to a really cool small waterfall and cave. Then we decided to descend into the creekbed and climb and hike for awhile.  We eventually realized that we would be traversing the entire thing and coming through the backside of the natural bridge.  We had water, snack, and Henry backpack carrier.  The boys did a phenomenal job of climbing and hiking.  Henry BARELY had to be carried.  Isaac carried his own bag the entire time.  It was a gorgeous hike and climb.

PAYSON - BREAKFAST

We were instantly full of regret that we didn't book another night, so we indulged in another lazy morning.  Dave and Isaac went down to the creek to hike more, Henry loved laying by the fire and watching TV, and I went out to the back deck to have a cup of coffee.  We did finally pack it up and head back into Payson for breakfast.  Isaac had requested biscuits and gravy and we were able to grant his wish.