Introducing camping

As you may recall from my last post, Phillip and I decided with 5 days’ notice to take 2 friends from China on their first (and possibly only) camping trip ever. No pressure or anything.

Fortunately, our friends Zhipei and Jingjing are flexible and have a great attitude about trying new things. So when something didn’t go quite right (from my perspective), they just rolled with it. It was all a new adventure to them.

A week ago Saturday, we picked them up, and Phillip managed to pack their things into our already-full Prius. We headed toward Show Low. We opted for the less-traveled Globe route instead of driving through the (relatively) cool pines of Payson, since we were concerned about weekend traffic, with all us Phoenicians escaping the scorching desert like rats deserting a sinking ship.

On the drive there, we told them about road trip traditions, like playing the alphabet game and holding your breath in tunnels (we even tried this out in the Queen Creek Tunnel), pointed out places we’d visited before, and wound through the Salt River Canyon – which is huge and stark and beautiful.

We made it to Show Low, then the small town of Pinetop-Lakeside. (I had to figure out what the hyphenated name was about. According to the town’s website, the communities of Pinetop and Lakeside were joined together in 1984. Obviously, that was before DOMA.)

The directions from the reservation site didn’t include how far to drive down State Route 260, but we still managed to find the campground just across the street from the Ranger Station, as promised.

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Lakeside Campground (Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ)

A few details about the campground, in case you’re thinking of visiting…

Location: Lakeside Campground is right off Highway 260 in Pinetop-Lakeside, just across from Rainbow Lake. From our campsite, you could stand in one spot and see the lake – and turn around and see the highway. Convenient to get to but doesn’t quite feel like you’re getting away from it all.

Campsites include a picnic table and fire pit but no water pump. We only saw one in the campground, so bring plenty of water or be prepared to trek across the campground when you need more. The sites are fairly large with lots of pine trees.

Restroom situation: Small outhouses with vault toilets are scattered throughout the campground. There are no sinks or showers.

To do: Rainbow Lake has fishing and a boat ramp but not much space to just hang around. The Rim Trail (also see below) was just north of the campground and the Panorama Trail is just south of it.

More information and reservations

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We found the campsite we’d reserved, hopped out, and started scoping out the best spots for our tents.

The first tent we set up was the one my parents had lent Zhipei and Jingjing. I guess we wanted them to know we weren’t going to be leaving them out in the cold. But we really probably should have started with our tent, since Phillip and I can get that set up pretty quickly. My parents’ tent, however, was one we’d never set up before, and our friends had never set up any tent before. Plus, my dad has his own system of extra ropes, bungees, and tarps that go along with the tent. I’m sure it’s all very useful, but it didn’t come with instructions. I’m sure it was amusing to watch us figure out the setup.

After that, setting up our little tent was a snap!

Once the tents were up, I helped Jingjing get sleeping bags, pads and everything set up inside their tent. It was going to be her first time in a sleeping bag!

Before dinner, we walked over to the lake, which was just down the hill from the campground. A sign pointed out the area that was the “only dedicated public access point” for Rainbow Lake, which included a floating dock, boat ramp, and maybe a total of 100 feet (or so) of shoreline. (I think the rest of the lake is surrounded by private property – homes, vacation rentals, etc.). I had pictured us hanging out and relaxing by the lake, but the small area wasn’t so relaxing. It probably would have been a nice place to ease a canoe into the water and paddle away from the hubbub on shore.

Once we had checked out the ducks that were flocking to little kids feeding them Purina Duck Chow (or something like that), walked down the floating dock, watched some very happy dogs plunge into the water and then out again, we headed back through the campground to our site.

Phillip got the camp stove set up, and we heated up the beef stew Jingjing and I had made earlier in the week. After dinner, the guys filled a couple of large bowls with water, and we did the dishes.

And then it was time for one of the most important camping traditions – s’mores!

Because of the dry conditions and high fire danger, we couldn’t have a campfire (which is sad), so we toasted marshmallows over the stove with forks. Bringing our usual 18″ skewers had seemed like overkill. In hindsight, something with a little larger handle than a fork would have been good.

At one point, Phillip was deep into an explanation of something and didn’t notice his marshmallow was engulfed in flames.

Me: “Um, Phillip…”

Phillip: (Continues talking.)

