Mike and Corissa invited us to join them for a family camping trip earlier this spring. We gladly accepted, however, work conflicts prevented Mike's sisters from joining us this time. Corissa and Mike made reservations at Canyon Point Campground northeast of Payson, up on The Rim. Weather-wise, everything was perfect; no mosquitos, no windy conditions, but due to the dry conditions, there were no campfires allowed. Understandable, but disappointing. Vince and I went up north on Friday morning, June 20, setting up the tent, blue awning, etc. and relaxed and enjoyed the outdoors.
Saturday morning, Mike and Corissa, Cailyn and Landon arrived, and as Corissa got out of their SUV, she warned "quiet time is over!" ;-) Ahhh, but that's when the fun began!! Landon and Cailyn loved the BIG tent,
swinging in the hammock....
digging in the dirt!
We played UNO and Cailyn and Grandpa played board games too. We set up ring toss and bean bag toss games, and Landon also loved kicking around his soccer ball and "playing football" in the woods!
After a peanut butter & jelly sandwich lunch, we went for a walk around the campground. Cailyn rode her bike, and Landon was happy in the stroller, but later wanted to walk too.
Then we decided take a drive to the Tonto Creek Fish Hatchery, and had a great time showing the children all the different fish tanks which hold different-sized trout. Both the children loved "feeding the fish" (special pellet food sold for a quarter), and we loved watching them feed the fish too!
Grandpa and Michael then found a perfect spot along the Tonto Creek for feet washing and wading! We floated twigs and threw small rocks...and I reminisced about our own children doing the same things in that same creek years ago!
A simple supper on Saturday night, (hot dogs and mac'n'cheese), and even though we couldn't have a campfire, Corissa suggested a tin-foil version of "somemores" and we all enjoyed the yummy goodness!
By the time it was getting dark, Vince and I had given Cailyn and Landon new "headlamps" so they could have fun with flashlights in and out of the tent.
Once inside the tent, they were pretty worn out and went to sleep quickly. When I woke up (early) to go to the outhouse, I peeked around the privacy curtain as I was leaving the tent...those beautiful children were laying as still as I have ever seen them, big-eyed and watching my every move! I waved, and they smiled back, but didn't make a peep. They knew their mommy and daddy were still trying to sleep a few more minutes! I was as silent as I could be, but those tent zippers are pretty noisy, and I'm absolutely sure
I woke up their parents during my exit from the tent!!
After a big breakfast of scrambled eggs and ham by Chef Grandpa, we went for another walk, this time on a scavenger hunt. Cailyn had a list, and we checked things off the list as we walked. We made lots of progress, but needed to find a caterpillar...when we got back to our campsite, Cailyn found a caterpillar on the side of our tent! Amazing!
It was time to take down the tent and start packing up the truck....Landon pulled on my hand, and with the saddest face said, "but Mimi, I don't want to take the tent down." I assured him that we would have to go camping again another time, and then he was placated. The kids enjoy playing in the bed of Grandpa's truck, so while the tent came down, this was a place for some fun until we had to begin loading equipment.
Wendy's in Payson was our lunch stop on the way home....Mike and Corissa know how to time these travels to take advantage of the napping hour! It was a great weekend for all of us, and I do hope we can go again some time.
