Day 7, Payson, Arizona

Resisting all temptation to leave Safford at the crack of dawn, a leisurely breakfast of the usual Days Inn health food found us westward bound at 7:00am.  Payson is an easy drive west to Globe and North.  Desert all the way, prolific with Saguaro cactus.  Ten years of living in Arizona after college made me appreciate the beauty of this desert.  I love those big sentinels of the desert.  In some place they grow thick like weeds and in other places, sparsely dot the landscape.  With all the character of humans, they come short and tall, single pole and numerous arms.  Did you know their average life span is over 150 years?

The route North follows Roosevelt Lake, a huge reservoir at the upper end of the chain of dams that contain the Salt River.  I’ve been to the dam many times in the past, following a winding and incredibly narrow dirt road all the way up the canyons from Phoenix.  This photo was take from a precarious viewpoint just before arriving at the dam along that road.  Fortunately this time we followed paved roads from Globe.

Arriving in Payson was a surprise.  The not so great kind of “going back home” feeling you get.  I was not a kid when I visited here, many times in the last 1960’s.  I should have a better memory.  I remember tall Pinion Pine trees and an almost Ponderosa Ranch atmosphere.  I think they must have cut all the trees and replaced them with the Chaparral probably native to this region.  It IS cooler than the desert, perhaps fifteen degrees and it feels great.  The short ride today took about four hours, driving slow, 55ish, Letting the truckers past, and stopping frequently to appreciate the beauty of this desert.

We’re headed for the Grand Canyon.  Tomorrow will be spent n Flagstaff with a trip through Sedona.  The Grand Canyon is two days away, and I'm as excited as a kid to see it again.  It's been decades.

Happy Trails.