Counting Down to 2024

To take advantage of the long New Year's weekend, all four of us (Chris, myself, and the girls) headed to Roper Lake State Park, in what would be both our final camping trip of 2023 and the first one of 2024!

A family photo from the on-site, off-leash dog park - super convenient!

When planning this trip, we tried to find a spot with partial or full hookup camping within a park or forested area that also was just a few hours drive from home and wasn't too far north or high in elevation - Roper Lake fit the bill perfectly!  It's a state park about 3 hours away (the closest town is Safford, Arizona, which is about 175 miles due southeast from Phoenix), two of the three camping loops offered water and electric hookups, and although nearby Mt. Graham tops out at 10,000 feet, the lake itself is at just 3,000.  That means that while it would be cold overnight, it likely wouldn't snow or be too cold during the day to enjoy being outside.  The park also has lake-related activities (fishing, canoeing, swimming, etc.) and several short hiking trails.

Since check-in didn't start until 2pm, we left home after lunch on Saturday, December 30th, stopping just once for snacks and bathrooms at a Walmart in Globe, which was almost exactly halfway.  Although we love our gorgeous blue, almost always clear Arizona sky, it's also fun to see it with cloud cover sometimes:

The scenery is pretty on this drive - closer to home, the Superstition Mountains are lovely,

and the ranges, sky islands, and mesas further along are also picturesque.

Going through the Queen Creek Tunnel

We saw several hoodoo formations in the area between Superior and Globe

Pulling into Roper Lake around 3:30, we had no problems checking in and Pat, the ranger on duty, gave us all sorts of helpful tips on how we got to our site, where to find the dog park, and the necessity of guarding our food at night against raccoons (trash pandas!).

We were site number 1 on the Cottonwood loop, and it was great -

each spot had its own permanent ramada with a picnic table and fire ring.

Since we were the first site on the loop, we also had a tall strand

of brush between us and the small road; it served as a good wind break.

After unhooking the truck and settling in, we strolled the monkeys to the dog park, so they could get a good run in before the sun set and the temperatures dropped.

The sun setting over Mt. Graham - this was about 4:30pm or so

Zoe having a sniff

Bea, checking things out

We also followed the path to the Lake itself, to scope out a spot where we could potentially let Zoe do some swimming the next day, if it didn't prove to be too cold (spoiler alert - it was a bit too chilly, and we took the girls on a really long hike, so she didn't need the extra exercise).  

Roper is pretty small - only 32 acres - but it's stocked with all sorts of fish,

and it attracts lots of birds (both permanent and migratory)

Before too long, it was time to settle in for the evening - we made hot dogs and squash on the grill, then enjoyed some adult beverages by the firepit!

Bea supervises snack time from the camper

Orion coming up over the fire

Santa brought Chris lights for his Crocs this year for Christmas,

and they proved to be very handy

I woke up way too early on New Year's Eve, so I cuddled with the girls while Chris slept on (he came out to the main part of the camper to find all three of us dozing together on the couch).

"Mom, what time is it?!?!?!"

Once everyone was awake, it was time to make coffee and tea, as well as breakfast - for this trip, we tried out Kodiak's Power Cakes flapjack mix, and it was really good as well as being super easy - mix it with water, and it's ready to go!

The griddle master at work

Post-breakfast, it was back to the dog park, then across the small lot to the entrance of the Mariah Mesa Trail, which climbed up to a (you guessed it!) mesa where you could see the campground, lake, and surrounding areas.

Mt. Graham from the mesa

Looking down at the lake

The girls led the way along the trail

Zelda the camper is right behind those trees

Lots of hot air balloons out for NYE flights

Once down from the mesa, it was back to the camper and into the truck to head to nearby Dankworth Pond State Park, just three miles away from Roper.  While the body of water was smaller than Roper Lake, the hiking trails were a bit longer, and we all started down the Dos Arroyos Trail.  When we came to a split, we branched off and went toward Dankworth Village, a recreation of a Native American village, including full-scale reproductions of several different types of dwellings.

Lounging in the sun and chewing a toy before heading to Dankworth

Cleaning off muddy feet before going in the truck

After visiting the Village, we finished the Dos Arroyos Trail, ending back at the Pond's parking lot.  It was time to drive back to Roper Lake, for everyone to eat lunch (more hot dogs and squash), get cleaned up, and take naps!

As well as watch the local quail - they were the fattest ones I've ever seen!

Before too long, we started our NYE celebration, kicking it off with our traditional cheese fondue and a delicious bottle of champagne our friends Ryan and Tara gifted to us for our 20th anniversary.

So happy to be included in the festivities

Cheers!

Looks comfy!

As the night progressed, we also enjoyed spinach salads and chocolate fondue, as well as other random and assorted beverages by the fire.  Although the stars were incredible again, the cold eventually drove us inside, where we cuddled with the girls and watched Andy and A Coop on CNN until we crashed out (around 9:30 - we party hard, y'all).

As snug as a bug with her dad

NYE at Roper Lake was pretty calm, overall, which was just our speed.  The folks across the way set off a few small fireworks and cheered at midnight, but that was the extent of the "after quiet hours" shenanigans.  We both slept well, waking up at a normal time the next morning.  We again did coffee/tea and pancakes (cooked inside this time - it was in the low 30s outside, and even the camper steps were iced over), and before too long, we were packing up and heading home.  The drive was easy; it seems like most folks weren't traveling on the 1st, which was great.  We were home by 2:30, unpacked and with dogs washed and laundry going before the Rose Bowl started! 

Keeping an eye out for more quail - we never saw/heard any raccoons, though...

Zoe, thoroughly enjoying the scenery of Mt. Graham

This gigantic spire is in Fort Thomas, along the road between Globe and Safford.

As you can see, there's not much to the town (this is literally it),

but the spire is in honor of Melvin Jones, the founder of Lions Club International,

who was born in Fort Thomas.

We really enjoyed our weekend at Roper Lake State Park - it was easy to get there and find our way around within the park, the other campers were friendly and conscientious, and it had just enough to do to keep us busy without making us feel as if we were missing anything.  The rangers were also knowledgeable and kind, and it was close enough to Safford to buy groceries and gas while being removed from any sort of hustle and bustle or road noise.  This clearly wasn't the lake's high season, and while it was cold overnight, we had a great time - we highly recommend it!

Later!

Amy