Did I think June’s camping trip was amazing? Well, yes, I did, and yes, it was.
July, though? July blew it right out of the water.
Okay, it’s not really a competition. And also, I should go back a bit.
February, 2021. I’d meant to go see what camping around Mount Graham was like for a while, but never got it done. Then I found the cabins at Roper Lake, and spent a weekend looking at the beauty of Mount Graham, learning my way (a little) around the area. One day heading back from maybe breakfast to the lake, we took a detour and drove up Mount Graham a bit. It’s a steep narrow mountain road with lots of switchbacks, though, and I was driving a 14-year-old Toyota Corolla and couldn’t remember if my tires had been inspected recently. And there was ice. I decided I would absolutely like to camp up there, but for that day I turned around before we reached any campgrounds.
I had Plans. I was going to camp So Much. But Life Finds a Way–to smack the carp out of all one’s plans. I didn’t make it happen.
This year, though, I’ve been camping on Mount Lemmon, and it’s becoming more familiar. Load the car, buy the food, buy the ice, go. It’s not so hard.
We went in May. We went in June, and I wanted to go in July. June on my beloved Mount Lemmon, though, had been right on the edge of too hot. I knew July up there would be uncomfortable.
And my kid had wanted to swim in Roper Lake…
So I took a Thursday and Friday off. We packed the car full, and kids and camping gear and I trundled merrily off to the Pinaleños, and Mount Graham, the 8th tallest mountain in the state.
Yes, kids. Bio-kid came with this time. We both had some trepidation–them because there would be no cell service, me because it was the first four-day trip and the last three-day trip hadn’t gone as well as it might–but we went.
Friends, I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun. It was so beautiful, and so peaceful. The weather was perfect. We had lovely puffy clouds with shade much of the weekend, we got a little light rain to help us to sleep after we hit the tents the first night…and the last night the clouds cleared to show a billion or so stars.
Deer played in the meadow in front of us, every day. Wild turkeys shortcutted through the campground to get wherever they were going. Birds and bees and butterflies flitted about.
Perfect.
Even better than the surroundings, though? My son taught me sudoku. My child helped me over a stuck spot. We played Cards Against Humanity (my first time!) We enjoyed meals together, we enjoyed drives together, we all got sunburned in Roper Lake together… (We had sunscreen. We left it on the mountain, an hour’s worth of switchbacks and curves from the lake.)
We talked about things that have been bugging us. We talked about how to make things go better. We came home closer. It was awesome.
We’re heading into Back to School now, the time of year when I barely have a moment to breathe, so camping probably won’t happen in August. With luck I’ll make it happen in September. And then in October… I have one more cabin stay booked.
In Sedona.
I can’t wait.
