We went camping up on the rim with the Wilcox family for two nights and had a blast! We got to see where some of the rodeo chediski fire burned through. The man in charge of the campground said we were camping on the ridge where the fire was stopped. You could still see burned trees on each side of the ridge.
We got up there Sat. afternoon and set up camp. The boys had a ton of fun exploring while we set everything up. The Wilcox's were in charge of dinner that night and that was a blessing in disguise! Roy made chicken and potatoes in the dutch oven and just after he got all the coals going and the chicken cooking it started to rain. They covered the ovens in tin foil and we all took cover in the tents. We finally got to eat dinner around 9 that night and it was so yummy and totally worth the wait. Even Jacob, my pickiest eater, who doesn't like much meat had seconds! Then we sat around the campfire until we were popsicles (it was COLD up there!) and headed for bed. Rebecca and I headed to the bathroom first and as I was standing outside waiting for her I saw eyes glowing off in the not to far distance. Something was watching us and it was an unnerving feeling. We had read before going up there that there were black bears and mountain lions in the area. The man in charge said it was probably a skunk though as they have had problems with them at the campsites.
We woke up the next morning and headed down this dirt, muddy, winding mountain road. I was not too thrilled at the thought but didn't really want to sit at the campsite by myself :) We took the kids to see the Fish Hatchery. They seemed to really enjoy looking at the fish. I was happy to see them happy but I had more fun taking pictures of the lizard I found on the rocks. After we left there we stopped at Canyon creek on our way back to the tents and let the kids splash around there for a while. Compared to our desert landscape back home it was a nice treat to see a little creek nestled at the bottom of the mountain with all the pines around it.
We went back to camp for lunch and then Kevin and Roy took the kids to the lookout tower a little ways up the road. Someone stays up there during the summer months to keep an eye out for forest fires. The boys couldn't wait to tell me that the tower has been struck by lightning 7 times!
After that we all just hung out at the campsite for the rest of the evening. We were in charge of dinner this night and we were making hamburgers and hot dogs. Well, it started to rain and it rained hard! Hail and all. We all took cover again, except for the boys who had their little cheap ponchos from walmart. They went marching around the campsite. Ethan had his head through the arm sleeve though and he got pretty wet :D
When it finally cleared we started dinner and the rain held off for the rest of the night. Roy and Rebecca took the kids on a snipe hunt after dinner and they were bummed to not have the chance to see one ;) Ethan said that was his favorite part of the trip. He said he really liked the lookout tower too.
We had a great time and except for the mountain driving it was a wonderful weekend getaway. Jacob did so well up there and didn't want to come home.
Hopefully for the next trip we can find a campground that doesn't have a scary drive to get to. I think I'm good on scary mountain driving for at least until next year!
Oh, and Nicole didn't want to go camping. She even asked what she could do to get grounded so she could stay home. So we let her stay with our friend one night and Kevin's sister the rest of the time.
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