It was time for us to find a cool location for a while. The Carnero Lake area in the White Mountains of Arizona seemed to be just the place. It sits in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest and had some really promising boondocking areas. The weather was forecast to be in the 70’s and 80’s during the day and the 40’s at night. Sounded perfect to us!
Coming into the national forest was quite dusty. It may be a forest, but the sand was real. I don’t think we have ever gotten our camper so dirty! But, it was totally worth it.
After some driving and exploring on foot, we settled for a great spot surrounded by trees and a meadow. There was a natural spring just a short hike away, and there was solitude.
We were at about 8,000 feet in altitude, and for the first few days, we really felt it. We took it easy, drank lots of water, and let our bodies acclimate to the altitude. I’m not sure why it effected us both so much this time, but it really did. After a few days, it was time to explore our surroundings. Aaron, Murphy, and myself took a hike to the natural spring. It was a short, pretty hike with some surprise findings along the way. Murphy came across what we named “the bone yard.” He even brough back a souvenir.
It was a beautiful walk, a bit of an incline, but worth it. The water at the spring was crystal clear until Murphy started running through it. He muddied it up quite a bit before I could even get one picture.
Father’s Day was coming up, and we were about 4 hours north of our oldest son. He decided to drive up and spend that Saturday and Sunday with us to celebrate the day. It was great seeing him and Lola! Murphy was super excited to have Lola to harass and play with. Lola enjoyed Murphy, but not quite as much as he enjoyed having her there. We cooked steaks, had great conversation, a few brews, and just a really nice time together.
Aaron also pulled out his drone and got some fantastic arial pictures of the area.
It was great to find a cool spot in the mountains to recharge, relax, and just enjoy the nature. Murphy chased squirrels, they would taunt him from the trees, and he stayed super dirty the whole time. He loved it.
WE soaked up the good temperatures as much as we could, because we were heading south of Phoenix in a few days, Aaron to camp, and me to house and Lola sit for Gage so he could go to Florida to celebrate the 4th of July with our other two kids and his friends. We really liked the White Mountains and enjoyed our time there.
We hit the road, next stop-Lost Dutchman State Park at the base of Superstition Mountain.
Wandering Cindi 