Turning tail on the trail

This was our second experiment into the possibilities of camping on the trail. We'd hoped to establish a way to head out on the trail into far reaching destinations and be able to camp for the night when we got tired instead of heading home. Well, to put it mildly, it just isn't going to happen, leastways, not in the winter time...come to think of it, probably not in the summer either.
We headed for Burnt Corral along the Apache Trail again. We were optimistic upon arriving, the weather was perfect with temperatures in the upper 70s. Setting up the tent was easy with no wind at all. That evening we were happy campers as we enjoyed a meal by the campfire. The next day dawned bright and sunny as well but by mid afternoon the winds began to pick up, gusting at times to at least 40 miles per hour. The tent ballooned and billowed but held its ground. The temperature began to drop adding to the chill factor. Of course with the high wind we had to eliminate the possibility of a campfire that night, we had no choice but to head to bed early and hope for a better day the next day. That night, the winds blew without ceasing, at times we wondered if we'd make headlines if our tent decided to blow away with us inside, (ala "balloon-boy" )
The next few days didn't improve as almost record low temperatures hit Arizona. Sleeping proved to be a challenge in the cold so we decided to use our propane heater designed for use in a tent. Ah warmth at last...but what we didn't count on was the condensation the heat on the tent walls that would be created when the heat hit the cold walls of the tent..getting dressed in cold, wet clothes the next morning only set the mood for the entire day and seeing Growlph with his teeth chattering from the cold eased our decision to pack it all up and head for home. I dunno, maybe we're getting too old for the adventure lifestyle although we would hate to ponder and possibly admit to it.
We'll still be hitting the trails and doing our jeeping but if we're going to be away overnight, perhaps we'll be phoning ahead...for reservations.

Cozy by the campfire on day one

What a beautiful sunset over Apache Lake!

Ah camping at its finest

It only got better...

The next day, gray, windy and dismal

Back To Nature...sorta

It was an idyllic week. We decided to go camping last Monday to spend the week at one of our favorite campgrounds, the spot where we spent our honeymoon, Burnt Corral on Apache Lake, along the Apache Trail in the Superstition Mountains.
We drove into Globe on Monday to pick up a few last minute supplies. In order to get a jump start on getting our campsite set up, we stopped for lunch at a local eatery instead of preparing food at the campground. We were proud of ourselves for ordering "healthy" salads instead of the usual greasy burger and fries.
Arriving at the campground, we had the place almost to ourselves, and picked a choice spot, close to the lake, close to the rest rooms, close to the fresh water source. The day was clear and cool, the birds were serenading us from the trees surrounding our campsite. We spent the week enjoying ourselves, fishing, relaxing, appreciating the breathtaking scenery of the Superstitions. Pretty boring huh? ...Well, read on....
Now for the truth of the matter. Yep, we went to Globe on Monday, yep, we had our "healthy" lunch of nice salads, however, we didn't count on the food poisoning that followed. Monday evening our stomachs were queasy, by Tuesday, there was no denying it, we had food poisoning, along with all the symptoms I won't go into details describing, suffice to say, we paid homage to the forest service, self-recycling toilets. For those of you have never used one of these modern marvels, imaging plunking your bare butt over a dark, seemingly bottomless pit and feeling a cold wind blowing were no winds should ever reach. There are times you simply must put your trust in Mother Nature to take care of you, this was one of those times. By the next day, we had recovered fairly well, resolving in the future to stick to greasy burgers and fries and leave the so-called "healthy" salads for those more adventurous than us.
Getting our tent set up was no small feat, the wind was whipping without any letup. The birds weren't merely serenading us, they were poking their bird beaks into anything that even resembled food. We quickly learned that we had to put all our food out of reach of prying paws after a kitfox invaded our chocolates and dog biscuits one evening.
We assume Growlph had never been camping before, proven by the fact that after hearing the coyotes howling around our tent at night, he refused to sleep in his own bed, insisting on sleeping smack in the middle of ours' instead. We tried to assure him that the coyotes weren't interested in Schnauzer stew, but being the smart critter he is, he didn't believe a word we said.
Fishing wasn't very good at all. Ralph caught three...well actually, he only caught two because the second bass proved himself to be the dumbest bass in Apache Lake by allowing himself to be caught twice, we could identify him by a small wound on his belly. What are the odds of that happening?
We came home twice to rest up at home during the heat of the day, Burnt Corral is only about 20 minutes from our house, so we had the best of both worlds. All in all, it was a wonderful experience despite the stomach wrenching beginnings. We'll do it again in the near future, this time, sans salads.

Home Sweet Home

All the comforts of home...well, almost

Ralph trying his luck

Here's Ralph with the dumbest bass in Apache Lake

This is the face Growlph makes now if you ask him,

"wanna go camping?"

This is the face I make now if you ask me,

"want a salad?"

The view from our campsite

Growlph keeping the birds away

There's no denying the scenic beauty of Apache Lake

Homage to the "self-recycling" rest rooms,

(whatever THAT means)