Slide Rock State Park, Arizona

The weather is warming up here in Central Arizona. Warm weather in Central Arizona means time to go to to one of the many creeks for a swim to cool off. The most well known of these swimming destinations is Slide Rock State Park in Oak Creek Canyon.

Slide Rock State Park is located along beautiful Oak Creek in beautiful Oak Creek Canyon.  Slide rock for me brings back great memories because my parents took me to this place several times when I was a kid, and now I take my child there.  The most notable feature of Slide Rock is of course the natural water slides that are created by the creek as it flows over carved out and smooth flat sandstone.

There are a series of slides and pools with some deeper places with channels cut through the rock where people can jump off the small rock cliffs along the creek.

The rock when wet is very slippery and you will often see people take a fall as their feet go out from under them. Sometimes resulting in an unexpected trip down a water slide, in some cases with camera equipment along for the ride.

Downstream from the water slides and below the highway bridge are deep pools with large cliffs that the brave ones do some cliff diving into the creek below. Upstream from the water slides are some beautiful sections of the creek that that pass between some moderate cliffs, that can be more secluded and a nice break from the crowds found at the water slides below.

This place is like a natural water park all in an amazing setting below towering redrock canyon walls. Summer at slide rock can be very crowded an often the parking area gets full so getting there early is advised to be sure to get in.

 The park opens at 8:00 AM and closes at 7:00 PM during the summer. The water can be pretty cold but in hot weather reaching 100 degrees it can be just what is needed.
Another feature of the park is the old homestead structures. The area that the park is in was homesteaded by Frank Pendley in 1907. His family owned the land until 1985 when it was sold to the Arizona State Parks. You can still see apple trees that were part of the orchard that Pendley planted in 1912, and small cottages that were built in the 30s and 40s. Along with this are some interesting equipment used to make the homestead work including a water wheel that was used to generate electricity before power lines were available in the canyon.

This is a great destination that has something for everyone to enjoy and is one of the most visited locations in Central Arizona.  For me it brings back childhood memories because it has not changed much since I was a little kid when my parents would bring me here on summer adventures.  Sure there is a parking lot now, and they make you pay, but the creek and the water slides are pretty much the same.
  Here is more on this great place.  http://azjonesoutdoor.blogspot.com/2011/06/slide-rock-state-park-arizona-part-two.html

Fare you well, fare you well, I love you more than words can tell

My father was born in New York. He joined the Navy in World War Two as an electricians mate. He got a degree in electrical engineering and after the war moved to Arizona. He married my mother shortly after that. Dad's first job after the war was surveying for power lines for Arizona Public Service. He surveyed for the first power into Phantom Ranch in the Grand Canyon, and the first power in to Crown King as well as power coming off the rim into Sedona, and power lines across Mingus Mountain running from Prescott to Jerome. He saw every corner of this state, before much development happened.  He was on the first planing and zoning commission for Scottsdale Arizona. During this time in Scottsdale my mom and him were blessed with three children. My father latter got a job with General Electric where he got in on the ground floor of the computer industry and after a while was involved with projects including computer systems for the French government, Saudi Arabian government, as well as the IRS. Latter on we moved to New York and then to California where he worked for Xerox. This was how a kid who was born in Arizona went to high school in California.  Finally he cut ties with big cooperate work and bought a Delicatessen on the beach in Ventura California, and followed his passion for cooking and fine food and developed his business into two stores and a large catering business. Finally Dad sold the business and his house and bought a motor home and my mom and him traveled for several years. It was during this time he got involved in the tour guide business, working for Caravans De Mexico out of El Paso Texas, giving RV tours down to Mexico. He soon was also working for other tour companies doing western states National Park tours. during this time my mom was perfecting her skills doing fine art oil paintings. Eventually they decided to stop traveling and let my mother pursue her dream of being and artist. They picked Cottonwood Arizona as the place to settle. My mom and dad started an art supply store and studio and my mom sold paintings, did framing and matting, and taught painting, while my father ran the art supply store.  During this time my father got a job with an over seas tour company and got paid to give tours to Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti and Fiji, he also gave 36 day tours to South America. About 16 years ago my father's earlier smoking habit caught up with him and he was diagnosed with emphysema.  It was around this time I moved here to Cottonwood with my wife to help out my parents.  From there on he had a slow decline until finally he was completely house bound and wheel chair bound about seven years ago. 20 months ago he was no longer even able to get out of bed, where he has been since.  My mom has been lovenly caring for him this whole time.  Finally at around 10:00 on May 21st 2011 dad passed away in his sleep at home. He was a great husband to my mom, and was a great father to me and my sisters giving us a jump start in life so we had great opportunities. He taught me a lot about many things, including cooking, working with my hands, but most of all how to love living. He love good food, drink, and music, but most of all he loved my mother.

