To get up in the tall, tall Ponderosa Pines, hear the cawing of crows and have elk tramp through your camp in the early, dewy morning, that is living. Then you hear the grouse ruffing up their feathers sounding like a chain saw trying to be started. Throw some cowboy coffee on the campfire while everyone else is comfy in sleeping bags and having the dawn between me and nature is almost sinful.

The hike will be up the San Francisco Peaks getting up to about 11000 feet above sea level at Fremont Saddle. Fremont Peak is the most accessible of the four peaks and one of the least visited. Humphrey’s Peak is the highest spot in Arizona and a shorter, steeper trail which I believe gets the greatest traffic. The second highest Peak is Agassiz, but it is illegal to climb without snow-pack. Fremont has a great view into the crater and out toward flagstaff and the meteor crate and on to the East.

There is still plenty of camping in campgrounds and off the roads in the area. It is your choice as to having restrooms and running water in campgrounds. (Note: there are usually restrictions from late May until Monsoon Season on fires outside campgrounds with fire rings.)

Arizona is blessed with variety and beauty. Happy camping.

And if you come here in an RV, you just might be called a snowbird -people who migrate to Arizona from the frosty burbs of the northland. We love snowbirds and we love to meake fun of them. First, snowbirds bring a tremendous boost to our communities, buying groceries, gas and renting spaces for the RV’s. Second, they add quite a burden to oour congestion. Even though there are over 2400 square miles of Maricopa County where Phoenix, Glendale, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, Peoria and surprise, a town called Suprise! as well as Sun City retirement community.

To the West, near the California border is Quartzite, Arizona the gem pickers Shangri La. The community picks up over 100 thousand wintertime residents who typically stay until March or April. North of Quartzite is Laughlin, Nevada for a little legal gaming.

More and more people are spending their time off-work enjoying activities outdoors. In the summer hiking and biking, cayaking and rowing, fishing and shooting or driving through lovely forested areas taking pictures, are edifying ways to enjoy one’s free time. During the Northern winters of course, snow play and skiing top the list. In the Southern winter climes golf, hiking and biking remain favorites.

Regardless of where you are, unless it is dangerously cold, you can rent a cabin and get close to the action. Skiing whether in the West or the East is satisfying for amateurs of all abilities. From the Bunny slope to the Black Diamond pipe, the challenge of staying more or less upright energizes the skier and adds value to life.