Snow!

We spent the last three nights at Bogs Springs Campgrounds, in Madera Canyon. It is a National Park, part of the Coronado National Park.

We loved it there, even though the weather would not be to everyone's liking.

There are only 13 camping spots there, small by RV standards, which is fine with us. We arrived as people were leaving after the weekend, so got the primo spot. I won't say which one it was because we will want to go back and we don't want anyone else to have it. We are not nice people.

And we hiked to snow!

I think that the nights we were there we were one of only two campers in the campgrounds. We don't really understand this. All of those RVs in those RV campgrounds we have seen at Quartsite and Palmer Lake could be here instead?

The downside, I am sure, is that there are no "hookups" here--pit toilets, and no electricity. There is, however, water, and delicious water fed by springs from high up in the mountains. Springs we hiked to, in fact. Wonderful hikes, hard hikes, rewarding hikes. We loved it.

There is also the potential for it being cold. When we got up in the morning on our last day, it was 35 degrees, IN THE CAMPER. Boy were we ever glad we had a working furnace in our camper. Brrrrrr.

What is different about the desert, in contrast to home, is that after a cold and rainy night, the next day is sunny and bright! And we so we could get out doors.

It was quiet all of the time. In the mountains of Arizona, quiet, peaceful. One night the wind blew so hard that we felt like the entire pickup and camper were completely lifted off of the ground. It blew and blew all night, raining lightly but hard a lot of the night too.

It was such a contrast from our previous stay, and a welcome one at that, even though, for the most part, we enjoyed our previous place.

But this was a National Park, and the National Parks are really our place. We can't shower at them, there is no electricity or flush toilets, or vending machines. But there is quiet, and solitude, and beauty, and ways to not just look at the beauty, but also to touch it--to walk in it and mostly to hike in it.

I read once where the average tourist spends 20 minutes at the Grand Canyon. Drive to the lookout, take a few pictures, and leave. In 1997 my sister, brother-in-law Bill, and I did a 7 day raft trip down the Colorado river through the Grand Canyon. THAT'S the way to see the Grand Canyon--touch it, and really experience it.

Oh, I need to mention. My mother went with us. My 75 year old mother went with us, and had a ball. If she still could, she would be with us on this road trip, experiencing all that we are. She was more game on the Grand Canyon trip than were a lot of the college kids in our merry group. A number of the men remarked how envious they were of me, as they said they could never get their even younger wives to accompany them. My mother did the hikes, jumped into the Colorado River, and slept in the sand with the rest of us.

I was, and still am, so proud of her.

That is the way to experience America, and the outdoors. Touch it.

We did two hikes here. One was to Kent Springs, and the other was to Dutch John springs. Together they were 8+ miles, not a lot of distance. But the elevation gain was monstrous. Both were essentially walking up the entire time,

I hope the photos do justice to the park and to our hikes.

Our campsite:

The view out our "dining room" window:

Wild turkeys we ran across on one of our hikes:

Photos of our climbs:

Kent Springs. Our destination for our first day's hike. Were we ever glad to get there so we could begin our descent.

See the snow?

Soaking my foot. A ritual after hkes.