Camping in Oak Creek Canyon

Dericka, Lynnora and I have been trying to get in some regular camping trips. Our schedules can make it a little complicated. We made it to Pine Flat Campground this past weekend. I had never stayed here before and was excited to try it out. The setting was very pretty, with the creek nearby and the beautiful canyon walls.

We walked down to the creek to check it out.

We each have our individual tents. Dericka has gotten very proficient at getting her little tent up in no time. Dericka and Lynnora call mine the princess tent, because of my cot and air mattress, little ceiling fan and light.

These dogs were staying nearby. I thought the dog with the half white, half black face was interesting.

Dericka brought us some light stick bracelets.

Lynnora usually takes charge of fire building and maintenance.

The perfectly toasted marshmallow, used during the s'more production.

We enjoyed a variety of activities including some arts and crafts, making some different kinds of bracelets.

Lynnora's Christmas bracelet.

Dericka in planning mode.

My little pile

 We enjoyed some beautiful scenery.

We went to the trout farm and caught our lunch!. It was quite fun. We came prepared with some veggies to go along with our fish.

The poles are bamboo, not even a reel on them. You don't need a fishing license or anything to participate. They provide it all.

A giant rhinoceros beetle was near the office. This guy was enormous.

The ponds are stocked full of trout that are used to being fed. The instantly hit whatever you put in, but you don't always get them hooked just right. I hooked about 3 or 4 who got away before I landed them.

Dericka ready for her first try at fishing.

Her first fish.

There is no catch and release and you have to pay for every fish you catch, so we were careful and each caught two for lunch.

You can pay 50 cents extra per fish and they will clean them for you. Then another 1$ per fish and they give you a grill kit of paper plate, napkin, plastic ware, foil, butter, garlic, lemon, salt and pepper. There are tables and propane grills right there to use. We were eating fish within 20 minutes of catching them.

They don't remove the heads however. We did that after grilling them, when we removed the back bone.

 Dericka was sleepy after lunch. We went back and they napped while I read. Then we played Uno well into the dark. We had tasty meals grilled over the campfire.
The next day we had made a reservation to see the Palatki ruins and pictographs. They were from the Sinagua people, the ancestors of the Hopi's.

 The setting was very pretty.

Lots of waterfalls in the area when it rains, including this one through a hole worn in the rock.

The ruins were pretty cool looking.

Some ancient clan signs.

A very old matate.

The view from the grotto, an area where the pictographs were.

These were blackened from fires used to roast agaves.

 There were lots of different types.

This is a ruin that was moved and reconstructed by the man who bought the property in the early 1900's. He lived here while he built a farm house.

It was a great trip!! More to be planned.