Surviving Phoenix Summer 2026

We got back from our monthlong epic TN-AL-TX roadtrip last week, and after a lovely under-average week of 100/70 and me deciding the desert was an awesome place after all, the next week has brought us back the 110/85 days. This morning I was desperately perusing google maps and honing in on any green point in a 3 hr radius.

I just canceled our camping trip for July 10, since the prediction said high of 96 at the campsite. It seems June 10-July 20th really isn't the best time to camp, even at 7000 elevation on the Rim. The campsites aren't booked up there, which tells you its just the hard-core campers there. Maybe we shall be them one day. But it's not yet. 

OK, Hannah, no need to re-invent the wheel.

June 10 to July 20th is kinda a deadzone for camping [being honest with myself, its probably more like June 10th to Aug 15 for us]

But  little rangers need to go a'ranging...

Living in the desert means being a Dawn Ranger. Waking to stars and chasing the twilights.

Phoenix in the summer is unbearable. Unless you chase the twilights. Live in the dawn and the dusks. Hide from the sun from 8am to 6/7pm. This handy reference helps, showing dawn times in the year.

HOW WE ARE GOING TO DO IT:

1. Wake them at 4:30 and head out to  Adventures from 4:30/5am to 7am....it starts to look beautiful 40 min before sunrise so  from 4:40 when sunrise is technically 5:20. 
2. Kids must learn to speak in whispers and travel quietly like real rangers when around Birdwatchers and Fishermen.
3. Load up to go home by 7am  
4. Siesta/Quiet Book Time at 10-2pm
5. Family Evenings with water 7:30-9:30pm//8-10pm Family Outside Time. Wet neck rags, and folk dance or soccer. Popsicles. Local Splashpads open till 10pm

Dawn Adventures---Weekday

Remember, always being a gallon of water. If Outside after 7am---Hats, sunscreen, water-bottles!!! 

• OUR NEIGHBORHOOD PARK. technically opens at 6am--10pm but if they are quiet, I think 5am is ok. Sprinklers are rumored to go off 5/5:30am
• Take the kids to the Riparion park, it opens at 5:30am--10pm. 
• Riparion trails, at 5:30-7am (Ranger quiet, stealth)
• Breakfast Picnic at Daddy's work. 6am to 7:30am, I will need to pick up Josh from work later.
• BIGGER ADVENTURES: Get the kids up at 4am. Get your pass here America the Beautiful Pass. So we need to use it at least 12 times to make it retroactively worth it! 
• Granite Reef Recreation area, wild horses at dawn. Go on a weekday, once a week. [look out for rattlesnakes]  @ 5am--7am [fishers?  23 min, L202 at dawn]
• ?Canyon Lake @ 5am [ 1 hr away. Acacia Recreation Site]
• ?Lake Saguaro @ 5am [42 min away]
• ?Pebble Beach
• ?Hidden Valley/Fat Man's pass/South Mouuntain? [no water, just desert. Only right at dawn]
• ?Sears-Kay Ruin (Hohokam)
• Check out more on Alltrails....

Evenings in the Twilights

7-9pm [8-10pm better] you can go outside, if you are wet.... The sun is down (7:40), but it has exhausted itself in pumping its heat into the earth. Here we are constrained by Daddy having a day job. So either we frolic off without him, or we drag an exhausted man out into the heat for adventures after a long day at work.... 

• Soccer/Dance/Wet Tag at the park (plus icecream). "Wet Tag" Play tag with sopping wet rags, you need to actually get someone wet for it to count. Bring along a bucket of waters for refills. BRING A FROZEN GALLON OF WATER and a FROZEN GALLON OF LEMONADE. Bring a boom-box and do English Folk Dancing on the basketball court. (If I can time to when the sprinklers go off, that would be a great time to visit the park)
• Go on walks in the evening around our neighborhood, or our park, wearing the wet cooling towels on our necks. 
• Enjoy dusk together as a family, in the backyard, in some sort of water games. 
• SPLASHPADS and climbing towers---Go to the splashpad at Riverview at 7-10pm, bring towels, two pizzas. Get wet first, then go play in the playground area and evaporative cooling will keep you alive. Have kids stick with their buddies to cut down on the chaos. Maybe you'll pick up some spanish! 
• SPLASHPADS and treehouse slides---Pioneer park is open until 10pm as well! 
• STAR-GAZING and LIGHTSABERS----Riparion Preserve is open from 5:30am-10pm Bring cheerios for the ducks. Riparion Preserve at 7pm on a Friday or Saturday, and stay when its dark to look through the observation telescope. Bring water and snacks, and maybe lightsabers.
• ROSES IN THE DARK---Rose Garden at Dusk. Load up on Popsicles/Icecream bars, and go visit the Rose Garden in the dark 8-9. Make the kids walk the circuit of the little trail with you, maybe 7x
• ANIMALS---??Riparion Trails in the Golden Hour. Trails shut at sunset, gates lock, so this might be a little stressful.... But the Riparion Park I think stays open a bit longer. Walk to the Carl's Damaged Pet Warehouse, with carrots.
•  IKEA EVENING---Feed the kids, and head over to IKEA 6pmish for an evening of perusing the display rooms. End by buying them cookies and Mork chocolate, head home and stop at the rose garden on the way to eat the chocolate and walk the circuit a few times. 

