We went to an area outside of Payson, AZ where Paul's parents used to have a cabin. It was a homestead Grandma Nancy's parents had built and lived in as part of a survival religion/group. Growing up spending summers at the cabin meant Paul knew the creek like the back of his hand. He had all his favorite fishing spots of which we visited a few. We camped in the area several times as young marrieds. This time was our first time back in several years. The crossings (over the creek) used to be open camping. Those were all shut down, paved and had one port a potty at each crossing. The bathroom was not even open since we were there in the spring. Summer is their season. We ran into some locals our second day at the creek that said the whole area had just been re-opened with those parking lots, etc. We were lucky we were not there when it was still closed. The changes were the result of a camper's fire that had devastated the area previously. We found a camping spot way back in that was right next to a small running creek. It was perfect for the kids to play at while we set up camp, cooked meals, etc. Other times we drove to the crossings, parked, and hiked the main creek.
Blowing up the air mattresses. No, we don't usually do it the hard way. The car adapter for power was not working. I got way more done than Paul (see below).
We gave up and drove into town and stole electricity from a church. They were even having a meeting when we snuck up and used one of their outdoor outlets. Then we had to hold (literally, with my hand) the mattresses on top of the van and drive way back in to our campsite (dirt road all the way). Good times!!!
Vanessa was quite the climber on this trip. She kept trying to see how high/far away she could get.
Also, it got really cold over night. We tried sharing sleeping bags (Tammy and Hunter) and putting an extra one on top. The boys were the brave ones. At 5am Tammy and two very cold girls got in the van and turned the heater on to warm up for a couple hours more sleep. The van thermometer said it was 30 degrees outside. That's below freezing! No wonder we could not sleep.
We have a painting that used to hang in our living room (and may again someday) of this exact view. Painted by Paul's Grandma.
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