Camping in Arizona's Madera Canyon

We love to camp and hike.  We love the outdoors.  We especially love it when we can get into some higher country and enjoy the trees and the smells and the sounds. 

A little over a month ago, we went hiking with our friends and some of the members of their 4H group.  The group decided to camp close to home at the Bog Springs Campground in nearby Madera Canyon.  It's a beautiful place in one of Arizona's "sky island" mountain ranges--the Santa Rita Mountains. 

Of course, when you arrive at camp, the first order of business is to set up housing.  Our little backpacking tent is this orange and blue one.  The bigger tent for the 4H leaders and the kids is the one that's going up in the distance in the picture below.  Are we smart, or what?

Below, everyone helps get the big tent set up!

Then you know the next order of business is food!

This is the trail mix container.  Everyone contributed a bag of something for the trail mix tub.  M&M's are my favorite in this tub!!  Once all the ingredients were poured into the tub, the 4H leader asked the kids if they'd stirred it up yet.  The response, "Ooohhh, that's why you call it trail mix!"  Sigh.  Oh, and did you know that dried apricots look like red blood cells.  I learned so much on this camping trip . . .

Then came lunch!!

And a hike!

This is the Dutch John Trail that takes off from the east side of the Bog Springs Campground.  We went for about a mile UP the trail (you can see that UP is the operative word here) to a spring and a nice shady spot with lots of trees and boulders.  Here are a brother and sister enjoying a peaceful rest on a big boulder.  And some of the trail mix!

And a couple of buddies on another boulder . . .

More later when I share with you some of the appropriate footwear for camping and hiking in the mountains of Southern Arizona!!

Have a good week!