Wayward and distant adventures have been far and few between. Life, work and responsibility has certainly gotten in the way. And this winter has been much colder than those past, so our adventures consist of our daily walks.
This winter has boasted more frequent rain storms than those past, so at least our daily jaunts down the road have yielded some incredible sunsets.
And we were greeted with a light rainbow one morning. (It is to the left of the saguaro)
Once the nights are consistently above freezing in our camping spots, I'm hoping to drag the Adventure Husband away from his project car to get out - get away and most importantly get some forest time in.
Friday was our fifth wedding anniversary. This weekend is the Overland Expo. We decided that a 3 day weekend was in order. Last year we camped on site. It was packed. At the end of the weekend last year, we scouted off site camping spots. So we had a spot in mind.
I knew ahead of time that this weekend would be cold, wet and possibly snowy. I wasn't prepared to see snow as soon as we hit dirt.
I'm not impressed with how Youtube makes my otherwise nice videos seem crappy. But incase the embedding doesn't work here's a link.
I was worried that there would be a lot of competition for camping. This area was packed last year. And with the expo raising their prices, I was sure there would be a ton of people out here. Nope. The weather forecast scared everyone but us away.
We made it to the S Tree camp site without any issue. While we travelled here alone, Mandy, Pete and their kids, plus Mandy's brother and friend were coming. We knew we would need a decent sized site. The snow stopped to allow us to set up. How polite.
We got the basics set up then due to the cold and weather, made our way to the Mormon Lake lodge for pizza.
Back to camp, and a bit of play was in order.
We laid down for a rest; the rest of the gang arrived after 3PM. While the weather was polite enough to wait until we set up camp, that went out the window. They set up in sleet, then finally snow.
The forecast only called for 1 inch of snow. We had an inch before bed. Mike woke at 3AM to find it actively snowing and piling up. By morning, we had about 3-4 inches. The dogs had a blast.
Elly played with Rommel. Rommel played with the kids. Kids two legged and four legged enjoyed the snow.
The flora wasn't impressed with this odd, out of place May snowstorm.
By the end of breakfast the snow was starting to melt. Our campsite would get soggy.
We made our way to the Overland Expo and were sorely disappointed. As its hosted on a lake bed it was muddy and wet. It was crowded and the vendors were disappointing. Collectively, we decided that this year would probably be our last year attending. That and the weatherman lied to us. Nothing but cloudy skies was forecast. It rained off and on all day.
The most exciting thing at the Expo was a field mouse that Elly tried to eat. It was a brave little dude and came close to its end several times.
Back to camp, more crappy weather. Lots of relaxing was in order. And bundling up. And fire in a can. Mandy made dinner, it rained some more. A rainbow briefly appeared behind camp.
We all turned in early due to the weather and cold. By morning, the sun was shining, and the temperatures were rising. Elly enjoyed the sun.
While we all packed up, Rommel was allowed to play again (he hurt his shoulder on Saturday), and Elly recharged her solar batteries.
We drove out to blue skies and a red, muddy road. Several hours and 30 degrees later, we arrived home. From the mid 50's to the mid 80's is a leap, but at least it was warm for the dogs to have a bath. Mike spent lots of time power washing the red mud off the trailer and Jeep.
Another weekend gone. The first weekend camping in months. And our first time camping in the snow. Despite the weather, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and feel relaxed.
Things have slowed down considerably. The last few weeks Mike and I spent the time prepping for him to leave. He is off in El Paso at K9 school until Christmas. So I'm a single, working "mom" to my four legged kids. Just working and entertaining them.
The weather has improved by leaps and bounds and it kills me that my adventure partner is off in another state. Fall has finally hit. It has rained several times. I have promised the dogs a hike in the mountains once a week. But that is the limit of my adventures for the meantime.
So until our next foray into the great outdoors, I leave you with a double rainbow...