Me: “Phillip! You’re on fire!”

Phillip: “I know. Anyway…”

Me: “PHILLIP!”

Phillip: “OH!” (Waves marshmallow around to put out fire. Fortunately, does not start a forest fire or burn his hand off.)

Me: (Wishing I’d photographed that moment.)

It was the night before the supermoon, so we almost didn’t need flashlights. It cast as much light as street light shining down through the trees. We could still see some stars and got our star chart apps to identify constellations we didn’t recognize.

We played cards by latern light and taught our friends how to play Spoons. By the time we called it a night, they were experts.

The next morning we heated up some water for tea. Our friends were still full from the night before, so I snacked on mountain bread, and we decided to break camp before breakfast. (I almost always wake up starving, regardless of what I eat the night before. Jingjing says it means my digestion is good. And I thought it was just inconvenient.)

I was grateful for Jingjing’s help with breakfast. We made pancakes, eggs, bacon and started on hashbrowns when we ran out of gas in our little propane tank. It’s okay. There was still plenty of food, especially since Zhipei was still saying he wasn’t that hungry.

Since we were already packed up, we decided not to stick around camp. I asked the camp host (who had been super nice and laid back the whole time) for some hiking recommendations. She directed us to the Rim Trail, just a mile or two down the road, on the way back to town.

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The Rim Trail (Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ)

The Rim Trail is a 1-mile loop. The first half is paved and barrier free, and that’s where the breathtaking view from the top of the Mogollon Rim is. After that, the trail winds through the forest. No sweeping vista, just a nice little hike with signs along the way with nature and historical facts about the area.

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By the time we had finished our hike, we were all ready to start heading home. I was just a little pink from the sun, and we were all tired out. We stopped at Los Hermanos in Superior for a late lunch and then made the descent back into the Valley.

The thing about “roughing it” is it always makes you glad to be back home.

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I’m trying something new with the format. What do you think of having the more informational stuff about the campground and the trail in the gray boxes? Do you feel this is helpful or too distracting from the story of the post?

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Photos that include me were taken by Phillip, except for the final one of us at the rim, which I think Zhipei took.

June 26, 2013June 2, 2014

Because there’s no camping in China

Camping in China is not a thing. At least, that’s what I heard from my friend Jingjing when she was explaining why she and her husband, Zhipei, felt their only chance to ever go would be while they’re here in the U.S., before he finishes his degree and they return to their home country.

While camping is not uniquely American, it is cultural. And, according to our friends, there’s not camping culture in China. It’s just not something people do. There aren’t campgrounds. Kids at sleepovers aren’t sprawled out across the living room floor in sleeping bags. Because why would you even own something like that when no one in your culture is going camping?

So Phillip and I started talking to Zhipei and Jingjing about going camping with us. We talked about some possible dates, and then there was a miscommunication about when we would go. As we were sorting it out, we realized the upcoming weekend was the only time during the summer our schedules would line up.

Last week Monday*, we decided to go for it. We’d leave Saturday morning, just 5 days away. We kicked it into high gear to get ready in time, borrowing an additional tent, sleeping bags, etc. from my parents, planning food, and finding and reserving a campsite online. (Our default “easy camping” sites that we usually recommend to camping newbies aren’t high enough altitude/cool enough for this time of year. And we didn’t want to leave too much to chance for what could be our friends’ one shot at camping.)

Fortunately, I did have some help.

My friend Michelle brought us celery for our beef stew. My brother and his wife brought over the camping gear Dad had dug out of the basement for us. (They also told me their move to Seattle would be sooner than expected. Turns out that getting ready for camping in 5 days is nothing compared to preparing for a cross country move in a week.) (That’s not super relevant to this post, but it just might come up again. Plus, they leave tomorrow, and that’s just a really big deal.)

Jingjing picked up groceries and came over to help with food prep. We measured out Mom’s homemade pancake mix, washed fruit and veggies, made the stew, and baked mountain bread (basically this recipe, but my version originally came from my Grandma Betty. She clipped it from a magazine article in the 70s for Dad to make for his backpacking trips. My mom still has the original clipping and copied it out onto a recipe card for me.)

There was still a lot to do. But, at least I knew we’d have plenty to eat.

