Up in the Pines - Part 1

Well, hello there, blog readers!  It's been a hot minute since I last posted, but things have been on the quieter side around here lately.  We took the home office setup on the road for a week to SoCal in early April, and we've since been preparing for a lengthier version of that excursion, which will kick off in about a week.  Due to this, we've mainly been hanging at home and enjoying our dining and entertainment options in Phoenix while we got ourselves ready to hit the road (which for me, mainly involves making lots and lots of lists.  I do love a good list).  

We did, however, have the opportunity to head northwest for the long Memorial Day weekend, to spend some time camping in the pines with several of our buddies.  A great time was had by all, despite bouts of illness and accidents!  Ominous foreshadowing, engage!

Our motley crew - Chris and I, Keeli and Jake, and Amadeo and Christina

Not shown are all of our fur-kids, who were either inside our camper (Zoe and Bea)

or were tethered at the campsite across the way (Rosie)

Several months ago, Chris and I figured a camping trip might be a nice way to enjoy the long weekend, and we reserved a spot in White Spar Campground, part of the Prescott National Forest, just a few miles outside of downtown Prescott itself.  We shared our plans with our buddies Jen and Bryan, Jake and Keeli, and Christina and Amadeo, and before too long, everyone had a reservation as well!  Fun!  This would be just like Ragnar, but without all that pesky running and with waaaay better sleeping arrangements!

Although we've been to Prescott before, we hadn't yet had a chance to stay at White Spar, and it was a great spot.  It was easy to access, only 15 minutes from downtown, and everyone there was friendly and respectful of quiet hours and the like.  It's also only a two-hour drive from home, and with the elevation gain, it's normally a good 20-30 degrees cooler - that's a huge win for us in the Valley of the Sun.

While our reservation was just for Saturday and Sunday nights, Jen and Bryan headed up on Thursday, staying the night in New River, a city an hour north of us (since they live in North Tucson, the drive is a bit longer for them); unfortunately, Jen started feeling poorly, and a test confirmed that it was indeed COVID.  Thankfully, she's better now, but we were all bummed they had to turn around and head home on Friday before even making it to the campground or seeing any of us (we know it's for the best, but still).

Jake, Keeli, and their Great Dane Rosie also headed up earlier than we did; they arrived on Friday night and scoped everything out for the rest of the crew.  

Jake, scoping the art at the local coffee shop

For our part, since check-in wasn't until 2pm, we spent Saturday morning at home, going for a run/bike ride, eating lunch, and getting ready to head out about noon.  Once the temps start getting really toasty around here, much of the population of the greater Phoenix metro area heads north to cooler climates at higher elevations.  That means the one main route to the northern part of the state (the I-17) gets super congested and stays that way most of every summer weekend (the northbound lanes are worse on Fridays and Saturdays and the southbound lanes bear the brunt on Sundays).  Unfortunately, our timing put us smack in the middle of the northern exodus, and it slowed us down quite a bit (at least there wasn't a wreck - that really becomes a mess).

Hooray, traffic!

The girls made the best of the situation, taking an epic nap

Eventually, we made it to the campground, backed into our spot, and greeted Jake, Keeli, and Rosie, who had the campsite directly across from us, and Amadeo and Christina, who had also just arrived (they were tent camping in a different, but nearby, loop).

A (well used) map of White Spar

We were in spot 31, Jake and Keeli were in 30,

and Amadeo and Christina were in 40 (or thereabouts)

Christina with their car

The tent is all set up!

Zoe greeting her Tio Amadeo

Re-introducing Zoe and Rosie

Sweet Ro-Ro!

With the campers and tents all set up, it was time to hang out!  

Christina, Chris, the girls, and I in our campsite,

and you can see Jake, Keeli, and Rosie in the campsite across the way

Since the Keeler campsite was shaded in the afternoon, we moved our chairs and adult beverages in that direction, bringing Zoe and Bea with us and tethering them between the picnic table and fire ring.  As I was walking Bea toward the tether, Zoe suddenly moved, snapping it upward; I was also carrying a dog bed which blocked my view, so I didn't see the line, and I tripped over it, landing hard on my right foot (I've had crashes where I could see the whole thing happening in slow motion, but this was one of those "I'm upright, oh wait, I'm not, how did that happen?" moments. I blame the dog).  After doing a quick assessment (I still have feeling, I can wiggle my toes/rotate my ankle, no bones poking through the skin, no bleeding), I brushed off and sat up; while it hurt quite a bit, I could bear weight on it, so we decided I didn't need to move this party to the nearest Urgent Care Center.  Everyone was amazing in getting me settled (and helping Chris and I with all of our other tasks for the entire weekend), and we enjoyed our first evening together, grilling steak tacos, drinking beer, and watching the F1 Qualifying session from earlier in the day on a tv we'd brought from home (roughing it, indeed).

Bea, enjoying time with Tio Amadeo

Our setup as dusk rolls in

Happy monsters!

They ate so many exciting things over the weekend

Post-dinner, we were all pretty tuckered, so we turned in before too long, happy to be all together!  On the next blog, more shenanigans from the long weekend!

Later!

Amy