Camping Season Witches

To close out summer we spent the weekend in the cooler weather with our camping crew. We opted for Prescott since it was a close drive and just far away enough to sleep under the stars. We haven't really been camping at all this summer since it's so hot in AZ and traveling anywhere else wasn't an option due to funding and scheduling.  But we wanted to make a point to get out every couple weeks to be outside and enjoy nature, so we met up with our family and friends and sat under the trees for a couple days. 

 Starting the morning with summer brew and orange juice.

 camping life is a lot of this, moving around finding the shaded spots cooking delicious food, we don't just do granola bars and MREs friends.

 It was actually cool enough to have a fire during breakfast.

 as the evening winded down we found ourselves attacked with loud buzzing bugs.  Here's one that died flying into the jeep light.  Maybe it was just stunned but either way, no thanks.

Moving on.  This is breakfast routine.  Sam makes eggs and hash browns.  I take my vegetarian cut and then they add in chorizo.  We try to cook over the open fire when possible, although sometimes we opt for the tiny gas stove.  It completely depends on the weather and amount of effort anyone is interested in putting in.  Our dutch oven is too heavy for the small stove, so anything big gets placed in there for a longer cook time.  Sort of like a slow cooker.  

My favorite part of camping is getting the kids to disconnect, they get technology on the ride out and home but once we're there, there are no devices.

 My oldest always talks about how much she doesn't like camping but once we're out there, she's exploring and entertaining herself.  The younger one is a wildling and always finding treasures and magic.  She found a bunch of stones and made a fairy ring.  She also found this stone with a chunk missing and was talking about how it was made and formed.  Little archaeologist + witch.

Anyway that's us and camping, if you haven't read more about our adventures you can find them here and here.  And, if you have any suggestions on where we should explore next, drop them in the comments or tell me on instagram.

It's Camping Season Friends!

Recently, someone asked me, "What do you do when you go camping?" and my response was kind of reflex; we sleep. cook. eat. drink. 

But, then, I thought about that more and really tried to figure out what they were asking, like in a spiritual sense what are we doing in the woods, or desert or beach?  For us, we don't go to church we don't believe in a judeo-christian god so our religion is nature, it's observing the wonders of the world while living in harmony with them.  We don't really get a chance to do that in our current society, everything is manufactured and artificial comfort.  We don't hunt or forage for our food on a daily basis, we don't feel the cold or the heat when we don't want to, we don't worry about the comfort of our beds or roof over our head.  But in nature, its simplified, it's reduced to its core.  We simply are present.  Our phones often do reach to where we camp, but ideally we turn them off when we get there, we avoid the temptation to check back in, we make a conscious effort to check out.  I still take pictures out of habit, and sometimes I forget. Sometimes, like this weekend, we camp with friends.  The kids like this most because they head off on adventures and climb and get dirty, they cook their own hot dogs (or vegan dogs) over the campfire, they find stones and feathers, they drink hot tea, they sleep when it's dark, they rise with the sun.

My answer upon reflection should have been something more like; Camping is the spiritual for us, all of it.  Listening. Re-wilding.  Sometimes we walk and gather, other times we listen.  I usually journal on longer trips, but mostly it's one of the rare times I'm actually present.

So I guess my question to you is, do you camp? what do you do when camping, both spiritually and literally?

 This weekend we camped near Prescott, it was really cold.

 just to point out this little girl NEVER wears her jacket, we were all cold.

 camping dogs.

these two humans have been friends since birth.  I found out I was pregnant with her the day we met him and his parents at the hospital.

husband being burly and chopping fire wood.

Emily cooking over an open fire. 

//  toasting english muffins, because we bring some comforts. 

the kids like camping because we let them pick out their own personal snacks, like this giant bag of popcorn.

 // someone found a rock throne.

Let's Go! {Lynx Lake + Campground}

As you know we've been making an effort to travel and explore even more this year! This month our destination was Lynx Lake only an hour out of Phoenix, just on the outskirts of Prescott.

When we arrived the kids and pups played and lounged while we set up the tents.

goofy face and all

As soon as our tents were set up we took a walk down to the lake. this was definitely one of the most managed sites we've camped at and the majority of the walk to the lake was on paved path. 

We did have to cut though the woods but once we were there there was another paved bike and pedestrian path,

But for as populated as this site was, we did make some new friends like this little snake {above}.

People were not permitted to swim in the lake which is one disappointing and two concerning, what's in the water that shouldn't be on people? 

We still temped the mosquitoes and played on the small shore.

and don't get us wrong it was a beautiful view.

One of the main reasons I love camping with my girls is to get them off the technology streak and touching dirty sticks and mud.

Sam and Macey decided to let Frankie test out her new life vest, and while she was hesitant about walking in the water she had a blast once we tossed her in.

and after our little hike we came back to our site for some rest before evening festivities, see eating and drinking.

cheers.

We did bring fire wood, but not quite enough so we sent the boys out to gather some and they came back with this log.

with the combination of store bought and found wood, we were set for our bonfire that evening.

and it could not have been a better weekend to see the stars especially with a moon rise over campfire.

Is it weird that I always try to pick camping weekends on those of the full moon, should I be more scared of werewolves?! because I'm not. 

Breakfast burritos for breakfast are our camping go to.

those and egg + cheese sandwiches!

or just cheese even.

and a little lizard friend we made just before heading out.

Here's some details about the campsite {1 being worst, 10 being best}:

Location {and Distance}: 5

Located about an hour away from Phoenix, completely paved and barely outside of Prescott.

Road: 10

The road to the campsite is a normal street because it's literally five minutes outside of Prescott.

Secluded: 3

This is a good site for families and activities and camping without the risk of being stuck in the middle of no-where so as far as secluded, it wasn't.  Granted the sites are far enough apart you're not on top of your neighbors it's still not as secluded as we like to experience.

View: 5

Decent views from places within the campsite, but nothing spectacular from actual site, it was more the walking down to the water that gave this site it's views.

Bathrooms: 9.5

flushing toilets, but still those public restroom vibes without soap and such.

Campsite Fixtures: 8

Fire pit and table, and a smooth section for a tent.

Trash, Water and Food: 5

Trash, water and food should always be stored in the trunk where bears, and rodents can not see it or access it.  There was a dumpster on site for disposal of trash, but not recycling.  There was a water pump near our site.  but there was no wild harvesting food nearby.

Animals: 4

We saw two animals plus a ferral cat at this site, so we were happy with our nature experience.

Pets: Yes

Pets were allowed on a leash at this site.

Group Accommodation:4-6 people

We had 4 adults and 2 kids in the space and I know it was a two car max per site, I think 8 adults would be very crowded though.

Water {lakes, ponds, and oceans}: 7

There was a lake 1/4 mile down a paved trail, man made but pretty and the dam is well hidden so it looks a little more natural.  Literally, as soon as my daughter started complaining we were there.  It was paved but we took a shortcut though the forest for like 5 minutes, and then back to paved walkway.  There weren't signs for walking to the lake but we just looked at our phones and followed the blue dot closer to the water.

Well Drained: 10

Our campsite was cleared, elevated and well draining, would have been fine for slight rain.

Firewood: 8

We brought 3 bags of store bought wood and still needed more wood.  Thankfully, there was plenty of kindling and logs from the ground around.

Management: National Forest Services

Campsites were VERY well managed and very clean.

Reservations: 10

must make reservations on recreation.gov

Cost and Permits: $19 I think with out discount and a $9 online service fee.