Tonto Natural Bridge with the boy (short hike)

[huck]

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



He was anxious to get in there, so I stopped for more pics



Moss growing underdeath the waterfall. Notice the people in the lower center to get an idea of the size of this hole



Some pretty cool pools inside (no fish)



And out the other side before the hill climb back to the car



Good father son time for sure.

[Latimeria]

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. 

[sasquatch]

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.

[huck]

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.