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I started this post before we left. Now, as I finish it up, we are back home. (Spoiler alert: We survived.) Once I collect my thoughts and finish unpacking, I’ll tell you all about the trip itself. [Update: You can read about the camping trip here.]

*Funny thing: On 6/17/12, I wrote some thoughts about getting ready to go on our Epic California Road Trip that turned out to be oddly prophetic. Early this June, I got the post all ready and scheduled to publish here one year later (on 6/17/13). I didn’t know yet when our camping trip would be, so I didn’t know that when that post went up, I would once again be a few days away from leaving. My day looked surprisingly like the one exactly a year before – running clothes we might want to pack through the laundry, staging camping gear, making trips to Target and the grocery store, and getting excited to leave . Maybe I should make an annual tradition of being about to go somewhere on June 17.

June 17, 2013May 23, 2023

Anticipation

Last year I wrote or started several posts for my planned craft blog before deciding to go another direction. I’ll be posting some of them here now and then. This is one I drafted a year ago today, while we were getting ready for our Epic California Road Trip.

I knew our trip was coming up, but now I can feel it. Just like I didn’t really feel like it was monsoon season (despite the fact they announced today as the official start date), until I saw the dust rising above the horizon on the way home today.

I walked in and realized the house is in that special state of chaos that feels like we’re really about to leave. Things are staged in little piles all over – camping gear on the bed, snacks in a grocery sack on the kitchen counter.

The whole place is humming with projects. We’ve dumped out a basket of random odds and ends, trying to figure out what did (what we ever do) with our spare house keys. We are cooking for several meals on the road and doing that last bit of laundry. And shopping. I don’t really want to talk about how many trips to Target I’ve made this week. Actually, I’m not sure I even know.

The chaos would get to me – if it lasted. But it won’t. We’re leaving in just a few days. And I’m savoring the anticipation.

June 13, 2013July 5, 2013

Craft fail

I had some grand plans for journal making this week.

It started when I saw a contest on designlovefest where you choose one of their Make It projects, and, well, make it, and then Instagram it.

As I was looking through their posts (which, yes, requires opening like 20 tabs – I need to have all the information in front of me), I came across this simple but really cool looking journal project. I was really excited. I would make one for myself. I would make some for gifts. I would become a journal-making MACHINE! Not only would I Instagram it, I would blog about it. If I won, the journals I gave as gifts would be that much more awesome, because I could be like “Happy [insert occasion here]! Here’s an award-winning journal for you.” Sweet, right?

But I needed to get this blog launched first. Even though the first post went up earlier, I wasn’t really done messing with the site and ready to announce it to the world until this week. And then the last couple days life in general did not go as planned, and, on top of the stress that had come up (or maybe because of it), I haven’t been sleeping well. By the time I went to join the crafters at CraftHack last night, I was hoping to have my journal(s) done and contest entry posted, but I had barely started.

So I brought along my paper and various cutting implements with me, so I could continue to fold, cut, and interweave the signatures.

My Craft Hack buddies had very kindly announced my new blog on Facebook. But I got the impression that a couple of the Craft Hackers mistook the “journal” in “Travelcraft Journal” to mean that I knew things about making journals. That was not my intent, which probably became increasingly evident as I was fumbling my way through a really basic one.

As it turns out, I am not a journal-making machine.

Maybe it was the wrong paper, wrong method, my inability to cut straight. It wasn’t coming together well. It wasn’t even laying flat. I clipped the pages together and laid it under a copy of 501 Spanish Verbs.

Lo dejé allí, me dormí (pues, intentía a dormir), y regresé el próximo día.*

It still didn’t lay flat.

I thought about working on it tonight, but tonight’s priority was actually to rest, to try to wind down, so I could get a good night’s sleep and get back on schedule. I looked at that journal and decided I wasn’t up for the task. I wasn’t going to make the contest deadline. And I might need to come up with some new gift ideas.

But there’s enough stress in life without worrying about a craft project that isn’t coming together right. This should be fun. Since it’s not, I’m putting it aside for now and hoping that putting this all on (virtual) paper helps my mind to rest. Maybe another day it will work out better and turnout more enjoyable. Maybe I’ll even turn into a journal-making machine.

So how about you? Any big craft fails lately? Or sleep fails?

