This Weekend in Arizona

Hello, my friends. And happy Monday to you all.

♥

This weekend Doug and I took a little trip to Young, Arizona for a one-night camping excursion. The weather was perfect, the company was fantastic, and I managed to take a few photos. Come on in...

One of the things we love about going to Young is the drive up. It's such beautiful terrain, and every time we make that drive there's something different in bloom. This time it was the saguaro cactus.

After being in the truck for a little over two hours, it's always wonderful to reach the top of the mountain and see this sign, along with the town of Young visible in the valley below...

We made our way through town and over to the other side to a place fondly known as The Wedding Meadow. We set up camp and commenced relaxing. {Yes, I wear camo pants at camp.}

Lucky is such a great little camping dog. He stays close to camp, frolics around chasing grasshoppers, and loves checking out all the new smells. Oh my gosh, he was filthy by the end of the weekend and got a double shampoo bath as soon as we got home.

When I said I wanted to go camping, but just for one night, my sweet hubby didn't even bat an eye. He loaded up the back of his truck for our quick trip, pitched the tent for only one night, and enjoyed it every bit as much as I did. ♥ I love Doug.

On Saturday afternoon we took a little trip up to The Sunday Tree. I have a post for tomorrow with more photos of this beautiful old juniper tree, but today I give you this one:

Him and me at The Sunday Tree:

It would be silly for me to blog about our weekend without including this next bit, and since I have Douglas to thank for accommodating my one-night-camping idea, I'm including this next photo. Doug recently purchased a new bow and has been practicing his aim because there's an archery elk hunt in his future. The little doe-eyed-deer you see in the background of the next photo is a target, and it surprised us all weekend when we'd catch a glimpse of it out of the corner of our eye. "HEY!! It's a de...oh...it's a target..." Anyway, Doug had a blast shooting his bow and I could barely watch because the target was so realistic and he is a darn good aim.

Saturday evening was so clear and beautiful, and we enjoyed a wonderful sunset. I loved that we didn't have to use the rain-flap on the top of our tent, which meant that every time I woke up during the night (and there were many times that night for one reason or another) I could look up through the tent netting and see the billion stars shining above us. Living in a big city makes our local star viewing not as spectacular, and with a sliver of a crescent moon on Saturday night the stars were a breath taking sight to behold.

I cooked a big ol' camp breakfast on Sunday morning for Doug. It was the least I could do!

And then we enjoyed a beautiful drive back home yesterday afternoon...

This is a big week around our place as we count down to Carrie's birthday this Friday. :o) And another exciting thing about this week is that it marks the beginning of Rinda's 2014 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt. This is her fourth year hosting the scavenger hunt and I'm excited to be participating again.

And with that, I'm off to tackle the week ahead.

Here's hoping your week is filled with awesome surprises!

♥

Camp Coffee. And Sunflowers.

Doug and I aren't coffee snobs. We like our basic coffee made with our own coffee pot every morning - Starbucks really doesn't do much for us. And when we camp, we take some of our basic coffee grounds and brew them up in a good old fashioned percolator on our camp stove.

 

Several years ago, Doug ended up with a coffee maker that plugged into his truck's cigarette lighter. We were so excited to take it camping and have some fresh brewed coffee at camp - and we were pretty sure everyone would see us as coffee hero's around camp. We got it all set up that morning at camp, plugged it in, and we waited. We waited. And waited. And finally: a drip. Waiting. Waiting. Another drip. Our friend Steve walked by the truck where we stood (waiting) and said, "I'll be on my second beer by the time that thing is done." Camp coffee fail.

And then there was the time I bought a coffee press because I thought it would be so handy on a camping trip. You put the grounds in (which had to be coarsely ground which meant having to buy special coffee and have it ground just right), pour some hot water over it, wait four minutes, press the handle down and voila! TWO small cups of coffee in the midst of six other people waiting in line with empty cups. Plus, there was a little bit of {good natured} ribbing about the fanciness of a coffee press at camp. Tough crowd.

We always went back to the tried and true, old fashioned percolator. And then recently, the unthinkable happened. The little bulb for the top of the pot broke, rendering this coffee pot useless at camp.

After shopping around we finally did find a replacement coffee pot, and we broke it in on our last camping trip. It worked great, perked enough coffee for Doug and I with plenty to share, and is all nice and shiny and new looking. For now.

But just because that top-knob-thingy is toast doesn't mean this vessel is of no further use.

We'll just fill it with some different kinds of wonderful from here on out.

♥

A Photo Shoot in the Forest

Yesterday I showed you photos of our niece's graduation party and cupcakes, and I was reminded that I hadn't shared the photos I took of her back in April to be used for her senior pictures. Allow me to show off our beautiful niece...

♥

When Kelli asked me if I'd take her senior pictures, I knew right away how they needed to happen. I told her I would, but I was pretty sure we needed to "go somewhere" for the shoot. She smiled and asked, "Young?" and I said, "Yep."

Kelli grew up camping and exploring around Young, Arizona. It's a favorite gathering place for our family, and there are so many fun memories connected to this place. So, we organized a family camping trip back in April - Kelli brought a few outfits to wear, and I brought my camera.

