Camping July 20-22

Wow... what an awesome camping trip! So much to tell! From the beginning:

We decided to go camping in Oak Creek Canyon this past weekend... and so did 90% of the population of Arizona. Ben & Dierdre arrived first at Cave Springs campground Friday evening and could not find any open sites there or at any other forest service campground. Heather, Diane, & I arrived about an hour later and added our efforts to the search. Unfortunately, cell service in the canyon is spotty, so we weren't able to coordinate our search. Ben & Dierdre ended up at a campground Southeast of Flagstaff on Friday night while Diane, Heather and I pitched camp at an unmaintained campground 10 miles north of Slide Rock on SR89. Luckily, both vehicles were self-reliant (we each had tents, food, gear, etc) so we spent Friday night in our respective camp sites. Saturday morning Ben borrowed the camp host's cell phone and was able to call me and get our location. They packed up camp and joined us in time for breakfast. Nathan and Phillip drove up Saturday morning as planned and with a little effort were able to locate our site as well. After breakfast we discussed options for the day and Diane decided to join Amanda (her housemate who happened to be in Flagstaff) and drive up to the Grand Canyon. The remaining 6 of us were preparing to take a hike when the storm clouds rolled in. We had just enough time to secure the tents and gear before the rain started to fall. The guys decided to wait out the storm in Becky's Castle and we girls took shelter in our tents. See Video The rain didn't last very long and soon we were on our way to the West Fork Oak Creek trail for a beautiful afternoon hike. There were some ruins of an old lodge near the beginning of the trail and we had fun exploring those before continuing. Phillip had lots of fun sliding on the mossy rocks in the creek about 1/2 way into the hike. We returned to camp for dinner, then roasted marshmallows and made S'mores. It started to sprinkle again soon after, so we decided to turn in for the night. Sunday morning dawned bright and early and we enjoyed omelets-in-a-bag for breakfast before packing up camp and heading to Midgely Bridge and Wilson Canyon Trail. We enjoyed that hike then returned to the picnic ramada at the bridge for lunch. After lunch Ben, Dierdre, & Nathan headed back to Phoenix while Heather, Diane, Phillip, and I crossed to the south side of the bridge and hiked down the canyon to Oak Creek. I operated the cameras while the other 3 went sliding down the creek. The combination of red rock and algae makes a great natural waterslide in the creekbed. See Video After we had all the fun we could fit in before another storm front rolled in, we climbed back up the canyon (I have the aching leg muscles to prove it!) and headed back to Phoenix. I enjoyed every minute of this trip and definitely will be planning return trips.

See Photo Album for visual aids! :D