Anniversary On Dirt

10 years ago, we were on our honeymoon, zooming around the desert on a KTM990.  This year, we had booked a 4x4 camper to circle Iceland - our first international trip.  After all, 10 years warrants something special.  But like many others, our plans were halted, cancelled and reworked.  We decided to celebrate the only other way we know how - by camping in our favorite National Forest.

Tonto National Forest - The Land of Many Uses

Between Globe and Young lies pines.  Seems silly to bypass the pines for the junipers, but we were on a mission to find a camp spot from 8 years ago.  Before leaving the pines, we stopped at Reynolds Creek - one of our favorite haunts.

We left Reynolds Creek and started towards Young, AZ.  We spent our first evening alone among the junipers and scrub pines.  We felt like we had the whole horizon to ourselves.

Stir crazy as we are, we left Young for the pines.  Tonto really lives by its name - it begins in the desert, among the high saguaros, blooming palo verdes and desolate spaces.  Tonto transitions into juniper and scrub pines before ending in the cool, towering pine forests.  And we love every inch of this national forest.

The pines, as expected were much busier.  But after ample exploring, we found a quiet secluded spot, set up camp and spent the evening listening to the wind in the needles.

Our two days were up and we packed up and headed back south.  Someday we'll head to the ice cold northern island to explore, but at least we spent our anniversary with the girls, among the trees.  Just us.

Vacation Mode Deactivated

The last day of a long trip is always a rough one.  We packed up, made coffee to go and slogged up Old Lime Creek.

We stopped just before pavement to air the Jeep back up and allow the girls one final time to enjoy Colorado.

A quick stop to Honeyville for wine, sandwiches in Durango, fuel in Cortez and into Arizona we went.

It is quite amazing how quickly the pines and aspens turn into Juniper.  And how much faster the Juniper's disappear into the tan vast and empty valleys of the Ute Lands.  I read off and on, we lamented about our trip and soon we crested into Flagstaff.  For a brief second we thought about camping the night, but the winds had been raging all day and we just wanted a long shower and a large, dogless bed.  More miles, less trees, more brown desert and the reappearance of saguaros.

We left Colorado at 9:30AM and 45*.  We were greeted home with a killer sunset around 8:00 PM and 105*.

Back to reality.  Back to work on Monday.  Until we meet again, wilderness.

North Rim, Lees Ferry and Colorado

One could easily spend a week in Kaibab and not see everything.  We merely scratched the surface.  But, by moving on, we've saved many more trails and overlooks to look forward to in the future.

On our way east, we stopped in Lees Ferry.  No schedule means, we'll get to Colorado when we get to it, and camp wherever is most convenient.

We dipped our toes in the cold river, saw off several rafters then made our way through the painted desert into the nothingness of northeast Arizona.

We motored through Cortez and camped in the NF outside of Mancos.  We struggled to find a quick, tucked away spot, and ended up right off a main road.

But we needn't worry, as no one other than cattle passed by the campsite til morning.

North Rim: Day 2

Rarely do we spend so much time in a National Park.  But the North Rim is different.  Kaibab NF offers so many different vantage points to see various parts of this geological wonder.

We left the trailer for the day and wandered to the end of the NF road we were camping on to see the valley.

After a quick refuel, we headed back into the park proper to see the Rim from the other vantage points the NPS offered.  I've been told by many that the South Rim doesn't compare to the North, but you don't fully appreciate how wildly different and breathtaking the North Rim is until you make it there yourself.

At Angel Window, dogs weren't permitted on trail, so Mike set up a chair in the shade of the Jeep and read while I wandered down to see the canyon.

Sometimes when something is so vast, so large, you need to change perspective and remember to look for the little things.

I took a turn in the shade with the girls so Mike could go see the window.  

After leaving Angel Window, we hit a few side viewpoints on our way down.  And saw a beggar on our way too.

We made it back to camp, cooked up dinner and squeezed into bed for our last night in Arizona.

North Rim via Dirt

We woke to find that the ant situation we experienced the night prior didn't get any better in the morning.

While they weren't bitey, they were annoying.  So we packed up and headed along NF roads to Fire Point.  It was quite the jaunt to get there, but once at the canyon's edge, we had the place all to ourselves.  We set up our chairs, I made lunch and we spent an enjoyable mid morning relaxing in the breeze.

One dirt road to a canyon edge not being enough, Mike decided we needed to get to Sublime Point.  It was a haul.  Towing the pig of a teardrop behind us, we slugged along roads that required 4 low until finally reaching our destination.

The overlook was amazing.  Storms were rolling in, so the trio of dirt bike riders that followed us up left just prior to us.  It took us just as long to get out as it did in, via a different route that dropped us back into the park.  Just prior to pavement, we paused in a grassy clearing to get the 4 low rattle out of our bones.

On our way out of the park, we finally spotted a herd of bison.  We stopped along the road to watch them graze, cross the road for water, and run back to the west side to join up with the rest of the herd. It was the highlight of the afternoon.

Deciding to try NF roads on the east side this evening, we again lucked out with a disused alfa offshoot and hid in the trees, away from the road.

It was a long day, but sometimes the best ones are.