 

Having her dog, Chevy, in the photos was an absolute must for this girl. {Chevy is an Australian Sheppard, a little over a year old.} I loved seeing the joy that Chevy brings to Kelli, and their sweet connection was obvious and infectious.

 

I swear, every time I pointed my camera at this girl she lit up - such a natural and so comfortable being photographed by me - the aunt with the camera. Maybe that comes from all the practice we've had over the past 10 years since her Uncle Doug brought this girl into my life.

 

The most fun and sweet and adventurous and beautiful girl you could ever meet.

 

And this week she had 14" of her hair cut to donate to Locks of Love.

We need to do another photo shoot of her adorable new style.

I sure do love you, Kelli.

♥

Painted Rocks ~ Camping Craft

 

 

 

Rocks, acrylic paint, brushes, magazines, a pair of scissors, and mod podge.

It's how we roll at camp.

♥

On Making a Teardrop Trailer

There's something really cool about the process of putting something together - of having an idea in your head and thinking and planning about it long enough that the thoughts come together to create something that turns out to be just like you imagined it. I've had the experience myself on a small scale - making quilts or mini-books requires some forethought and planning about the order of things and how the whole thing will look when it's done.

Today I want to share the story of my brother-in-law Michael's teardrop trailer.

Doug's brother, Michael, is a carpenter by trade. He's a smart and creative guy, and he's been known to design and build a few things over the years that require that creative thought process - planning and figuring out what needs to be done to reach the end goal.

An avid hunter and camper, Michael decided a few years ago that he'd build his own teardrop trailer. He spent hours searching through information on teardrop trailers - how they were made, specs on measurements, designs that worked well or didn't work so well, wiring, molding, making the thing... And he took all those bits of information and worked them over in his mind and then he made his own teardrop trailer!

Last month was the first time Michael's trailer was brought along on a family camping trip. The trailer holds a queen-sized mattress, and Michael and his wife {my SIL, Janet} enjoyed a cozy night's sleep inside while the rest of us slept in tents.

The back of the trailer is designed to open up, creating a counter top for a cook stove if needed, and also some handy storage in the rear. Michael made his own curtains too, and the trailer has all kinds of handy little features - vents, windows, storage spaces, and even solar powered lights.

I can only imagine what a sense of pride and accomplishment Michael feels when he looks at this trailer. And he should! We're all pretty proud of him too.

How wonderful to have an idea, think it through, and make it happen.

Do you know someone who can do this?

And I don't mean build a trailer!

Michael's the only one I know who can do that. ;o)

♥

Camp Donuts - #11 of 52 Donuts

December 2011:
Me: "I really want a mini donut maker for Christmas."
Carrie: "You will never use it."
Me: "Yes I will. I want a donut maker - preferably a red one..."
Carrie: "You'll use it once and never again."
Me: "Nuh-uh! Maybe I'll do a blog feature and make a different donut recipe every week for a year..."
Carrie: "Oh my gosh."
Me: "I'll call it 52 Donuts."
Carrie: eyes rolling, head shaking, heavy sigh... "Oh Mother..."

Right. So, I made it to 10 different donuts and by the time I made it that far we were really sick of mini donuts. Truth be told, I haven't touched the donut maker for about a year now. {You can see the 52 Donuts posts here.}

There was still one more donut recipe I wanted to make, but it required a camp stove. Ok, not really - you can make these at home - but in my head I wanted them to happen on a camping trip. And there's not really a recipe - just a simple set of instructions to follow. Like this:

Using canned biscuits, poke a hole in the center of each with your finger. Get these ready while your oil is heating in the frying pan.

I used cheap canned biscuits for these. Don't get the fancy layered kind - just the store brand buttermilk biscuits work great for these. {For my readers who know a "cookie" as a "biscuit" - you can make these with any pre-made dough.}

Drop the biscuits in hot oil and fry on both sides until golden brown.

Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Toss in sugar and serve while still warm. 

My mom used to make these for us when we were kids and we loved them! This was the first time I'd made them myself, and they were every bit as good as the ones I watched her make. They were a quick and easy camping treat that will definitely be made again sometime.

And with that, I'm calling the 52 Donut challenge done over.

11 out of 52 donuts is a rather weak showing, but sometimes

you've gotta' know where to draw the line.

♥

Tips: Before you start frying, make sure you have everything ready: holes poked in biscuits, plate with paper towels set up, bag with sugar for tossing warm donuts. I had the oil a little too hot - camp stoves are tricky - and the insides of some were still a little dough-y. These taste like warm Krispy Kreme donuts when they are fresh, and they go fast!

This weekend at camp we...

...slept in tents.

...washed dishes outside.

...took naps.

...had our own camping chairs.

...took senior pictures and spent time with our pups.

 ...used gentle hands.

...doted on a sweet baby.

...painted rocks.

...took long walks.

...woke up to this view.

...and fell asleep to this one.

 ~sigh~

We had such a great weekend camping near Young, Arizona with friends and family. Here's hoping that each of you got to spend a little happy time in the company of people you love.

♥