Fare you well my honey
Fare you well my only true one
All the birds that were singing
Have flown except you alone

Goin to leave this Broke-down Palace
On my hands and my knees I will roll roll roll
Make myself a bed by the waterside
In my time - in my time - I will roll roll roll

In a bed, in a bed
by the waterside I will lay my head
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
to rock my soul

River gonna take me
Sing me sweet and sleepy
Sing me sweet and sleepy
all the way back back home
It's a far gone lullaby
sung many years ago
Mama, Mama, many worlds I've come
since I first left home

Goin home, goin home
by the waterside I will rest my bones
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
to rock my soul

Goin to plant a weeping willow
On the banks green edge it will grow grow grow
Sing a lullaby beside the water
Lovers come and go - the river roll roll roll

Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
to rock my soul

Brokedown Palace

Thanks to all those who have prayed and shown compasion. It means so much!

Exploring the Mogollon Rim Country of Arizona

I just got back from three days in an area of Arizona called the Rim Country.  This area is called that due to the predominant geological feature called the Mogollon Rim.  This "rim"is a long cliff like uplift running east to west for close to 200 miles.  It is essentially the southwest edge of the Colorado Plateau.  The south edge of the rim rises to heights over 7000 feet in elevation with some points reaching as much as 8000.  Below the rim are areas of around 5000 to 6000 foot elevation sloping away south gradually.  This area, both above and below the rim, is part of a huge forest of pine trees that comprises the largest stand of Ponderosa pines in the world. 

This stand of pine forest covers tens of thousands of acres from west of Flagstaff in the west all the way into New Mexico in the east. 
Most people when thinking of Arizona think of desert, but much of Arizona is covered with this vast pine forest.  This high area, due to it's altitude has significant snow fall in winter and because of this is a source of many streams that run south and north away from the rim.  This along with the cooler temperatures due to altitude make this a favorite area to escape the heat of the deserts in the summer months. 
   When I went there I stayed in a small town below the rim called Christopher Creek.  Christopher Creek is at about 6000 foot elevation surrounded by dense forest with a year round stream running through the small town. 

There are many hiking and mountain biking opportunities there in every direction with campgrounds as well as undeveloped camping opportunities.  The stream called Christopher Creek starts at the base of the rim at a place called See Canyon where there is a nice trail that runs along the creek through the forest.  Downstream from the small town the creek enters an entrenched canyon called The Box. .

The Box is hard to navigate and has small falls and pour offs with deep pools and requires getting wet and some climbing skills to navigate up and down the canyon. 

The canyon rock is comprised of block shaped basalt rock. 
   Up on the rim north and east of Christopher Creek are five small lakes nestled among the pine forests,  called the Rim Lakes. 

The rim lakes are in depressions on the rim and collect snow melt during the winter. These lakes are stocked with trout and are packed with fishermen during the summer months. 

Along the rim is a dirt and gravel road called the Rim Road or The General Cook Trail that follows the edge of the rim for close to 40 miles.  Along this road are great views of the vast forested areas below the rim.

The rim area has many wonderful places to camp, both developed campsites and just dispersion camping with no facilities.  The forest on the rim being higher is more lush and diversified having some spruce and aspen trees as well as the ponderosa pine. Elk, deer, and wild turkey are often seen in these forests.  Below the rim as I said are a series of streams and creeks that flow south,  Some big and some small. 

We explored Haigler Creek, Christopher Creek, Tonto Creek and the East Fork of The Verde River.  The East Fork of the Verde appeared to have the largest amount of water flow, and some great places but also appeared to have some of the most development.  Yet even with this there were plenty of opportunities to get away from the crowds, this early in the year.

 There are many hiking and mountain biking trails in this vast area with the most notable trail being the Highline Trail. 

The Highline trail runs for more than 50 miles along the base of the rim through dense forest and rolls up and down as it descends and climbs out of the many stream drainages it crosses.  In many places it can be mountain biked as well as hiked.  I have ridden the east end and some of the connecting trails and found it to be some real nice riding.
   This time, when we went, instead of camping we stayed at the Christopher Creek Lodge.  This lodge, founded in 1950 is a group of small rustic cabins along the creek.  http://christophercreeklodge.com/

I found it to be a great base camp for exploring and loved the creek side location and the feel of the place.  No frills but all you need with wood stoves, and a kitchen and a great location with the sounds of the creek to put you to sleep at night.