Blue Ridge Reservoire, July 2009

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

We finally did it ... pulled the kayaks down from the ceiling in the garage, loaded (and I mean loaded) the van and headed up to the Blue Ridge Reservoir, about 40 mi. north of Payson along the Rim. What a great weekend. We met our friends from the Valley, Joy & Ty and their daughter Gabby who'd been up in the Show Low area visiting family. Luckily, they arrived much earlier than we, therefore able to secure a campsite. Which, by the way, was fabulous. Would definitely head back! facilities were clean, (and by clean, I mean smelled good too. LOL) We arrived late Friday night, just in time to set up our camp, get the boys to bed and visit for a few minutes.

Saturday morning - we were up early (of course. I mean, Campbell doesn't sleep past sunrise at home. put the kid in a tent and I'm lucky he slept as late as he did, which turned out to be somewhere between 5/5:30. ) Ty threw together a great breakfast and it was great to just hang out and enjoy the cool morning air while someone else made it happen. ha..ha... We ate, and just enjoyed the morning before hading down to the reservoir. It felt like the morning had passed, but it really wasn't much passed 8:30. We piled everyone back into the cars and made the trek to the launch site. Jon and Ian took one and Ty and Gabby the other. Joy, Campbell and I wished them a bon voyage and made tracks back to the campsite. Eventually Campbell went to sleep ...and I did too. I'm sure the gentle rocking of the hammock we were in was a big help there. It was great. Joy and I chatted, but really just enjoyed reading and resting. Isn't it great when you can hang with friends and it's cool just to be there - not having to entertain each other"? It was great. They gang managed to make it back to camp for lunch and we spent the rest of the day doing whatever it is you do when you're camping. LOL Out camping buddies headed back to Phoenix that night, but we stayed behind, enjoying another evening under the stars. Of course, this particular evening, the boys were excited to test their skills at roasting marshmallows. An interesting event to watch as you're trying to keep your 2 & 3 yr old clear of the fire. LOL The boys went to bed and Jon and I just enjoyed the quiet of the campfire ... the stars ... the night breeze. It was a great evening.

We all rose early with Campbell (and by WE, I mean us and anyone within earshot) We packed the van, cleaned the site and prepared to make out way. Turned on the van. Oh, wait, that's where it all went sour. Yeah. Dead battery. But, luckily the guy in a neighboring site had a battery in his camper we used to charge ours. (Yes, instead of jumping with his own car, he carries an actual spare car battery. Apparently he got burned one time. But, give him credit for not ditching the idea of being helpful altogether. We were quite thankful he was there and willing. Then again, he may have gotten wise to the fact that it was Campbell who woke the world that morning and perhaps just wanted to ensure would have a restful night. ha..ha.)

Too many photos ... I'm not going to caption them all, but if you know us, you know the players ... and the three you don't know are Joy, Ty and Gabby.