Tonto, This Is The Lone Ranger

Most of the excitement today came when we went hiking in Tonto Natural Bridge State Park.  Never once did I refer to Terri as Tonto during our hike.  I waited until we were in the car leaving to mention my tactful restraint.  Through the years I have referred to her as Tonto when we have been lost, we were never lost today so I didn't get to ask Tonto which way to go.

We started the day by moving the RV to the Tonto Apache Indian Casino in Payson.  We had breakfast there before we went hiking.  They have a huge parking lot and the outer perimeter is set aside for RV's to park.  It's free, so that is a very good price.

The road into Tonto State Park has a challenging road with a 14% down grade.  I was glad we were in the Honda and not the motorhome.  We would never have made it out if we had survived the grade going in.

Once we were there we hiked into the main feature in the park, the natural bridge.


Terri winding down the trail into the gorge.

Not your typical Washington state flora.

Over the bridge and we were there.  Now the hard work started.

A natural bridge is like a cave or an arch but it is open on both ends because a river runs through it.  At this time of the year the water is low so you can walk almost all the way through.  Maybe if you were a rock climber you could make it all the way, but when we got to the end there was a shear rock wall that was more than we could handle.

Terri climbing over boulders in the river bed.

Sometimes you just squeezed through.

Now if those rocks look slippery that's because they are.  They have been worn smooth because most of the year they are under water with the river flowing over them.  So why are they wet now?

That is a water fall coming down over the mouth of the "bridge".

Yes, the interesting feature is the waterfall coming down several hundred feet at the opening to the bridge.  And yes it gets you wet when you walk under it.  It also lowers the temperature about 10 degrees rather quickly.

Nice view from inside looking out.

So what's it like inside?  Beautiful pools and rock formations.

This is what rivers look like underwater.

Now to get back out.

So today we did a little more than we should have tried.  The rocks were to big, the water made them to slippery and they were more than old people should climb.  Terri fell on our trip out, luckily she wasn't hurt but she ended up flat on her back at the bottom of a large boulder we had to go over.  We will try to be more sensible in the future and act our age.

The waterfall looking up from underneath.

Cactus lining the pathway out

What goes down must come up.  It was a long hike back up but well worth the effort.

So how do you end an exciting day?  By spending a romantic evening together at the local laundromat.  I know how to show my girl a good time.

 Another good day with a little to much adventure.  Foolish old people!