Camping July 4th Weekend

For the fourth of July, Chris and I went to northern Arizona to camp for a night. I needed cooler weather and time out of the city. Camping in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest was exactly what I needed. We took the dogs and were pleasantly surprised at how well they did. It was just car camping, nothing too serious. But we were allowed to have a campfire, which was really really nice. (Being somewhere cool enough to want a fire was gift enough!)

We camped just off the road near Bear Canyon Lake. I'd highly, highly recommend the Rim Lakes Recreation Area map from the US Forest Service website. While there weren't any facilities, the price was right - totally free. I got a little worried that we didn't bring enough water, but in the end we were OK. Though next time I'm throwing in a fourth gallon of water just so I don't have to think about it. We lounged around, hiked, cooked, threw the frisbee...you know a typical relaxing camping trip. It was great fun to get to be the first to show Chris that part of the state.

I also enjoyed our time to talk. Life handed us an interesting challenge recently and sitting around talking about it gave me good perspective. I was able to realize that everything is going to be just fine in the long run. I'm very, very lucky to have a partner who is such a good communicator and so patient with me.

View all the camping photos.