From downtown Phoenix take Hwy. 202 east to hwy 87 and go north about 95 miles through the Salt River-Pima-Maricopa and Fort McDowell Yavapai reservations and the Mazatzal Mountains .  This route leads to downtown Payson, the vibrant heart of the mountain communities surrounded by 3 million acres of pristine forests.  Payson sits at the edge of the ponderosa pine region in the Tonto Basin , about 20 miles south of the Mogollon Rim and is a jumping place for the area's recreation sites.  Payson's hosts a casino, 18 hole golf course, regional medical center and several manufacturing companies. 

Traveling 22 miles east of Payson is Christopher Creek at 5900 feet elevation nestled just under the Mogollon Rim.  Best described as a picturesque mountain village, Christopher Creek offers up majestic views of the zig zag cliffs and ledges of the Rim.  The western Writer Zane Grey called this wild land "Tonto Country."  Here you can breathe in the pine and juniper essence.  Nearby are rushing streams and eager anglers that cast their lure under canopies of oak and sycamore.  Wild life abounds in this rugged, primitive territory which also features hidden caves and fossil beds. 

Happy Jack sits at 7,493 feet and is 39 miles north of Payson.  In early days this area was
known as Long Valley and it was the only way to get over the Mogollon Rim from Winslow down to Payson and Pine. In the early 40's the area was a place for weekend gatherings for rodeos and dances.  Today Happy Jack is thought of as "get-away country," far from commercial activities, and nestled among ponderosa pine, juniper, oak and pinion pine. Neighbors are not close and the whole area is surrounded by the Coconino National Forest . The Blue Ridge Reservoir, fourteen miles from Happy Jack, is noted for its solitude and of course trout fishing.  In the fall aspen along its banks are a tribute to autumn.