Children must have been made of steel. They woke up at 8 and went to play to the creek. They were quite loud, but we didn't care, creek makes enough noise to buffer. The night was chilly - 40F maximum, but our sleeping bags are warn, even though I suspected Masha and Natasha slept with their down jackets on.
So maybe by 10am everybody is awake, by 11 am greeted Princess who came out from the tent. Ate breakfast and decided to go to the second waterfall - Mooney Falls.
Varya and Sanya found some caves in the canyon wall near campsite. They didn't go inside, so we went together. The caves are man made, maybe for mining quartz, there are tons of it in the rock.
While we were getting ready for our hike, the sun set. The canyon is very narrow here and it's walls are tall, so winter sun doesn't rise too high. it shines along the canyon for a couple our in the morning and then hides behind canyon's south wall. And then in the afternoon (when the Earth has turned) the sun is to low to shine down the canyon. So we become dusk people, envying cacti that grow high above canyon's bottom and basking in the sun longer.
Mooney Falls. No, this is positively unbelievable! I expected that Arizona is an enchanted land, and is hiding more surprises than, say, Nebraska, but to see such a beauty was unexpected. Mooney is twice taller than Havasu, water falls in a single slender stream that makes clouds at the bottom, where falls make pretty blue-green lake. Waterfall cliff is made of travertine, weird mineral making fold and overhangs that reminds me of multilayer skirts and icicles..
There is a trail to the bottom of the falls, but it's not a simple one. We almost have to crawl through two tunnels and then by slippery steps where thankfully there a banisters made of iron chains. Quite impressive descent. At the bottom we find ourselves in a cloud of water dust that is quite chilly, so we step away from the fall, before we are all wet.
We aren't going any further today, so after half an hour at the bottom, we a climbing back to the top of the falls and going back to the camp. Masha and Natasha brought a hammock with them and I feel they crave to lay in there before it becomes too cold.
Darkness sets in fast, we make dinner, tea, kids are playing with candles and wax. We are talking about tomorrows hike, reading and then getting ready for sleep.
Second night isn't as clear as first, but the stars are still magnificent. Moon rises late, well after midnight, which is a pity, I bet waterfalls are spectacular in moonlight.