 

 The world can still be explored with highs of 113. Go and do it!!!

UPDATE: Basically the kids really need about 10 hours of silence to sleep every night, and the kids under 7 need a 90 min nap on top of that. Aim for complete silence, let the kids sleep, from 9---6am baseline. It will be adjusted according to activities.

• KIDS MUST BE UTTERLY SILENT in their rooms at 9pm 

• If we had a morning adventure (before 6am), Allow for mid-day naps [11/12-2] for everyone (not just the littles)
• If we are planning an evening excursion (8-10pm), let the kids sleep in till 8am the next morning. 

Day Trips with Daddy (sat morn)

Only downside is we need to wake up pretty early for this. 4am/4:30am/5am for most of them. Daddy's work maybe just 5:30... 

• Daddy's Work Breakfast Picnic. The little gardens around ASU. 5/6/7/8am there are no students up yet on Saturdays, We have the world to ourselves. It is beautiful.
• Water Wheel Falls Park. Aim to be there from 6-10. [starts filling up at 9] So need to get up at 4am and start driving. Then come home at 9:30/10 when its getting really hot and crowded, and the UV index soars. Come home, eat, and have a siesta
• ?Canyon Lake @ 5am [ 1 hr away. Acacia Recreation Site]
• ?Lake Saguaro @ 5am [42 min away]
• ?Granite Reef @ 5am [fishers?  23 min, L202 at dawn]

7-24-2026 UPDATE: I just had to cancel our July 24th trip as well. The problem is the heat spikes in July mean that even up on the Rim, the highs can be anywhere between a nice 81, or a high of 98 (unbearable). The only way to camp up on the Rim in July, is not to reserve in advance, and swing it depending on the weather. So, note to future self, don't reserve campsites from June 10th--Aug 15th

Camping List for Hot Weather

  Applicable to Payson in June, July, Aug, September

[Temperature ranges of 80s- low 90s in the day, to 70-60s at night]

Tips for success

The UV ranges from highs of 10 to 12.5

 This is brutal on polar-descended melanin-challenged progeny. Hats and sunscreen. Avoid dehydration 

• Water. Each kid carry 2 water bottles on hikes
• Water. Keep some spray bottles of water, and some rags you can dip into water and put on the back of your neck.
• Water. Try to have every hike access water at some point (e.g. Creeks or lakes. Somewhere you can get your feet wet)
• Apply sunscreen at 7am, and Reapply the sunscreen on at noon! One application is not enough. Keep sunscreen in my pack.
• Safety pin their hat straps to them! This is for Irene the Hat-Hurler, who despite mommy finding it once, managed to lose it on the 2nd time when mommy still ran back along the trail and couldn't find it...
• Keep mineral sunscreen lip balm in your pack, and reapply to kids faces a few times to kids lips on the hike. Otherwise everyone comes home with sunburnt lips. Just take lip balm, microwave, mix very well with 1/4 the weight with Zinc Oxide powder.
• Cookies/Trailmix/Sweets are a MUST for the hike. And only to be eaten on the hike. This is the bait that sweetens the deal for them.
• If it gets down to the 50s at night, throw one extra polarfleece blanket per kid into the car.[only an issue for May in AZ]
• !!Don't pack too much food for the weekend. I always end up packing about 3x as much food as we end up eating. Then bring sad squished lukewarm food home that no one wants to eat. So, don't pack like we're leaving for the Oregon Trail. If I somehow don't pack enough food, there's literally a Walmart 30 min away from the campsite in Payson.

