Prescott continues to amaze … the recreation here is fabulous. This afternoon Rich C took us to the Granite Mountain Wilderness area inside the Prescott National Forest. Like all the great recreation here, this was very close to town.

We went for a short hike, about 3 miles roundtrip, to see some of the great climbing areas. There’s also a campground in the National Forest, called Yavapai. The hiking was easy on a trail called only “261”, but the granite boulders are extremely rough to the touch and take a heavy toll on the skin of climbers.

Still, we tried a little easy rock climbing after the hike, and Emma seems to be very interested in it, even with the rough granite.

From our campsite, it’s an easy scramble up to a section of the Dells where the views are panoramic. Emma has gotten in the habit of going up every evening to take sunset photos. This evening Rich C and I accompanied her.

It’s an incredible thing to just walk out our door and into this amazing granite playground. None of us want to leave, so I think we will extend yet another day.