I am a member of a local singles activity group. We do a lot of things involving drinking, dining, dancing but every now and then we have a real adventure such as a hike or a camping trip. This past weekend was a camping trip.
It started out as a trip up north to Payson, or so we thought. Mis-communication caused the organizers to think it was going to be in a forested area in the Payson, Arizona area but it turned out to be a four to five hour trip farther north than Payson getting into the treeless tundra area of Arizona. Anything is usually a relief from the Phoenix or Tucson area as the temperatures are sweltering this time of year and camping in extreme heat is just plain stupid.
So the plans were changed to an area south of Tucson, and we were to team up with a singles group in Tucson. I was asked to help co-lead the trip and even though I was looking forward to just kicking back and letting someone else do the work, I agreed since the northern excursion was canceled.
So I organized things as best I could for the Phoenix group. There were 7 signed up and they all actually showed up which is a miracle. So many times people wake up in the morning and change their minds and just blow off the activity, but this one was pre-paid, so the odds of people showing up are better.
I had everyone meet up at the Arizona Mills Mall parking lot in front of the Rainforest Cafe, since it is an obvious landmark. They have it decorated in a loud tacky way and I figure people can’t miss it, but somehow they do. They think that they are supposed to meet for carpooling inside the mall at the cafe (which is never open at the hours we meet) or they can’t find the location at all. I am amazed that some of these people can function in everyday life being so directionally challenged and unable to reason things out that I find to be perfect common sense. It’s exhausting.
We carpooled up and I rode with one of the newer members who turned out to be really nice. She didn’t have too much in the line of camping gear and so it made it easy to pack the Altima. I had no idea where we were going, but to meet the Tucson group at t a Fry’s in Tucson. I am not all that familiar with Tucson so we went all the way through town to the meet up place, and still one carload in my caravan ended up getting lost.
So we met with the Tucson group and headed out. The campsite was dispersed camping which meant no toilets. This presented cause for concern with many people on the trip. They would drive into town to use the facilities. I am not kidding, taking an hour trip into civilization to pop a squat. Admittedly, using the bushes isn’t my favorite thing, but I would rather bite the bullet and hang around camp than make a day trip to have a pee. The area we were camping in was pretty sparse of good trees and shrubs and it was a challenge to find some privacy.
The way out there was marked with chartreuse signs, the second of which I missed as I was trying to avoid the major ruts in the road with my low clearance car. I ended up leading two other cars to Kentucky Camp, which is what was mentioned in all the writings about our camping weekend. I ended up getting a call from one of the other campers saying we were way off track and guided us back. By the time we got there most of the great places to pitch a tent were gone and so I went a little bit up a hillside and found a fairly flat spot and started pitching camp. I am so generous and constantly worried that everyone else is content that I forget about myself. One other guy was looking for a spot to pitch his tent and I offered up part of my area. It was under a tree and there were scant places under trees in the much coveted shade. So I said, “Hey! I can scooch over a bit and you can pitch your tent right next to mine”. Then I stop to think, what am I saying? I don’t know this guy. For all I know he could spend the night snoring and farting and I’ll never get any sleep. There isn’t much sound insulation with a paper thin layer of nylon. So at 3 am when I was waking up to the sound of snoring and farting from the next tent, I really regretted being so nice.
Waking up at 3am really surprised me as on Friday night when most of the others went in to Sonoita to watch fireworks, I stayed behind to get plastered on vodka with the boys.
The next day we had two big things planned and that was to go to the ghost town of Kentucky Camp, which is really a derelict mining operation not so much a town, and ot go to the lake in Patagonia. We went to Kentucky Camp first, which was a 5 mile drive from where we were camping. You have to park at the top of the hill and hike 1/4 mile in and you see the old buildings that are being renovated and some that are not so renovated. There was an outhouse much to the delight of just about everyone, myself included. We sat on the veranda of one of the buildings and told stories and generally yukked it up for a while before heading back for lunch. There was a bed and breakfast down there as well, but I can’t imagine why anyone would want to drive out there to stay.
We had lunch then all decided to head off to Lake Patagonia. It’s an artificial lake, as usual in Arizona, and there was a little beach. Some of us went in swimming, and I can never resist the water, so I was the first one in. We explored the area for a couple of hours, then headed back for yet another meal. It was our last night camping out and of course, snoring and farting were in abundance from the next tent over. My carpool companion said it best when she said the guy didn’t have much to say, but his body sure did.
I was still up by 5:30 in the morning to the sounds of yet another camper packing it in to head out as soon as possible. I had to use another table to make coffee on, and it was a plastic table. I didn’t even think about it and I ended up warping it out with the heat from my stove. that was my bird-brained move of the day. Overall, I had a great time, it was sure a nice relaxing respite from the hell that is work for me lately. Beautiful serene scenery, friendly fun campers, and three days away. The cats were sure glad to see me though.
Until next time, the end.