Hot Camping List [days 91-82, nights 70]

• Hats, Sunglasses
• Sunscreen & jojoba oil & aloe vera gel
• DIY Mineral Sunscreen lip balm [MUST for the kids burned lips]
• Waterbottles on belts
• 2 empty gallon jugs, 5 gallon jug
• Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Xylitol mints
• Hairbrush & hair ties
• Babywipes and Hand Sanitizer
• Bandaids, Ointment
• Allergy Meds, emergency benadryl
• Bugspray [and anti-itch cream]

• Clothes [doubled per days, because of the creek]
• 2x short sleeve shirts/tunic/dress x # of days
• 2x leggings/loose long pants x # of days
• 2 x underwear x # of days
• 2 x socks  x # of days
• long sleeves and a pair of leggings for jammies
• Cotton Hoodie Jacket 
• Polarfleece Jackets [wear over long sleeved cotton jammy shirt, at night if it gets chilly]
• Stow away some oversized VBS T-shirts and extra underwear and shorts for emergencies.
• Extra Sock Bag for emergencies

• Sleeping Bags and Pillows [if night is under 52, 1 polarfleece blanket per kid]
• Mattress Pad for Josh, and his pillows and knee pillows
• Tarps
• Tents
• Flashlights/Lanterns
• Firestarter/matches
• Foil
• Disposable table-cloths
• Paper plates and Paper towels 
• Trashbags
• Dutch oven [foil packets are a joke] for open fire OR cast iron pan for rocket-stove
• Pot for boiling water for tea
• Mugs for cocoa and cereal
• Forks, spoons, knives
• Cutting board
• dishpan
• Campstove with propane
• Branch cutter*  [not if fire restriction]
• Rocket stove*  [not if fire restriction]
• Garlic salt, pepper, salt, sugar, tea
• FOOD
• Cheese block
• Potatoes, onion, carrot, ketchup, mustard
• Hamburgers{frozen} and Buns
• Sausages/Hot dogs {frozen}
• Cereal & Milk & BOWLS/CUPS
• Marshemellows & marshamellow forks
• cocoa, coffee, sugar
• Shade Tent/Shade tarp with ties/Shade structure for hot camping
• chairs
• Duct tape
• LED string lights
• little broom & dustpan for breaking down camp
• Tubs for feet-water in hot camping
• Neck-rags for water in hot camping
• spray bottles for misting faces at noon for hot camping
• Sturdy rubber sandals with very good treads for hot camping and wet hiking, LOTS EXTRA SOCKS FOR HIKING
• 3 Old towels, for hot camping
• Books and art supplies for the "lay low" time of hot noontime/afternoon.

Camping Food

Day 1—lunch on the road	Left Overs
Day 1 dinner	Hamburgers/Hotdogs, bell peppers, carrot sticks
Day 2  Breakfast	apples & cheese & peanut butter BREAKFAST BARS, hard-boiled eggs Croissants & hard-boiled eggs, or cheese OR Cheesy Grits and hot tea
Day 2 Lunch	Cold cut sandwiches Cold Cereal and Milk Cold sausages from last night. Boiled eggs bell peppers, carrot sticks
Day 2 Dinner	Sausages & Potatoes and cheese [pre-cooked potatoes in Tupperware] Hot Cocoa  [[Ramen noodles + eggs]]
Day 3 Breakfast Day 3 Lunch	Apples and cheese & Breakfast Bars PBJ's. Cheese on potatoes. Precooked hot dogs

1. Buns
2. Bread
3. Marshamellows
4. Boiled eggs
5. ?Raw Eggs? [if outside temps cold enough, or if you bought ice]
6. CHEESE
7. Milk
8. Lunchmeat [freeze before]
9. Sausages [freeze before]
10. Onions
11. Carrot sticks
12. Bell Peppers
13. Apples
14. Cocoa mix, Tea
15. Salt, Sugar,Garlic Powder
16. Ramen noodles
17. Grits
18. Peanuts & minimarshamellows & craisins [trailmix]
19. Savory trailmix---peanuts, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), chex, cheddar powder

Rough Plan of events.

Arrive at 2:30 pm. Set up camp.

Big Hike #1 [either a lite hike and gather wood, or if you have the time BIG HIKE, to the SEE SPRING CANYON TRAIL] 

[Gather wood, Lite Hike]

Dinner and Fire.

-------SLEEP

Cold Breakfast, be leaving for the trail by 7am!!

Morning Hike BIG HIKE [Big Hike #2]

Rest at basecamp

Afternoon/Evening Lite Hike [Lite Hike #3] and Gather Wood for fire

Dinner and Fire

------SLEEP

Pack up Basecamp (Goal: 1hr, current 2 hr) AND make lunch sandwiches, put in tupperware.

