Payson

The only thing worthwhile about Payson, AZ (also known as “The Crystal City” due to it’s incredibly high rate of crystal meth abuse) are the antique stores. Good luck not getting propositioned for prostitution and/or drugs.

Oh AND, Payson is located less than a mile from a town containing the highest AIDS infection per capita in the country….so keep it in your pants.

It’s not the crazyness of Phoenix and it’s not as cold as Flagstaff. It is beautiful but unfortunatly is getting more crowded.The picture above looks more like Sedona which is just a bit futher down the road

Beautiful place, not far from The Valley. We ate at El Rancho, wonderful family Mexican resturant. Very busy and very good!

We took a day trip to Payson from where we live to get to a higher elevation. We walked around this lake by Zane Grey’s Cabin area, had lunch there, went to a thrift store to look for a vet costume for our daughter, drove around….it was just a nice family time.

We turned off our cell phones and everything so we could devote the time to each other.

Between Payson and Pine is the Tonto Natural Bridge. It is a hidden gem in the area, not to be missed. There are great hikes from gentle to difficult.

If you live in Arizona, getting to cool weather, lakes, trees and maybe some rain is special treat. Love to head up to Payson to camp at Bear Canyon Lake or Woods Canyon, Rim Country they say, it reminds me a little of the small town in Michigan I grew up in. yep yep, worth it, go there and hike, boat and catch some fish!

Kohl’s Ranch (http://www.kohlsranchvacation.com/) when I was a kid with my parents. I can’t tell you how many rounds of Pole Position and Duck Hunt I played in their arcade. The river in back of the cabins is a nice place to walk.