*”I left it there, went to sleep and came back the next day.” Or at least that’s what I meant for it to say. My Spanish is rusty, and I didn’t actually consult the book.

June 8, 2013February 28, 2014

West of Central Avenue

You know it’s May in Phoenix when someone tells you there’s going to be a high of 93 degrees over the weekend and you reply with some version of “Really?! Only 93? We have to go hiking!!”

That definitely happened a few weeks ago.

Phillip had to work that morning, so we planned wait until the evening when it would be a little cooler.

While I was pondering where to go, I remembered I had intended to stop by my uncle’s house over the weekend and see how he was doing with my aunt out of town.

So I checked out Google Maps for good hiking on the west side of Phoenix, and hello! there were the Sierra Estrella Mountains. Phillip and I have talked about how crazy it is that neither of us had ever made it out there. Time to remedy that.

So as soon as Phillip got off work, we filled up water bottles, had our standard ~~argument~~ debate about what to bring (or not) and whether it should all go in backpack(s), a hip pack, or what. We finally settled on no packs, just full pockets and water bottles (mine in kind of a dorky bottle holder with a shoulder strap because I haaaate carrying stuff in my hands while I’m hiking. But I am used to being a dork.)

We started off by going to Tacos Atoyac. It wasn’t exactly on the way. But close enough. If we’re headed west of Central, we usually go. Or, really, if we’re anywhere near there, we go. And sometimes when we’re nowhere near there, we go anyway. I would recommend you do the same. (Unless, of course you don’t like delicious tacos.) Like the best restaurants of the hole-in-the-wall-taqueria genre, the ingredients are fresh, the flavors are intense, the prices are reasonable, and the neighborhood is sketchy. It’s Oaxacan-style food, so, in addition to tacos and burritos, they have tlayudas, which are kind of like giant tostadas with smashed black beans (also delicious). We try something new almost every time but seem to keep coming back to the tacos al pastor.

After chowing down on tacos and chatting with my uncle, the sun was lower in the sky (okay, maybe a little lower than we were shooting for but at least it was cooler), and it was time to head for Estrella Mountain Regional Park.

Before we got to the park entrance, a trailhead on the other side of the road caught Phillip’s eye. It looked like it might go down to the river, so we had our hiking spot picked out. But, first, we wanted to check out the park itself.

Our short drive around the park was lined with palo verde and mesquite trees, with a hawk flying overhead and a rabbit bounding into the bushes for cover. A roadrunner lived up to his name and ran across the road ahead of us. We drove by a playground and lots of picnic tables. It looked like a great place for a big family gathering.

We definitely want to come back and explore the park when we have more time.

But, since we were running out of daylight, we went back to the trail Phillip had spotted. It was part of a revegetation project, which may be why we saw drip irrigation lines coming out of the ground and young mesquite trees surrounded by chicken wire.

As it turns out, the trail didn’t go as far as the river. But now we know where it goes, and next time we can stick to the park.

By the time we got to the end of the loop, we were losing light and in need of a restroom. Checking a map, I realized we weren’t too far from another of my favorite West Side spots: Ground Control.

It was in a new location since the last time I visited. They still have coffee and gelato, as well as a dining room with a dinner menu past the gelato counter. And the night we were there, it was p-a-c-k-e-d!

There was some kind of kids’ singing competition happening (someone told Phillip the name, but all I can think of now is “America’s Kids Got Singing.” Which is not a real thing.), and each mini-star seemed to have brought an entire fan club along. The corner designated as the “stage” was right next to the restrooms. So instead of being able to make a beeline to take care of business, you had to wind your way through overcrowded tables of doting relatives/fan club members, step over moms crouched in the aisles with video cameras, and cross in front of the next Justin Bieber (wannabe) belting his heart out. Of course, this arrangement also meant that, when you came back out of the restroom, all eyes were toward you.

It’s not every day that I exit the bathroom to applause from a packed house.

But you know what? Way to go me. I planned this little excursion that lead to a good (if incredibly awkward) pit stop, made small talk with a couple of gossipy 8-year-olds while waiting for a stall to open up, and was resourceful enough to have my own tissue in my super-stuffed pockets (which was good since the toilet paper had run out).

Actually, the real reward was enjoying our gelato outside – and out of earshot. Bravo.