The 4th of July being the busiest camping weekend of the year the Mogollon Rim and all of the other campsites anywhere near Payson were full up. Highway 87 {aka the Beeline} feeds traffic up to Payson from Phoenix. Most folks pick up highway 260 in the center of town and proceed east up the Rim and on to the White Mountains. Lots of folks decided to beat the return flow of traffic by leaving Monday morning but sadly that just did not work out.
The City of Payson puts on a 4th of July parade every year and this year was bigger and better than ever. Aimed at UTV/ATV's, Jeeps and trucks with a few vintage cars thrown in there were hundreds of participants. It started at 10 and lasted about an hour but that was enough time to back up the 260 for miles {and miles and miles} with the 87 not fairing much better.
The entire parade route was lined with happy spectators, lots of kids of all ages, more than a few seniors and every age in between. Happily 99 percent of the participants left their politics at home and just enjoyed celebrating our great nation. Hats off to the local LEO community who handled this event very professionally.
Here is a shot of my bride in the staging area awaiting g the start:
A few folks got a bit carried away but a good time was had by all:
The City of Payson puts on a 4th of July parade every year and this year was bigger and better than ever. Aimed at UTV/ATV's, Jeeps and trucks with a few vintage cars thrown in there were hundreds of participants. It started at 10 and lasted about an hour but that was enough time to back up the 260 for miles {and miles and miles} with the 87 not fairing much better.
The entire parade route was lined with happy spectators, lots of kids of all ages, more than a few seniors and every age in between. Happily 99 percent of the participants left their politics at home and just enjoyed celebrating our great nation. Hats off to the local LEO community who handled this event very professionally.
Here is a shot of my bride in the staging area awaiting g the start:
A few folks got a bit carried away but a good time was had by all:
Labor day weekend was a repeat of the traffic challenges here in Payson. From Friday morning early the 87 was jammed, bumper to bumper and dead stopped by noon from the Matzatzal Casino all the way down into Payson and the 260.
The gas station {with three free dumps} on 260 as you come into town is backed up with folks wanting to dump their tanks before heading down the mountain. Drove by in our Rzr and there were about 15 rigs waiting to dump their tanks, probably an hour and half wait.
There will be lines again tomorrow as some folks wait until Tuesday to return home but should not be as bad as today. Things should settle down now that the last big summer weekend is in the rear view mirror. Most off the CG's above 6,000' will be closed by the end of the month which is a shame as the weather is getting nicer everyday but snow in October is not unheard of.
Took this shot looking west on 260 from the Speedway gas/dump station parking lot at 2:30. From here it is .75 of a mile to reach Highway 87 {the Beeline highway} to make your left turn south and back down the 90 miles +/- to Phoenix. The bumper to bumper backup extends east for 3 miles all the way back to Star Valley:
:C
The gas station {with three free dumps} on 260 as you come into town is backed up with folks wanting to dump their tanks before heading down the mountain. Drove by in our Rzr and there were about 15 rigs waiting to dump their tanks, probably an hour and half wait.
There will be lines again tomorrow as some folks wait until Tuesday to return home but should not be as bad as today. Things should settle down now that the last big summer weekend is in the rear view mirror. Most off the CG's above 6,000' will be closed by the end of the month which is a shame as the weather is getting nicer everyday but snow in October is not unheard of.
Took this shot looking west on 260 from the Speedway gas/dump station parking lot at 2:30. From here it is .75 of a mile to reach Highway 87 {the Beeline highway} to make your left turn south and back down the 90 miles +/- to Phoenix. The bumper to bumper backup extends east for 3 miles all the way back to Star Valley:
:C
