Havasupai Falls

Mindy, Soph, Leigh, Shaun and Alisha enjoy the cool water & spray

Sophie, Mindy, Alisha, Leigh, Haley & Shaun (just after getting off Timpanogos) drove all night to Arizona, then hiked ten miles to the campground on the Havasu Indian Reservation.  We spent three days swimming in pools and beneath waterfalls like this one.  We even swam over one small falls--Surfer's Abyss, we named it two years ago.  Stay tuned--more photos and stories to come. 

Sophie, Mindy, Haley, Alisha and Leigh hike below Moony Falls

Trailside & riverside camp above Moony. Mmm, love those hammocks

Navajo Falls. You can walk on a sandbar within five feet of the far falls. The tree in the background has since toppled.

Castaway

Fifteen minutes ago,
I found a waterfall,
One hundred fifty feet of froth,
A bright blue pool
Of cool, clear water.

A liquid  sun dances above me,
Sparkles on the stained glass surface.
Holding my breath,
The waterfall's thunder
Is a pleasant pounding
Against my brain and body.
I'm swimming invisible corridors,
Slippery wet currents
Skimming bare skin.
I'm sliding upstream,
Gliding like a fish,
Clean and naked.

Life as a castaway
Sounds so appealing
Lying in sand,
A hundred miles from anywhere.
The distance drifts away
In the cool water at my feet,
Draining from my tired body,
Dripping into the warm sandy beach,
Evaporating in a perfect
Blue sky.

Never stop walking.
Run if you like.
I'll wait for you here
If you promise to come.

--shaun roundy

If you enjoyed that, then find other poems by Shaun Roundy here. Read a related story here--about a different trip to Havasu.

Click here for photos of another highly-recommended canyoneering trip (Subway).

Candice is happy even after being swept over the falls behind her.

Want to get an idea of how happy you could be on vacation in a place like this? These faces (from a different trip to the same place) should give you some clue

Walking downstream from Moony Falls

Sophie can't stop smiling

Mike lifts the rope, Shaun holds down the bushes, and Kevin zips into the river

Carrie below Surfer's Abyss

We built a zip line into a pool below a falls we named surfer's abyss, after Kevin rode a log over into the 20' deep hole. Soon we were all floating over, moving slowly at first and suddenly feeling like the suction grab your feet and legs and pull you over, scraping only a little on the way past.

Soph can't stop laughing after a face-first ride

The route down next to Moony Falls includes a steep climb through tunnels among ancient waterfalls.

Scenery like this just doesn't stop.

Shaun ponders jumping above Beaver Falls, a few miles downstream toward the Colorado River.