Pivot Rock Springs

The Arizona forests have re-opened to provide a wonderful Spring weekend of camping. We headed up to the Pivot Rock area, north of Strawberry, Arizona. We boondocked in the forest at an old CCC camp. The snowmelt filled the springs with crisp, running water for some great hikes and an adventure for the dogs.

This is the official "Pivot Rock". We spent our weekend geocaching in the area and logged about 9-10 miles of hiking for 11 finds! Pivot Rock Springs provided some spelunking in a small cave. Some crawling and climbing got us through. It is a wet cave and one must traverse through the snow-chilled spring water to enter.

This is our trek back to camp along the Wildcat Springs trail. We hiked a bit over 2 miles in and the same on the way back.

We also found some caches overlooking the Mogollon rim. This is our friend Ken with his daughter and her friend.

For all my friends who are a bit nervous about boondocking, you don't get these views from a campground :-). And for the record, strawberry marshmallows don't roast the same over an open fire as the good old fashioned plain variety.

Until next time... safe travels.

What a Glorious Day!

Happy Easter!

We hope that all of our friends and family have a blessed day! Christ is risen to give us all eternal life!

Spring Break- Roosevelt Lake

Spring Break is always a welcome retreat from the daily grind. This year we headed to Roosevelt Lake in the Tonto Basin of Arizona. The lake is full, which isn't always the case for Arizona lakes! We were able to see many wildflowers in bloom... over 30 varieties!

Up, up, up we climbed to see the lower dwellings at the Tonto National Monument. It was the perfect time of year for this uphill hike to the ancient Salado dwelling. As you can see in the picture below of Caleb, you are able to walk around the ruins.

Here is a view out to the lake from the Lower Dwellings...quite a view! The little specks on the lower right are the cars in the parking lot at the visitors center.

We stayed at the Cholla Campground, which is the largest solar powered campground. There is no fee other than the daily Tonto Pass which is $6 per vehicle (plus $4 if you have a boat). During the winter months, there are also long-term options. Each site has a picnic table with a ramada for a nice shady spot. There are also shower houses and playgrounds. The guys went fishing but didn't have much luck. The water temperature at the surface was 62 degrees, and the theory is that the fish are "on the move" from the deep to the shallows. We enjoyed smores by the campfire every night and look forward to our next getaway!