You could call our friend Katherine a bit of an activist. When she takes up a cause, there is usually a pretty good reason behind it. This one however hits a little close to home—her home. You see, Kat lives in the Granite Dells, just north of Prescott, Arizona. Her cabin, nestled amongst few neighbors, is a 1950’s icon purchased by her mom in the 70’s. Surrounded by wildlife and massive boulders, it is quiet, secluded and peaceful.

The Granite Dells are geologically unique, consisting of bedrock and large eroded precambrian granite boulders. Think of The Flintstones, yeah, the town of Bedrock, and you pretty much have the picture.

Last Saturday, Katherine invited us up to walk along the Peavine National Recreation Trail, a popular destination for walking, biking, hiking, climbing, birding and horseback riding. The trail follows the former rail bed of the Santa Fe Prescott and Phoenix Railway and connects to the Iron King trail. Both are rails to trails conversions. Our walk wound its way past large formations of rounded, compressed boulders, balanced in perfect symmetry. Even though we were only minutes away from Katherine’s home, it felt as if we were in a different time and place.

About 2.5 miles from the trailhead, Watson Lake came into view. Wow.

Currently, there are plans for a residential/resort development to be built on 2,500 acres located near the Granite Dells. According to city code, 25% of that land must be open space. Unfortunately, a portion of the purchased acreage encroaches the Peavine Trail. It has not yet been determined by the builder where that open land will be located. A grassroots campaign named Save the Dells is underway to have the open space be concentrated in a 500-acre city park, protecting the Peavine and Iron King hiking trails and the iconic “Point of Rocks.” Seems reasonable.

We all know that development is going to happen, but wouldn’t it be sweet if it worked with nature, as opposed to against it?