Little Rangers need to get their kits out at least once a month. They need to explore outside, learn valuable skills like tracking, stamina, waking at dawn, building fires, watching the stars....they need SKILLS and they are only going to get said skills by going out and roughing it in the wilderness.
Alas, one skill for a ranger mom trapped in the valley of the Sun, is to reserve campsites far in advance. 6-5.5 months in advance....
If we were really cool, we'd figure out how to make camp in the site-less wilderness...preferably under bracken where the Crebain of Dunland cannot sight us....but we aren't at that awesome yet. So we'll stick with reserved sites, until our skills are much much better.
UPDATE: ????? IT seems that contrary to my impression, Payson is actually COOLER than Sedona in the summer....So next year we are going to check Payson first for June, July, Aug. Sedona is more for April, May, Sept
Nov--AZ Desert
- AZ desert dawn hikes,
- Hidden Valley,
- Fat Man's pass
- Sears-Kay Ruin (Hohokam)
- Check out Alltrails
- ??Montezuma's well [3 hr drive]
- Pioneer Museum?
- Lost Dutchman campsite
Dec & Jan--AZ Desert dawn hikes [Hidden Valley, Pioneer Museum? Fat Man's pass, Sears-Kay Ruin (Hohokam)] Have back-yard fires and toast marshmallows.
Feb --AZ Desert dawn hikes, Lost Dutchman campsite.
March--AZ Desert dawn hikes, Lost Dutchman campsite...or THE MINE
[I need to reserve the Spring reservations by Nov/Dec, and Summer reservations by Feb/March]
April -- AZ Rim-country/Sedona Oak Creek--- AZ desert Dawn Hikes
- [too hot to camp in AZ desert]
- [Mingus Mountain and Mogollan Campground and Aspen AZ not open till May],
- THE MINE Morenci, AZ
- Yavapai, White Spar (Prescott) is open [but terrible bathrooms] not alot of trees
- Sedona/Oak Creek stuff is Open
- Maybe....Payson IS ALL FF IN APRIL [Christopher Creek] and Ponderosea (AZ)
- Houston Mesa [Payson near Water Wheel, Flowing Springs] are FF in April
May -- AZ Rim-country, Prescott, ----Sedona/Oak Creek stuff is Open (Payson is open)
- Mingus Mountain!
- Mogollon Campground on Rim ??
- ASPEN AZ ??
- Ponderosa AZ ??
- Sedona/Oak Creek stuff is Open(Pine Flatts) [We had a great time at Cave Spring Sedona in May]
Christopher creek,Houston Mesa Campground NEAR Water Wheel Falls (Payson)Time for this the next 3 months
June
- last chance at Mingus---EARLY june, Prescott,
- Payson--Christopher Creek
- Payson-ish Houston Mesa Campground NEAR Water Wheel Falls (Payson) NEAR Flowing Springs
Maybe Sedona & Oak Creek CanyonToo Hot
July--Mountains or Creeks,
- CHRISTOPHER CREEK IN PAYSON
- Payson-ish Houston Mesa Campground NEAR Water Wheel Falls (Payson) NEAR Flowing Springs
Maybe Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona [bc of Oak creek. Also Manzanita is COOLER they say, Pine Flats, Bootlegger, Cave Spring],Maybe Mogollon Campground is 2mi from a lake....Too Hot- OR THE ROCKIES
Aug--Mountains or Creeks, PAYSON,OR THE ROCKIES Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona... Too Hot
CHRISTOPHER CREEK IN PAYSON Payson-ish Houston Mesa Campground NEAR Water Wheel Falls (Payson) NEAR Flowing Springs
Sept--Mountains or Creeks, PAYSON, OR Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona [Finally Cool Enough!...]
- CHRISTOPHER CREEK IN PAYSON
- Payson-ish Houston Mesa Campground NEAR Water Wheel Falls (Payson) NEAR Flowing Springs
Oct -- AZ Rim-country, Prescott, Mingus [may-oct] OR Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona...
- Last chance for Mingus !!!!
And how to homestead...when we are in a little quarter-acre lot in a desert, and may move in the near-ish future?
Homestead, but not as the homestead being the goal---as we may need to sell, and later owners destroy it. Plant fruit trees, for the future if owners keep it. And always garden with the kids. Involve my little rangers as much as possible...because its about the memories being forged WITH them, and the skills being forged IN them, and not about the physical garden or home so much. We are traveling, but we can make these way-stations along the way as beautiful as we can. As green as we can. As productive as we can.
But it should always be about the little Rangers, and not the way-station.
