Summer happenings: Camping!

Before we had kids, Eric and I used to go camping and fishing quite a bit. It was definitely a favorite past time. Then we had a baby Elena and we got busy/lazy/forgetful/whatever... well and I was teaching colorguard and colorguard in Utah means the summer parade season and a lot of busy weekends. Then we had a baby Lily and life kind of exploded. Then Elena was in cancer treatment for a few years and struggled with low counts and infections and hospital stays and so camping was a no-go for us. We had a few almost camping trips that never happened over the last two years since finishing treatment. But finally this year we took our family camping for the first time in a LONG time! The timing was fun for us as the girls are a little older and there were no babies in tow and we had a fantastic time! The girls were in heaven and at one point Lily declared, "The best part about camping is playing in the dirt!", only to then follow up with, "Actually, the best thing about camping is the food!" :)

We had originally planned to go up Oak Creek Canyon in Sedona and had a lovely little campsite reserved in the trees, right off the water. Our plan was to head up on Sunday after church on Memorial Day weekend. We were a little worried about how crowded things might be, but the timing was so perfect since Eric had Monday off that we couldn't pass up the chance. Once we had something actually reserved, our worries disappeared. 

Until Friday morning when I got an e-mail from the National Forest Service saying that our reservation had been canceled.... for no apparent reason. I was all indignant until I got in the car and heard the reports all over the radio about how Oak Creek Canyon was in flames. Ooops. But we were determined to camp and so after dropping Elena off at school with a promise that we would indeed be camping somewhere that weekend, Lily and I headed to the grocery store for the last few camping food items on our list. Once we were home, I started searching for a campsite that was A. not on fire, B. allowing campfires, C. within three-ish hours of us, and D. had space available on the busy holiday weekend. Which, it turned out, was no small feat in Arizona. Apparently there are fire restrictions every summer (meaning no campfires in the summer here) and that means that you are out of luck as early as May, depending on where you go. Everything to the north of us was either on fire or had campfire restrictions. But to the south, there were no campfire restrictions yet. Those campgrounds didn't take reservations, but we decided to chance it. It all paid off and we found a great little campsite up Mt. Lemmon outside of Tucson. 

We went from 1000 or so feet in elevation at home to 7000 feet up in the mountains and oh, mama was the weather gorgeous! We left our 100+ degree Phoenix weather and enjoyed 70's and 80's during the day and 50 degree temperatures at night. We were COLD! It was AMAZING!! Seriously, you get (kind of) cold in Phoenix for like two months and then even the nights are warm. For someone like me who loves cold weather and bundling up, the change was a real treat! Anyways, we were surrounded by some trees, no cacti, and actually got to use our coats. It was pretty much perfect. 

We all worked together and got things unloaded, pitched the tent, and set up beds.

Then Eric and I gathered/sawed some wood and Eric built a fire...

...While the girls enjoyed some snacks.

Then it was dinner time!

The girls had fun exploring the forest around our campsite and making up games to play together. After it got dark, we had a beautiful view of the stars and did a little star-gazing, made s'mores, and then Elena and Lily declared they were ready for bed (they were very excited to sleep in the tent - silly gooses!).

Eric and I stayed by the fire and chatted and read and ate. And laughed at the girls "sleeping" in the tent. :)

Eventually they did fall asleep though...

It was an adventure sleeping in our little three man tent with 4 people and our duffel bag. But at least we stayed nice and warm all night. :)

In the morning, I made this campfire all by myself. Including sawing the wood. I was pretty proud.

 The weather was lovely! 

We enjoyed just sitting quietly and taking in the beautiful surroundings. There was some more exploring (by the girls), more reading (by Eric and I), some birdwatching and identifying (by all of us), and then finally we decided to have lunch and break up camp and take a walk around the lake before we headed home.

Lily decided she was a unicorn. :)

It was a quick, but SUPER fun camping trip. It was so relaxing and nice to get our of our usual element and just enjoy each other. Eric and I committed to going more regularly from now on. (And I'm happy to report that we have been once since then even!) Elena expressed an intense desire to learn how to fish after we walked around the lake and watched all the people fishing. So, I think we will even dust off our poles and take that up again in the not too distant future.