First Day in Arizona

In early September Sara and I took our long awaited trip to Arizona. It was the first trip to the Southwest for both of us and an entirely new experience. Below are a few pictures from our first day.

Cactus? This was our first time seeing "free range" cactus. This variety of cactus is known as Saguaro. It reminded me of Snoopy's brother Spike from the Peanuts cartoons. Sara snapped this photo from our rental car as we drove by. She wanted me to stop so we could get a better picture but I told her we'd have plenty of opportunity for that later on during our trip. My name is now mud because we never stopped and took the time to get a better photo.

The terrain quickly changed from cacti to pines as we headed north into the mountains. This is picture of the Arizona Natural Bridge located near Payson, AZ. It really was quite spectacular.

Another view of the Natural bridge from the bottom of the canyon. The primary geology of this area is limestone, however at the bottom of the canyon there was travertine, which is a mineral with a smooth glossy appearance. The travertine is a result of mineral deposition from water and erosion.

A view from the interior of the Natural Bridge. Notice the water falling from a small stream that spills off the top of the bridge. It was strange to see water not far from the dry valleys around Phoenix. Soon after hiking out of the canyon and hitting the road we were treated with a spectacular display of thunder and lightning from localized thunderstorms moving through the area.

A rainbow we captured on our return to Phoenix. Gotta love the wide open spaces.