Head in the Clouds, in the Forest, AZ

I wish I could say I had a calm and soothing sleep. I woke up several times over night and felt like my heart was racing, or I just had this slightly ill-feeling. I wondered if it was elevation sickness? It wasn't horribly bad, but I had the thought of leaving the mountain in the middle of the night, wondering if I could get down to lower elevations. I kept drinking water but, it just was a very strange, hard to explain uneasiness. Not enough to freak out, but also enough to not know things were not quite right. When I returned home and finally got decent internet, I realized I was at over 9300 ft elevation.

That's pretty high, if you're not used to this type of elevation. As I headed off the mountain, down the road slowly, ever so slowly, on winding roads, I could tell the elevation was diminishing. I stopped at a few lookouts with impressive views, and also drove through a very recent burn scar. Actually, I looked online, and this roadway was closed due to this fire, just a few weeks ago. I was absolutely shocked at how much of the forest was completely charred black, with only the reddish dirt beneath. And even though it's been a few weeks with rains, there was already evidence of new growth. It felt a little like driving through the winter when the leaves have dropped. I slowly pulled past a group of elk as they ran between the woods. Between the bright blue sky, and this stark landscape, it was definitely something to witness, and unusually different, with a reminder of how Mother Nature can turn on a heartbeat. It was an overwhelming sight.

I continued down for about an hour and a half and knew that the Sitgreaves National Forest would be running out soon. After studying the map, I decided to stop at Granville Campground in this forest. I am not a formal Campground kind of gal, as it's either a great experience, or not. As I pulled in, it looked obvious that it was not a well kept campsite at all. It looked abandoned. The roads had plenty of ruts from all the rains and washes, and I headed uphill a bit before I instinctively realized that I needed to back down. It's in these times that I'm glad my RV is only 21 foot long, and that I am not towing a trailer. That would have been next to impossible to turn around here. I saw a spot that I thought would be a good camp and slowly backed up only to be jolted by a clunk. My hitch hit a concrete ledge, and stop me dead in my tracks. Fortunately it's just the hitch, so no damage, as I always worry about hitting my sewer pipe. I turned around and found a nice spot along the entry road, where I spent the next several hours all alone. Later in the afternoon there were a few picnic visitors, and one person who set up a tent. I had to keep questioning why no one else was here, as it was so close to the next town of civilization, which was probably about 45 minutes away. It was actually a really pretty area, with few pine trees, but mostly scrub oak and deciduous plants. Unfortunately there were also a lot of black flies. It kept Jo Jo and me moving fast, as we hiked around. I knew this would be my last night on my 2-week adventure and did my best to enjoy every aspect of it. I also found some blueish rocks. So, of course, I took one home as a souvenir.




















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