I’ve been enjoying the change of scenery and the break from driving where I’ve been camping for the past several days in northern Arizona. South of the Grand Canyon and west of Flagstaff and the San Francisco Peaks I found a very nice area in the forests near Williams, amongst the large mature ponderosa pines to pitch my tent.
Although a very popular camping destination on the weekend when I arrived, I still managed to find a place away from other campers with some privacy, and plenty of peace and quiet.
There are so many campsites along the roads just in this one small area I’m at, that I don’t imagine there’d ever be a time when one couldn’t find at least one free campsite. There are dozens, if not over a hundred spots back in this area that one could camp, and most can fit full size RVs, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an area with quite this many spots to camp, it’s definitely a nice camping destination for those looking to be near civilization with cellphone service while still having the feeling of being deep in the forest.
I had never been in this area of the state either, so I was excited to see some new scenery, and it seems I picked a terrain to camp at that is in between the high desert below and the mountains above. I found some really nice views on a hillside during a hike one evening, looking down at the flatland below where all the camping opportunities lie.
And the nearby dog town lake:
The area has been pretty thinned out by logging, so the forests
aren’t as thick as they naturally would be, but still plenty of trees for shade, and plenty of open space for sunshine in the mornings when it’s cool and to catch some solar power...
It is quite dry and dusty, however, with a fire ban in place so there have unfortunately been no campfires, and the red dirt turns Dakota colors, a thin layer practically covering her at times!
Even so dirty, she’s still cute, though...
As nice as my time here has been, I’m ready and excited to head north towards Montana to more familiar (and cooler) country with water around, but first we’ll have to stop in some really nice country in Utah for a couple nights or so on the way up there. So time to hit the road once again, before finally reaching a destination that will put an end to the long drives at least for a month or two.
Oh, and before I go, here’s a really nice view of the San Fransisco Peaks from a meadow we drove through on our way into the campsite I found.
