Ponderosa Pine

Camp looking west

We spotted a place off Forest Road 237 last year that has been calling to me ever since.  It’s up on top of the rim at about 7500 ft, east of Willow Springs Lake with a view out over Chevelon Canyon.  It was Labor Day weekend when we were here last and there were quite a few ATV running around, but now, on a non-holiday weekend, we’ve only heard a couple vehicles go by.  Our camp is down over the edge a bit and can’t been seen from the road.  It has a variety of shady spots to sit and listen to the breezes coming up out of the canyon, to read on the Kindle, and to enjoy occasional naps.

Chevelon Canyon Rim - 20 feet from camp

Saturday morning we went out of a walk continuing towards the end of the road, spotting a couple more “rim view” sites and occasionally getting a weak 3G Verizon signal.  I suspect we would have a decent signal where we’re camped if we were using an external antenna and a signal booster.  It was warmer than I’d hoped with temps into the low nineties in the afternoon but that’s a whole lot better than the 100 and teens forecast for the Phoenix area!  It cools off nicely after sunset and dropped to mid-50’s at sunrise.  We’re located 4.7 miles from Highway 260 at N34 23 13.2 W110 51 41.3.  The road hasn’t been graded this year and is relatively rough in places (we only had one drawer on the floor) but worth the drive.  In addition to the rim view sites, there are lots of very nice shady places, some that could easily support a family reunion or other large group. 

We had plans to go paddling at Willow Springs Lake but I only loaded two of the three pieces of the “T” rack so we could haul the canoe to the lake.  I had the upright, and the crossbar, but forgot to install the receiver adapter.  So much for the plan to paddle. :-(

For folks that must have their hook-ups, the Forest Service Canyon Point campground is located just east of the FR237 turnoff on Arizona Highway 260.  They have some EW sites and a dump station.  The place is full of Phoenicians all summer long.

The trip was a good test of transmission temperatures.  We saw temps higher than I’d like on long pulls, so Toyauto will be adding that cooler before we head for the northwest at the end of the month.  Gotta fix a leaky gravity water fill port as well.