5 Shots: A Pleasant Surprise

A colleague suggested a camping spot ninety-minutes away tucked under Ponderosa Pines and surrounded by Mountain Laurel. She promised valley views, and Jim and I felt an escapade was needed. 260 to 87S. Mile Marker 277. Drive through the gate a mile and veer left. Okay, we’ll try it!

Alligator Juniper

We headed up to the high country for glamping and campfire dinner. As we relaxed, we put on George Harrison’s tribute concert from 2002 at London’s Royal Albert Hall. We felt like we were at an outdoor concert. The crisp air combined with a slight breeze whistling through the pines lulled us to sleep. This morning, we hiked along the precipice. This is the Mogollon Rim from the west side. How many times have we driven by this spot thinking we needed to travel 3.5 hours to get there? We halved our time and fell in love with the view and privacy. Not a soul to be found.  Which shot do you like best?

“The Mogollon Rim is a topographical and geological feature cutting across the U.S. state of Arizona. It extends approximately 200 miles, starting in northern Yavapai County and running eastward, ending near the border with New Mexico. It forms the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau in Arizona.” Wikipedia
Glamping. We pull around a king-sized bed. Hey, it works for us!
The Rim
Mountain Laurel
Natural Paint

Three cheers to my friend at work. What a spot-on suggestion!

48 thoughts on “5 Shots: A Pleasant Surprise”

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    1. I wish I knew a geologist so I could ascertain what kind of micorb or deposit causes such colorful “paint” on the sides of the bluffs. Another dimension of beauty on an already beautuful area. Thanks for your vote!

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    1. Thank you, Allen. Awesome answer. It’s how I feel up on the precipice. The longer I’m out there the less I like cities and towns. It feels good to be away from everyone and everything. Certainly for the weekend.

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    1. Hi John. He’s a deep thinker. 😉
      Natural Paint is my favorite. We missed the sunrise which would have provided more colorful changes to the rocks with a pink glow hitting it. A reason to go back out in a couple of weeks.

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    1. Hi Fraggle. I thought of you coming home. I forgot (again) to take a picture of the foil dinners and the essence of the people at the event. We are so different. It doesn’t occur to me to bring in the human element. Something I have to work on.

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    1. Safety, warmth, and hot water. At my age, it has revolutionized how I experience the outdoors. The TAB can be pulled over rocky, decrepid back roads easily. No RVs for us. Just a comfortable way to look up at the stars and be in nature. Thanks very much, Pete. 🙂

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  14. I find the Mongol Rim the most captivating: it’s like a gateway to a great adventure that spreads as far as the eye can see… I can see an epic tale unfolding right before my eyes in that photo!

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  15. Nature expresses itself in many ways and sometimes in just plain rocks. But those plain rocks are not so plain are they? So much beauty there. I presume you have to be careful to watch out for rattlers?

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  18. Wow. I wish I had nature like that near me. All the photos you post look amazing. Here, most of the country is a desert wasteland = / I’d love to travel just to see nature like that, and to camp as well.

    I’m so jealous!!!

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      1. I’m guessing you visited the East Coast? Cos down in here in South Australia there is nothing to see at all haha, apart from the phots I have taken which you may have seen some of, they were all almost exclusively in the forests – the only part of this crappy place that looks nice. But its NOTHING compared to the pics you post!

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          1. Trust me, I have thought about it. Unfortunately my mental health has never allowed it, I still see my epilepsy specialist and I depend on my father waaay to much as well.

            I have made a goal tho to move to Melbourne or Sydney before I’m 40 to study film, probably cinematography since I love photography, but script/screenplay writing too since I already have some short stories that could I think could make for short films. But unfortunately this all depends on my health =/ There is no where to study anything to do with film in this dump of a city =/

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