 Check Out.

Early Morning Lite Hike [Lite Hike #4]

Church (Christopher Creek Community Bible Fellowship, 10:30)

Church (Catholic church, Philip the Apostle bilingual 11am, Holy Nativity 10am)

Afternoon hike [Big Hike #5]

Go home

Payson in May

 Payson in May. A bit of a heatwave for Payson, it was a high of 88 and low of 55 at night. Christopher Creek by the campground was pretty shallow (but trickling along!) since we had a rather dry spring, but we drove to SEE canyon trailhead a couple miles away, where there was significantly more water.

UV index is at a 10 in May, though the temperatures were similar to our October trip (67/45), the UV was much higher (10 in May, 6 in October).

This time I remembered to bring special snacks on the hike. It is the most important tip to hiking with kids ever.

We went on a hike to SEE Canyon trailhead, choosing the SEE canyon spring (which has more water in it than the SEE canyon trail.)

We went on a hike from 10am to 4pm. 

We kept our hats on except for Irene who managed valiantly to lose a hat, despite mom running back and forth over the trail TWICE.

We burned probably half as much as we did in October. (Irene burnt about the same or maybe a little less....Not sure how to factor this in since she was wearing a hat somewhat, as I had a backup hat for her....so not sure how much was the hat and how much was the sunscreen) Whose UV Index was 6 instead of 10. Which means that Coppertone Sport Mineral is atleast 2x as effective as that other one. Which makes sense since this one was 24% zinc oxide, and the other one was only 8% zinc oxide and 7% titanium dioxide)

The burn the next day, after we came home. I think she's looking less crispy than our October adventure, although she did wear her hat more this time as well. But the UV was 10 instead of 6. 

So, I will keep using it

BUT----I need to reapply this stuff. Once at 8am wasn't enough. I need to do a noon-reapplication for the kids. Keep some in an insulated bag in the backpack. 

AND---I need to make some mineral sunscreen chapstick. [tutorial HERE when I do it]. All our lips burned. The sunscreen doesn't stay on lips.

Pine trees against the stars are one of my favorite parts of camping....

It was fun. The kids foraged for wood and built the fires. We consumed many marshamellows. 

And then we drove back into our desert valley....

And then my mother in law gave me this piece of living beauty. Pale pink roses with dark leaves, my favorite kind of rose since I was 14 and saw them growing on that old split rail fence in Alabama....

It was a good Mother's Day weekend.

Little Desert Rangers plans 2026

 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 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. Dispersed Camping is far far more epic. This year, research dispersed camping and how it works, also scout out places for dispersed camping near our favorite sites.

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

UPDATE UPDATE: Driving up towards Heber from Payson gives you 2000+ ft of elevation, and its a little cooler, at the cost of 20 more min driving. BUT mid-June to mid-Aug, even Sinkhole campground doesn't fill up. No rush. And had to cancel the July 10th 2026 camping trip because Aspen Campground predicted to be 96 degrees.

UPDATE: [I need to reserve the Spring reservations by Nov/Dec, and Summer reservations by Feb/March]

UPDATEST UPDATE: I needed to cancel both my July 10th weekend and my July 24th weekend camping trips in Aspen AZ, and Sinkhole Campground (near SEE canyon trailhead) respectively, because the weather (Accuweather's nearest point is "christopher campground cabins". The highs of the weekend were 96 degrees and 98 degrees. In between them there was a lovely 81 degree weekend, but there's no way to predict. SO DO NOT RESERVE STUFF IN ADVANCE FOR JULY. Play it by ear. I think it best NOT to reserve campsites between June 10th and Aug 15th

October and March really focus on my own little piece of earth, gardening, etc.

Remember...

Little Rangers need to go a'ranging...

But in the desert that means being a Dawn Ranger. Waking to stars and chasing the twilights.

Phoenix in the summer is unbearable. Unless you chase the twilights. Live in the dawn and the dusks. Hide from the sun from 8am to 6pm. This handy reference helps, showing dawn times in the year.

HO WE WE ARE GOING TO DO IT:

1. Adventures from 5am to 8am....it starts to look beautiful 40 min before sunrise so  from 4:40 when sunrise is technically 5:20. 
2. Kids must learn to speak in whispers and travel quietly like real rangers when around Birdwatchers and Fishermen.
3. Load up to go home by 8am  
4. Siesta/Quiet Book Time at 11-2pm
5. Got the America the Beautiful Pass. So we need to use it at least 12 times to make it retroactively worth it.
6. If staying outside after 8am---Hats, sunscreen, water-bottles 

Dawn Adventures---Weekday

• Get the kids up at 4am. Get your pass here
• Granite Reef Recreation area, wild horses at dawn. Go on a weekday, once a week. 
• ?Pebble Beach
• ?Hidden Valley/Fat Man's pass/South Mouuntain? [no water, just desert. Only right at dawn]
• ?Sears-Kay Ruin (Hohokam)
• Check out more on Alltrails....

