Payson, Arizona
Dark blue skies
Rolling thunder
Light rain
Thousands of purple butterflies
A creek with stepping stones
Logs and boulders to climb
Blackberries to pick
We had the place all to ourselves this long summer day
Jon (who is 5) and I keep coming back to this Idlewild - this magically beautiful spot a two hour drive from our home in Tempe.
It's Tonto Creek near the fish hatchery, near the Mogollon Rim, near Star Valley. You drive up to the Fish Hatchery, and park at the trailhead parking lot.
Every time we go there it's different. This time the water was low and not too cold and therefore perfect to play in. The rose pink flowers were in bloom, blackberries on the bushes were still sour but surely almost ready to pick, and since we were the only people there for hours and hours, there was a strange hush to the place despite the running water and rolling thunder. There are always butterflies there, but I had never seen it like this: thousands of light purple butterflies gathered together. Which was pretty spellbinding.
When we first got there the sky to the south was super dark blue, we could hear the low rumble of thunder, and we got rained on a little bit. After a while though, all the clouds moved on and it was all sunshine, not even a puff of a cloud in the sky.
We will be going back to this wildlorn place before the summer is over, maybe this Friday or next. Who wants to join us for blackberry picking and playing in the water and doing not much else? We will pick enough blackberries to make a pie. Blackberry brambles grow up the road from this spot around the fish hatchery. The day we were there - the second day of August - the bushes were weighed down with endless blackberries, some of which were still green or red or just barely turning black. And some were black and I ate them and they were pretty sour, but even though they were so sour, there was something amazing about them. After sort of choking down the first sour berry, I didn’t think I would eat anymore, but within a minute I was craving them and wanting more. Almost like sour candy. I am guessing they get sweeter as the days go by and now I want to go back and find out
So now I am looking up blackberry pie recipes and thinking about whether I want to make one that is pretty traditional or try something more unique. I am seeing various different recipes that mix blackberries with apples, peaches, raspberries, bourbon, whiskey. I am seeing one that is called a blackberry sour cream pie and that one sounds like a winner; I might try that first.
Here’s a map of where we went. You park near the yellow diamond and then walk three minutes to the creek, going east. You can pick the most blackberries up by the fish hatchery, which is shown , although I think you can find them along the road too.
In these photos you will see a little fort. We didn’t build it, we just found it. Whoever had been here before had also made nests out of mud. Or maybe they were supposed to be little bowls or plates. They made me think of little nests.
Also, I want to put it out there to the universe and possibly to you that this would be a dream location for a photo shoot. I can imagine doing family photos here, family documentation, maternity or high school seniors ( for HS seniors who absolutely love nature.) This would be perfect for an engagement session.
Get in contact if you would like to do a photo shoot here!