Rose Canyon Campground

We went camping in June with the Gunters and other Bloods at Rose Canyon Campground on Mount Lemmon. 

Behold, Elliot's terrifying stick mace 

 

Elliot's priority was getting his hammock set up

I love Felix casually holding Elliot's ear. All these kids love camping. 

Felix's only other camping experience was frigid cold. He liked this one much better! He napped in his carseat in the shade since the tent got too hot during the day. We had to keep moving it to follow the patchy shade between the pine trees. 

I realized with some surprise that our tent is a 4 man size... and all 6 of us were sleeping in it! We will likely have to upgrade soon as Felix won't be able to sleep in his car seat much longer, and the other kids keep on growing. 

A Black-Headed Grosbeak! I had a great time identifying some birds, and discovering Elliot's talent for lip syncing bird calls. 

Camping with the Gunters means that there will be ALL the gear. They had slingshots, bb guns, a dishwashing and handwashing station, and all sorts of stuff. They also had a full laser tag set. We told them to "look tough" for this picture, but they all just look sad. Their favorite was when they had a game of all the kids vs Scott Gunter. 

Elliot found a dead crawdad and gave it a proper funeral. 

I've realized that when we go camping, I usually feel pressure to fill the time with hikes to see the coolest spots. I'm realizing that the kids like to just play at the campground more than we usually give them time for. Camping for 2 nights gave us way more time to hang out. It was the first time where I found myself with nothing to do but swing in a hammock and relax- very strange! The kids were much happier when they are not being dragged on hikes. 

Here we are by Rose Canyon Lake. Apparently they have been scooping up water to fight forest fires recently, so the water levels were way low. 

Handstands on a cool rock

Our skunk friend! Note the tail sticking out of the trash bag that we hadn't quite gotten around to taking to the dumpster yet. It was so close to us at the picnic table! We had to throw a rock near it to scare it off. Fortunately it didn't spray us. 

We stopped for a bit of scampering on the way down at Windy Point Vista

Having Elliot climb on a cool rock is the best way to get a genuine smile out of him.

I love these kids of mine!