Day Trips with Daddy. [ very Early Saturday mornings]

• Daddy's Work. The little gardens around ASU. 6/7/8am there are no students up yet on Saturdays, We have the world to ourselves. It is beautiful.
• Water Wheel Falls Park. Aim to be there from 6-10. [starts filling up at 9] So need to get up at 4am and start driving. Then come home at 9:30/10 when its getting really hot and crowded, and the UV index soars. Come home, eat, and have a siesta
• ?Canyon Lake @ 5am [ 1 hr away. Acacia Recreation Site]
• ?Lake Saguaro @ 5am [42 min away]
• ?Granite Reef @ 5am [fishers?  23 min, L202 at dawn]

Evenings in the Twilights

6-8pm you can go outside, if you are wet.... The sun is down, but it has exhausted itself in pumping its heat into the earth. Here we are constrained by Daddy having a day job. So either we frolic off without him, or we drag an exhausted man out into the heat for adventures after a long day at work.... 

-I think maybe the best option here is enjoy dusk together as a family, at local splashpads, or in the backyard, in some sort of water games. And save the family adventures with Daddy, on weekend camping trips. 

Weekend Camping Trips ---once a month

Feb --Really this is time to get the summer garden started. AZ Desert dawn hikes, Stay in Lost Dutchman campsite. 

• Lost Dutchman for Isaiah, to hear the coyotes
• Feb-March I really focus on my own little piece of earth, gardening, etc. 
• October/Nov is put the winter garden in. 
• February/March is put the summer garden in. 
• July--Sept you kinda pull the plug on the garden [grow yams and basil?], focus on keeping the trees alive

March--AZ Desert dawn hikes Stay home and focus on yardwork etc.

April -- AZ Rim-country/Sedona Oak Creek--- AZ desert Dawn Hikes 

• THE MINE Morenci, AZ
• Yavapai, White Spar (Prescott) is open [but terrible bathrooms] not alot of trees 
• Sedona/Oak Creek stuff is Open
• [too hot to camp in AZ desert]
• [Mingus Mountain and Mogollan Campground and Aspen AZ not open till May]
• Maybe....Payson IS ALL FF IN APRIL [Christopher Creek] and Ponderosea (AZ)... kinda cold
•  Houston Mesa [Payson near Water Wheel, Flowing Springs] are FF in April...  kinda cold

May --  Prescott, Payson, Sedona/Oak Creek stuff is Open  (Payson is open)

• Cave Spring! in Sedona/Oak Creek stuff is Open(Pine Flatts) [We had a great time at Cave Spring Sedona in May] Manzanita campground?
• Mingus Mountain! 
• Ponderosa AZ ??
• Christopher creek has a little flowing stream in it. See Canyon glorious. 75-90 day, 45-50 at night
• Houston Mesa Campground NEAR Water Wheel Falls (Payson) 
• ??Horton Creek Trail looks cool, someone said "camping througout", is this a Dispersed camping?  UPPER TONTO CREEK CAMPGROUND [if it ever opens again]

June  or the Water Wheel at 4am daytrip plan. [leave by 10am] OR SPLASHPADS 8pm-10pm

• EARLY JUNE (Before June 10th)---
• past Payson towards Heber, up on the rim, elevation 7000 ft higher on the Rim near Woods Canyon Lakes---Sinkhole Campground (7560 ft), Spillway campground(7500 ft), Aspen AZ (7000 ft) Mogollon campground (7700 ft)
• ??Horton Creek Trail looks cool, someone said "camping throughout", is this a Dispersed camping? UPPER TONTO CREEK CAMPGROUND [if it ever opens again]
• Houston Mesa Campground (5200 ft) NEAR Water Wheel Falls (Payson) NEAR Flowing Springs (too hot?)
• Maybe Sedona & Oak Creek Canyon Too Hot
• Payson--Christopher Creek [bit too hot only 5640 ft elevation]
• AFTER JUNE 10th---
• Lay low, do evenings at the splashpad. Plan out of state trips and just do the leave-for-Water-Wheel-at-4am routine. OR do as the Mexicans do. Nap mid-day, and at sundown take the kids to the park with splashpads, get wet, play at playgrounds 8-10pm.

