NEVER Trust Your GPS!!

Sharp Creek Campground, Payson AZ 

25 May, 2023


My GPS added a waypoint that took me off route!


I had checked out all the steps along the route and made sure that the end-point was the campground; but I wasn't really paying attention to anything but the scenery as I drove.  By the time I realized that I was off-route, there was no easy place to turn around with a trailer.  Checking the detail on the GPS, I realized that somehow it (or I) had added a way-point that took me off the main route and onto some hairy little county road winding through the mountains.  It started to pour - making the dirt road even more problematic for turning around - then the county road turned into a forest service road.  Checking the road atlas, I thought it was shorter to keep going than try to backtrack (once I got to a turn-around spot) - but, boy howdy! was that an afternoon that I don't want to repeat!  From now on, I will have a paper copy of the route in hand to double check along the way!!


Sharp Creek Campground


Just outside Payson, AZ, this is a small Forest Service Campground with a large group area and 3 small loops.  There are other campgrounds nearby, as well as lakes, a trout fish hatchery, the Mogollan Rim Visitor Center - fishing, hiking, boating - a real camping destination area!!

I was camping in one of the group areas with RVW (RV'ing Women) and, after a very strong drink when I arrived (even with the detour, I got there before dark) and some rain on the first day, it was a lovely weekend.












Willow Lake Paddle


Willow Lake was lovely to paddle - only electric motors allowed, so it was quiet.  We got an early start so it wasn't too crowded (the boat ramp was getting crowded as we finished up).













Chiricahua National Monument

 Bonita Canyon CG: Chiricahua NM, Wilcox AZ

8 May, 2023


I-10 Was Closed!!  But the detour was prettier . . . 


It's rare that an interstate is closed for days on end - but in the days leading up to this latest trip, there was a big accident that closed the highway both directions and the west-bound exit by Wilcox will be closed for awhile because the overpass was compromised.  But, I detoured on county roads to get into the Chiricahua NM and my campground.  By the end of my get-away, the highway had re-opened.


Bonita Canyon CG is an old CCC campground


There are 26 campsites mostly very small tent sites;  There are maybe 6 sites suitable for a trailer.  My site was plenty big enough but, like a lot of older CG, the 1 way loop made for a very difficult back-in.  I ended up going the wrong way around the loop in order to back into the site.  





The campground is at about 5400' so the temps were just lovely!  The air smelled like juniper, pine and oak and wild turkey and white-tailed deer were everywhere.  While I love the Sonoran desert, a brief get-away to the mountains was pure joy.