Howdy folks, thanks for stopping by. This will be an ongoing effort to keep an up to date listing of places I have stopped for overnights. In order to make it more usable, I will be using labels for the posts and will enable searching by label. Labels I intend to use are for: State, County, Vault(if it has), Primitive (if no facilities at all), Water (if near enough to walk to), Noise level, Pet friendly, Fishing, Hiking, Road condition. If I think of more that are needed, will add them at that time :)

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Apache Sunrise area

Visually, I think this has been my favorite for a forest camp.

from the first Showlow camp, I went through the town of Mcnary on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation, and then out the east side of it near the town of Greer, the forest was totally different than that around Show Low, even though it wasnt all that far away in miles. The trees were much larger, the woods felt more majestic, and there were open grasslands interspersed in the area. When I pulled off the main road I was greeted by a sign stating that I was now in an Active wolf recovery area (which thrilled me).

Pictures will be forthcoming, but today mostly getting down the words while I have power.

it was primitive camping at it's best, no facilities, there were springs nearby, and plenty of space to breath.. it was colder than Show Low, and the only real downside is that I had to deal with mice for the first time! he was a cute little bugger, but frustrated me to no end, and because of him I ended up leaving much sooner than I would have liked to. I also for the first time heard an Owl during the night, and I would just lay there smiling while he called and hunted.

I will go back once I seal the truck a bit better! there are so many gaps he could get in that it's not feasible for me to keep a mouse out for now. :)

Show Low Az. FR 300


I spent a few weeks in the Show Low Area, I really enjoyed the pines there, being close enough to town to get a good signal on the Aircard, and the ability to walk into the nearest Circle K (convenience store, 4 mile round trip).

the Area i was in was just off of Forest road 300, there was no attempt to find a campground or other developed area, I just found a side road off of the forest road and pulled under some trees.

because if was not developed in any way, and was so close to town.. the forest area was trashed in alot of ways. there were piles and piles of crap that folks has just dumped out the back of their trucks, so that was very disheartening. But I did like the area and will return. I spent almost 3 weeks at this location, it was monsoon season for Az, so got rain most afternoons and was able to capture gallons of it for cooking and basic needs. Plenty of wood around for fires, and the nights were very comfortable (50s).

I am not positive, but I believe I came across 2 tent camps where folks were living full time. I came across the tents while out hiking in the woods, off of any trail, they were fully set up and appeared well supplied from a distance, but there was no vehicle approach at all to them. I figure they were keeping a low profile from the FS, but close enough to town to hold a job. Neither resident caused me any problems

Rim Camp, FR 171


As you go up the Mogollon rim, there is a visitor center on the South side of the road, Right next to that (same turnoff) is Forest road 171, initially, there are day use sites that look out over the rim, but as you go further down the road you will see campsites.. At the turnoff to the visitor center, there is a vault toilet, but the sites are far enough down the road that you probably wont want to walk back to them often.

I enjoyed the sites, they were very large and relatively isolated from the other sites nearby, but being at the edge area of a large cliff made it very windy! I only stayed a couple days because of that. There were trails through the area, and I probably will go back, I just need to not expect to have my tarps set up!! unsure if I have pics, will try to find them later :)

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Bear Canyon Lake, Overguard Az area




beautiful area, actually Forest Service campground, multiple vaults for camping use, really large area set aside for camping.

Dirt road back into the campground, somewhat washboarded because of the high volume of use, but saw it being graded while I was there so they pay attention to it. Saw rangers 4 to 5 times a week while I was there.

The approach to the lake can be problematic if your a kayaker/canoer, it's down a switchback trail of about a 1/4 mile. not too steep, but tight manuvering if your carrying anything large. The water is very picturesque, and I hear there is good trout there.. I barely tried, but didnt catch anything. there are 2 other approaches that can be used to the lake, one is forest road 208 from the west end, and the other goes to the back side of the lake. The area accessed by forest road 208 does have campsites but no facilities, the back of the lake is pretty much undeveloped and you can find plenty of spots there. the advantage of the backside is that there is an access road that would make bringing in a boat much easier, you cannot drive to the water, but taking the 1/4 mile on a smooth incline is easier than switchbacking.

by the time I left here, I had been approached by the Forest service and asked to host here the next summer. I still have the contact info, but so far unwilling to commit to that.

Strawberry camp, North of Payson Az




just north of Strawberry Az, pulled off on a forest road and spent a couple weeks there pretty much undisturbed by others.

No facilities, a pure dry camp, was low 90's during the hottest part of the summer days, and the nights were very comfortable. I was close enough to the highway that I would sometimes hear traffic, but overall it was quite comfortable. Plenty of forage for firewood, no mosquitoes, good sun for the solar panels.

Monday, December 7, 2009

Matzatzal Casion, payson Az

they have a good sized lot set aside for Rv's, campers.. right next to the tribal police office, so the odds of running into a bad element are minimal. S

Sonic Drive in within 100 yards, Restaurant and cafe in the casino itself, summer temps can be in the low 90's, but its not bad at all compared to the Phx area.

signs in the parking lot saying you can stay for 3 days, I talked to one gentleman there that said they had told him he could stay as long as he wished. I didnt personally talk to any of the staff to confirm that. I stopped in a few times over the summer of 2009 when I was in town for a day or two.

no pics here -Grin- it's a parking lot...

Noise level was ok, a bit loud since the main road into Payson Az runs right by the casino, but I was actually bothered more by the sound of generators that some class A's had going during the night.

Easy access in and out, and to food. Free Wifi from the casion, simply had to start up IE and enter your email address.

Upper Pinal Campground, Near Globe Az




first camp when I became a dweller was the Upper Pinal Campground on the top of Pinal Mountain just to the southwest of Globe Az.  Even though it was June in the desert, the top of the mountain was comfortable with highs in the mid 80’s.  There were only 3 campsites there, though I suppose that out of the campround you could find spaces to park for overnights.. didnt see many folks up there in the 10 days I stayed and liked it that way. There was no water available there, but a clean vault toilet was avail. the 3 sites had either fire rings or in the case of mine, a grill, and there was plenty of forage for firewood.

The days were very comfortable for the summer, and nights were great. though when thunderstorms rolled through, they were right on top of you!

While there, I saw a few deer, 1 skunk, 1 western Rattlesnake, and what I 'Think' was stinging nettle.. which is edible for foraging.. I didnt know enough then so didnt try any, will fix that when I go back.

The road up to the campground is dirt/gravel, and very windy and in some cases almost single lane.. not someplace you want to take a long trailer or 5th wheel to.

I do recommend it!

Welcome :)

will be using this blog to post notes about the various spots I've dry camped, and include pictures of the area for fellow Vandwellers and others that are interested.