July--Mountains or Creeks  OR JUST PLAN TO VISIT OUT OF STATE RELATIVES HERE, and do the Water Wheel at 4am daytrip plan. [leave for home by 10am] UPDATE: July is pretty miserable. With the summer solstice, peak UV, and the earth has had a chance to heat up. from June 15--July 30th I wouldn't camp] AND JUST DO SPLASHPADS 8pm-10pm

• DREAM: THE ROCKIES, GORE CREEK
• JULY
• 2026 had to cancel 2 weekend camping trips, that turned out to have highs of 96 and 98 degrees respectively. SO DON'T RESERVE ANYTHING. Lay low, do evenings at the splashpad. Plan out of state trips and just do the leave-for-Water-Wheel-at-4am routine. OR do as the Mexicans do. Nap mid-day, and at sundown take the kids to the park with splashpads, get wet, play at playgrounds 8-10pm. And if it turns out to be a balmy weekend, then gun it for Spillway campground.
• past Payson towards Heber, up on the rim, elevation 7000 ft higher on the Rim near Woods Canyon Lakes---Sinkhole Campground (7560 ft), Spillway campground (7400), Aspen AZ (7000 ft) or Mogollon campground (7700 ft)  UPDATE: Had to cancel July 10th 2026 Aspen AZ camping trip, high of 96
• Houston Mesa Campground NEAR Water Wheel Falls (Payson) NEAR Flowing Springs (too hot?)
• CHRISTOPHER CREEK IN PAYSON (no water in the campsite creek yet, too hot at 5640 ft)
• 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

Aug--Mountains or Creeks, PAYSON,OR THE ROCKIES GORE CREEK

DREAM: THE ROCKIES, GORE CREEK 

After Aug 15th

CHRISTOPHER CREEK IN PAYSON !!!!!!

Payson-ish Houston Mesa Campground NEAR Water Wheel Falls (Payson) NEAR Flowing Springs

•  Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona... Too Hot 

 

Sept--Mountains or Creeks, PAYSON, OR 2nd half of Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona [Finally Cool Enough!...]

• CHRISTOPHER CREEK IN PAYSON  EARLY SEPTEMBER is PERFECTION
• !!! Houston Mesa Campground NEAR Water Wheel Falls (Payson) NEAR Flowing Springs [fIrst half september 87/57, SECOND HALF OF SEPTEMBER 82/52 sweet spot.

Oct -- Really this is the time to stay home and get the winter garden started. IF you go camping...Prescott, Mingus [may-oct] OR Oak Creek Canyon/Sedona...

• Last chance for Mingus !!!!
• Cave Springs, Sedona
• ??Houston Mesa near water wheel 72/42 range

Nov--Dawntrips Hike the 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--Dawntrips Hike the AZ Desert [Hidden Valley, Pioneer Museum? Fat Man's pass, Sears-Kay Ruin (Hohokam)] Have back-yard fires and toast marshmallows.

So camping season is really May--October 

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.

So let's get out there, and go Rangering....

Sunscreen Woes: Protecting my little Melanin-challenged Children from the Sun

White people are really fragile mutants from the far poles. Now that they have ventured from their dim polar homelands into the rest of the world bombarded with solar energy, precautions must be taken. They do not have 'white' pigment. Their "whiteness" is simply the lack of melanin, or in our modern kind-speak they are 'melanin-challenged'. 

Their melanin-challenged skin is not able to properly shield their DNA from the blast of our star's cosmic rays.

Obedient hat-wearing child, yet unburnt            Hat-hurling child who burnt toasty pink     

I must protect my little white mutants from the Sun.

Even in chilly October, the UV got to 6/7. Normally we are inside 11-3, so I forget how real this is. Little Irene burned even with her hat on 50% if the time, and slathered in sunscreen. I trusted in my 11% mineral sunscreen, and like the reed of Egypt, it splintered in my hand.

It was a nice sunscreen, Banana Boat Mineral sport. It had a runnier texture, but was still a little greasy, from an older formulation. I think maybe two years old? Only 7 months expired. I have used sunscreens much more expired than that which worked. Alas, I think this particular tube had been left in the hot car at some point earlier. It smelled and felt perfectly fine. But despite slathering my protesting offspring in it, little Irene the hat-hurler's crisped all pink, and my face (we ran out of hats, I knew my duty as mother and went without) burned pink and it was painful when putting on my lotion the next day. 

