It has to be a "sperm" whale doesn't it?

Ah the great outdoors...we just returned from our first Arizona camping trip and it was pretty awesome! We spent 3 nights in the Fool Hollow Campground in Lakeside, AZ. We arrived around 8:30 p.m. on Friday night to a preset Kitzbuel and fairly windy conditions. The Tucson gang had arrived around 5:00 p.m., set up camp, and drank a few beers. We set up our gargantuan (100 x 75 feet easily) tent for only the second time ever in the dark and got to work making burgers. It was a delicious dinner and the time flew as the wood burned down. That night was very windy...it was prepare for takeoff windy. The dogs were scared and very unnerved at the prospect of spending the night in a tent that shook violently with every gust of wind. We made it.

The next morning was just as windy and Dave kept saying things like "What do you expect? We're on top of a mountain!" This did not have the calming effect I'm sure he intended it to have. We took a hike down to the lake and met a humongous squirrel...he could have held his own with Hudsy. It was much nicer down by the lake with the giant rocks as cover. We ate a lot, we got a lot of wood, we burned a lot of wood, and the wind finally died down. This evening was much calmer and a little cooler as well. We ate burgers again and chilled by the fire, having our normal abnormal fireside discussion. Ready for a much more restful night, we turned in only to be awoken at 4:00 a.m. by a dog fight. Were they wild dogs? Were they pets loose and on the prowl? We'll never know, but they barked for hours and finished with a hearty howl at the moon.

On our final day, I had a killer headache and sunburn (my face was purple) and I missed a lot of it. By all accounts I think it was a pretty lazy day, I spent most of it sleeping the tent. Dan left around 4:30 for his training the next day in Phoenix. Our mission for this third and final night: burn all of the wood from the 11 foot tree we scavenged from the grounds. Oh it was difficult, but we did it. Our asses did not leave our camp chairs except to get food, use the bathroom, or warm said asses. The Buttons got pretty cold really early and his mission for the night was to get inside the tent. He whined for hours on end while our wood pile dwindled. He paused momentarily as a very surprising cat fight ensued just yards away from us. Were they wild bobcats? No, just some random house cats that looked like Rusty and a gray Rusty duking it out on the cliffs. Finally, when I got up to use the restroom for the last time that night, Hudson made his move. Apparently, he climbed up into my camp chair, Zac covered him with a fleece blanket, and he fell asleep. Later when we did go to bed, he was shivering so we let both dogs sleep under the covers with us. This was the warmest of the nights...although I had to fight for a place on the air mattress.

We got up this morning, and left around 11:00 a.m. The drive back offered some spectacular views of Salt River Canyon. We made it back in about 3 hours...record time. It was a fun trip, but we're all happy to be home!