Camping

We spent most of last week camping at Knoll Lake. We don't fish or have a boat, but it's such a nice place to camp! It's way up on top of the Mogollon Rim, so it's kind of secluded and not usually very busy. They also recently renovated all the sites, so they all have new tables, grills, and fire rings, and they have nice tent pads. The outhouses are even pretty good! As far as outhouses go, that is.


The kids had their own tent, and they did really well sharing sleeping space. I didn't sleep very well the first couple of nights because I was worried about Robbie getting cold. He did get himself out of his sleeping bag & he got really cold. But Erin is so good with him! In the mornings, she would get him into her sleeping bag with her so he could get warm, and we could hear her singing to him and talking to him. It was fun to listen to.

At the lake, the kids liked throwing rocks and watching the schools of little tiny fish along the shore. We usually catch crawdads & throw them back, but they weren't cooperating this time. (They're like, "Oh great, it's those people who mess with us".) There were a lot of ladybugs there, which the kids liked. You can't tell from this picture, but Robbie was delighted to have one on his finger! He was talking to it & blowing it kisses.

Robbie did really well on the hikes to the lake. That kid did a lot of walking! He and Erin played together a lot, and they were completely filthy within about an hour of us setting up camp. It's amazing how much dirt can stick to two little kids. They ran around all day, every day, and they were both worn out and ready for bed at night.

Of course, we did the usual hot dogs and s'mores. There's just something special about stuff you can cook on a stick! Or if you can wrap it in foil and put it in the fire... we always do foil dinners, too. We rounded it out with steaks and burgers on the other nights, and we always stop at Chili's in Payson on our way home to ease us back into civilization.

While we were in Payson, we went to see the mobile replica of the Vietnam memorial wall. I saw this once in Illinois on my mission & it was neat to see it again. It's about half the size of the real one in Washington D.C., and it's amazing to see all those names. We explained it in simple terms to Erin, and we told her it was kind of a reverent place. The kids were both pretty good there. I was humbled to see veterans leaving flowers or taking rubbings of names. It was a neat experience.

All said, we had a nice little trip! It's always good to be home afterward & get all cleaned up and back to civilized life.