Things learned/Rules for Sunscreening my mutants.

1. Even mineral sunscreen can get less efficacious if left in the hot car too long. The heat may mess with the suspension of the zinc & titanium dioxide particles, letting them clump up more, thus creating more of a 'net' than a shield. (like in home-made sunscreens having a fraction of the SPF of the commercially mixed ones), 
2. Only get 18% + zinc oxide sunscreens. I am disappointed with this 11% stuff that relies on its suspension so much. The more the better. Also, Zinc protects better in the UVA region than Titanium.
3. Use the FRESH, JUST-BOUGHT sunscreen for camping & hikes. THAT IS WHEN IT MATTERS MOST. If I have old stockpiled stuff, use that for day to day homeschool days when it is only needed for non-peak hours.
4. Runnier textured sunscreens (that Jenny loves) only buy fresh (never more than six-months supply) and store extras in a cool dark place. [NEVER leave them in the car, even once. If going to the pool, bring them along in your purse and keep in the shade]
5. Kids under 5 shed their hats at every opportunity...so slather on the sunscreen. And keep training them to wear their hats!

Hiking with Children: Strategies for Success

Tip #1

Bring Candy, but only dispense it during the hike. Or it will not work. It doesn't have to be candy, but it has to be special. [dried cranberries, cookies, strawberries] It needs to be a triumphant snack to ceremoniously eat at landmarks (Keep marshmallows for general camping, roasted over the fire. We promise 3-4 marshmellows per kid, that can be revoked one at a time for bad behavior, and reinstated for good behavior)

Food helps everything. Trailmix, little sandwiches. You don't need to go crazy, someone needs to carry this stuff. Probably the 14 yr old boy, who will not complain about having to lug along extra calories

(These teens moods would have greatly benefitted from snacks.)

Tip #2

Everyone over 6 carries their own water. Buddies carry water for littles. Need comfortable water carrying.

Tip #3

Hats are a must. In addition to preventing toasted children, and skin cancer, they keep the head from heat headaches as well.

Tip #4

Buddies stick together

Tip #5

If near a creek, hike in rubber sandals and socks. Wool socks if cold. Bring extra socks. Rubber sandals dry off pretty instantaneously (unlike soggy sneakers), and the socks can be changed out with dry ones. If its cold, have them wear 2 layers of socks. The top layer being adult wool-blend socks.

Tip #6

Mom carries extra socks, toilet paper, small shovel, and pee funnel for the girls. 

Tip #7

Sing while you hike! Especially on the return, the downslope. The little ones love to sing "the road goes ever on and on." It lifted up my heart as we trudged back, and Irene and Ruhi and Ana were leading me in a rendition of it.

Tip #8 stop at the places they find fun. Sometimes we need to pause our adult "must complete this hike" mode, and remember, the whole reason we are doing this. It's for them to experience wonder. So when they have those moments, stop. Whether that's a creek, a pile of pebbles, or a big rock. 

Camping List for Cold Weather

 Applicable to Payson in October[65-70/45-41night], or the Rocky Mountains in July. Sedona in May [75day/52night]. Note: Oct 16 in Christopher Creek is 61/41. Need fleece hats for the night!!

[Temperature ranges of 70s-60s in the day, to 50s-40s at night]

Prepare yourself for complaints that this was a terrible idea, from the local child population, early in the morning, and in the cold evening.

The best antidote is hot chocolate milk, a working propane camp-stove [or even better, a rocket stove] is a must-have.

And wool socks. Adult size is fine, stuck indiscriminately onto children, pulled up like medieval hosen. And hats. They all need something keeping their ears warm. And those puffy winter coats for the mornings, and the nights.

Cold Camping List [days 61-70, nights 41-46]

Chuck Bag (Personal care) Put each category into a labeled gallon ziploc bag inside of the chuck bag. It makes it very easy to quickly find things, when the call for bandaids or hair ties goes up.

