Slide Rock State Park was there when we needed it. It was the second day of our eight-day road trip in Arizona. The sun was getting high and warmer. We needed a place to rest.

It looked like any other state park when we passed the gate and parked our vehicle. There was a paved trail that led to a flight of stairs and revealed a more rocky path towards a body of water.

I saw the reason why there were a lot of people at Slide Rock State Park. The weather was sunny and hot. The water looked so cool and refreshing. I overheard people saying that the water felt so refreshingly cold after they dove in from the rocky ledge. They were having so much fun!

Water was cascading between the rocks. People were immersing themselves in the gushing water. Some were having fun sliding down on the slippery rocks. Was this the reason that this place was named Slide Rock State Park?

We followed the water upstream and found some bare spots. We even spotted the big boulder precariously balanced on a smaller rock. It didn’t stop us from posing under it. Further upstream was where we found our isolated, cool spot. We had lunch and actually took a short nap.