Short Camping Adventure

For Memorial Day we went out to the Mt. Graham area north east of Tucson. Originally we were going for a 4-day weekend, but I was sick the second half of that week and we delayed our trip until Sunday. So it was just an overnighter.

The road out was rough and steep. We drove slowly, which was lucky for this bull snake, stretched out across the entire road. We were able to stop before running it over, and John got out to encourage it to move.

Turns out the snake was quite happy to stay right where it was, van or no van. Bull snakes are not dangerous, but they can do very good impressions of rattlesnakes when threatened. When John approached, it coiled menacingly.

I would not have stayed there to take it’s picture! But John was confident it wasn’t a rattlesnake.

Suddenly, as I watched from the van, I saw John leap backwards into the air! The snake had tried to strike him! Luckily it was too far away to make contact.

I did not expect the snake to put up such a fight, or I would have been out there with my video camera. Although it was probably just as well, because I would have been so scared I probably would have run off the cliff. Although I’m quite afraid of cliffs too. Stuck between a cliff and an angry bull snake pretending to be a rattlesnake is not on my list of favorite afternoon activities.

After showing John who’s boss, the snake was content to slither off and we continued on our way.

After awhile I couldn’t take anymore of the steep, hairpin, sheer and rutted road, and we started to wonder if we could find somewhere to turn around. That’s the problem with roads that get increasingly worse – it’s always easier to go forwards than get turned around.

Finally we found a little spot where the road flatted out with trees on both sides and we could get the van off the road and parked. I needed a walk! If we had to, we could camp there, but it was not a great spot.

We continued up the road on foot, and very soon we came to a large, park-like flat area with ponderosa pines. Biska and I checked out the area while John jogged back down the road to retrieve the van.

We were still 3 miles from the trailhead, but we were done driving for the day. It was a beautiful spot, and by Sunday afternoon everyone else had gone home. We were the only ones there.

We got our Starlink set up for internet and enjoyed our perfect camping spot.

Here’s Biska playing in the dirt. She loves the dirt!

The next day we packed up and decided to drive the final three miles up to the trailhead. We got about halfway there when we realized the road was simply too much for our van. We really did need to get turned around. I did a bad job of directing John as he backed up, and I got the van stuck, the left rear tire spinning with no traction. Luckily we were able to get it unstuck with not too much effort. We just had to pile some rocks around the spinning tire, and remove a rock that was blocking another tire.

We got turned around, reparked it facing downhill, and started hiking up the road to the trailhead.

On the way up, I jumped back when my brain said “Snake in the road!” I have a very strong startle reflex.

Turns out it wasn’t a snake, it was just a bungie cord, lol.

I didn’t make it as far as the trailhead. It was steep and hot. And I’m going to blame Biska too! She was off running around, and was reluctant to come back when I called her. So I called her in my “I really mean it” voice. She came rocketing down from up the side of the mountain at full speed. I was standing still in the middle of the road, and instead of running up to me and stopping, or running past me, she ran right into my knee at full speed. She over extended my knee and knocked me flat on my butt. She was fine.

I assume she didn’t mean to run into me? But it felt so dang passive aggressive. Sometimes she’s like a three-year-old in the mood that my mom used to call being a “stinker.” At that moment I had in mind some stronger words than stinker. She’s the sweetest dog usually, but I swear she has a bratty side sometimes. She gets annoyed just like everyone else.

Anyway, that knee was already my weak knee and I have a bum ankle on the other side, and it was time to turn back. Meanwhile, my brain had forgotten all about the bungie cord that looked like a snake. So on the way back down I startled a second time at the same bungie cord, my brain again screaming “SNAKE!”

John decided to taunt me my putting his hand on the “snake” and pretending to pick it up. This of course being the day after he was actually struck at by an enormous and very real bull snake.