• Flashlights/Lanterns. Headlamps best for setting up camping the dark.
• Sunscreen & aloe vera gel
• Toothbrushes, Toothpaste, Xylitol mints
• Hairbrush & hair ties & hair oil
• Babywipes and Hand Sanitizer
• Bandaids, Ointment
• Allergy Meds, emergency benadryl
• Bugspray [and anti-itch cream]
• Duct tape (if the zipper gives out on a tent, a lifesaver)
• LED string lights
• Bible, Books for Daddy to read to us during the downtime in the camp
• car cell phone charger

Clothing & Kit

• Hats,  Sunglasses
• Waterbottles on belts [carabiners]
• Puffy Coats 
• Polarfleece Jackets//hoodie
• ADULT WOOL SOCKS FOR EVERYONE

• Clothes
• long sleeve shirts/tunic/dress & short sleeve shirts x # of days
• leggings x # of days
• 2 x underwear x # of days
• 2 x socks  x # of days
• 2 pairs of sweatpants or fleece pants [like over-pants, a MUST for night-time]
• !! Fleece Jacket [wear over long sleeved cotton jammy shirt]
• If there's a creek, double the clothes for little kids
• !!!If it gets down to 50s at night, polar fleece jacket and polar fleece pants for all the littles, to wear over their jammies
• Fleece hats to sleep!! (Or hoods)
• Rubber sandals
• BOOTS or sneakers

Camp

• Sleeping Bags and Pillows 
• !!!! if night gets under 52, you NEED polarfleece lining, like a sleep sack, inside of the sleeping bag PER KID. Wrap the little ones in polarfleece coats and pants inside of their sleeping bags
• Mattress Pad for Josh, and his pillows and knee pillows
• Tarps
• Tents [make sure you pack the rain flys!]
• Shade Tent
• chairs
• 2 fold up poly picnic blankets (lying down looking at the stars)
• little broom & dustpan for breaking down camp
• 2 empty gallon jugs, 5 gallon jug
• Campstove & Propane
• Branch cutter* [if no fire restriction]
• !!Rocket stove* [if no fire restriction]

Chuck Box

• Garlic salt, pepper, salt, sugar, tea
• Foil
• Ladle
• Wood flat spoon
• Metal cups for hot cocoa
• Disposable table-cloths
• Paper plates and Paper towels 
• Trashbags
• Canopener
• Firestarter and matches
• Dutch oven [foil packets are a joke] for open fire OR pan for rocket-stove
• Pot for boiling water for tea
• Mugs for cocoa and cereal
• Forks, spoons, knives
• Cutting board
• dishpan
• Shears
• parachute cord/string

Food

Day 1—lunch 1130am just before we hit the road	Left-overs
Day 1 dinner	Hamburgers/Hotdogs, bell peppers, carrot sticks
Day 2  Breakfast	Milk & cereal, apples & cheese OR Cheesy Grits,
Day 2 Lunch	Cold cut sandwiches Cold sausages from last night. Boiled eggs bell peppers, carrot sticks
Day 2 Dinner	Sausages & Potatoes and cheese [pre-cooked potatoes in Tupperware]  [[Ramen noodles + eggs]]
Day 3 Breakfast	Apples and cheese

Grocery Shopping List

1. 2 lb Cheese blocks x number of days
2. Butter or oil
3. Cooked Potatoes
4.  Onions, carrot, 
5. ketchup, mustard
6. Cereal & Milk & BOWLS/CUPS
7. !!!!cocoa
8. Tea & sugar
9. Buns
10. Bread!!
11. Cream cheese
12. Cereal
13. Marshamellows
14. Peanut Butter
15. Boiled eggs
16. Raw Eggs? [if outside temps cold enough]
17. Milk
18. Lunchmeat [freeze before]
19. !!Hot dogs & Sausages [freeze before]
20. Carrot sticks
21. Bell Peppers
22. Apples
23. Salt, Sugar,Garlic Powder
24. Ramen noodles
25. ?Grits
26. Peanuts & minimarshamellows & craisins [trailmix] OR Peanuts and cinnamon toast crunch cereal, makes a nice trailmix. Basically Peanuts + sweet thing. Half unsalted and half salted peanuts makes just the right amount of salt.
27. Savory trailmix---peanuts, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), savory chex, [garlic salt, parmesan]

Additional Tips

• First, make sure the van has enough gas! This loses 30/40 minutes "on the way" to get gas. [note: Mesa to Payson only takes 1/4 tank up. And Payson gas is cheaper]
• Group together things by type (e.g. first aid, teeth, skincare) in gallon zip lock bags inside the chuck bag. Kept all the essentials together for easy access

• Josh's very snug requirements
• 3 camping mats
• Egg crate 
• Mattress fragment
• 2 orange Coleman sleeping bags zipped together
• 2 low quality green Ozark trail sleeping bags unzipped used on top as blankets 
• Green fleece blanket
• Hat!
• H---for night clothing, loose large layers, better than tight layers!
• A night-cap [preferably a fleecy hat. Also can use a man's shirt as an improvised balaclava, face through the head-hole, arms tied around your head] It makes a world of difference.