When people think of Arizona they think hot, cactus, dry, brown, palm trees, & snakes. While this is true, there's also another side that's often forgotten even by us city slickers down here in Phoenix. The state is actually home to very diverse geography including pine trees, waterfalls, rain forest type atmospheres and fern carpeted forests. And you don't have to travel far from Phoenix to find this.
Just a simple 1.5 hour drive northeast of Phoenix lies one of the most serene areas of the southwest. The Tonto National Forest is 3 million acres of rugged and spectacularly beautiful country, ranging from cactus desert to pine forested mountains under the Mogollon Rim. The range in altitude varies from 1300 to nearly 8000 feet and offers recreational activities throughout the year.
The town of Payson lies in the heart of this "rim country" and is where we decided to take a day hike this past weekend. Here are a few rim country photos:
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| Payson, AZ |
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| Swimming hole in Payson |
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| Hiking! |
It was a very overcast day which was great for hiking but not so great for photo lighting.
For the next two photos I added a neutral density filter to my lens (kinda like sunglasses) to slow the shutter speed so I'd achieve the cool flowing water effect. W/o the filter I wouldn't have been able to shoot that slow and the photo would have been way over exposed.
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| One of several small waterfalls along the trail |
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| About to feel 55 degree water |
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| Water Wheel (slow shutter) |
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| Splash! (super fast shutter speed) |
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| Ranger Station overlooking Mogollon Rim |
The ranger told us that someone had just spotted a bear and it's cub the day before while hiking in the area. The ranger himself had
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| View from the Mogollon Rim |
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| Freezing cold 59 degrees! |
We decided that we need to visit this area more. I think we'll go up for a few days next time.
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