I've had some better experiences camping as an adult, which gave me a little courage to take a camping trip with my friends, and 60 other single people, to Sedona this past weekend. The group is part of a local Phoenix church, and a group that I had never met before. I was glad to go with a couple of friends, for that reason, and decided I could handle 24 hours of "pot toilets" and all things camping.
Honestly, saying I was "roughing it" out in the wild, would be a far stretch, as dinner was hot dogs, hamburgers and tons of other food. Breakfast was bacon, eggs, muffins, fruit, and even more food. I spent the night in my van, with an air mattress and blankets. And although we had no hand-washing stations, and the bathroom stalls were just a deep hold in the ground with a toilet in a large stall, that was the extent of the "hardships".
Driving into Sedona, Arizona is breathtaking. Everything red (rocks and dirt) juxtaposed with the desert flora and fauna, and the green of the trees, including pines, and the white of the alpines, makes you stand there in awe of things so beautiful. Huge mountain cliffs everywhere, that look like hiking thrills waiting to happen, until you get close and realize how massive these things are.
My traveling companions and I stopped at the Chapel of the Holy Cross, which is built into the side of a mountain. From the road, you can see the huge cross against the glass of the side of the chapel. It's beautiful. Even more so when you go into the chapel. That glass wall you can see from the road, once inside give you a breathtaking view of Sedona, while the huge cross casts shadows through the room. It is peaceful and serene, the kind of place I could spend an hour or two in just praying, thinking, reflecting. But there was no time for that. Although I did get a picture, and that will have to do!
Normally I find a sitter for my dog for trips like this, but I decided it was time for Neena to get out of the house and enjoy the great outdoors. I was a little worried about her "spunky" attitude being too much for such a large group of people, but she did great. This trip wore her out, which kept her calm, and she had fun visiting all the people in our group. I'm pretty sure she loved being the center of attention!
We got to the campsite, which was on a creek. Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love the water, so this immediately drew my attention. Forget the hiking, the camp games, and get me to the water! Within 30 minutes my water shoes were on and I was down in the creek trying to walk the rocks while carrying the dog. Not the smartest of ideas, but my dog doesn't like the water. It worked out fine, and I was able to make my way out into the middle of the creek, park myself on a rock, and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
The creek bed was bull of rocks and boulders, surrounded by trees, and through the trees...mountain cliffs. It was so picturesque, like someone should have had a canvas out right there, painting this beautiful scene. The water was cold at first, but was so refreshing I couldn't help but keep my legs and feet dangling in the current. I could have stayed there all day, but eventually my body got tired of sitting on a rock. So I did a little more wandering through the creek, and then made my way back to camp.
I decided to take some pictures along the creek, and as I was doing so, the dog yanked on the leash and my camera fell right out of my hands, straight into the dirt. After thinking I got it all cleaned off, I tried to open and close it. It got stuck. It was broken. Good thing I took a ton of pictures before it busted. So much for my nice camera. That lasted all of a month. :(
It was great to meet some new people on the trip. I was surprised at how large the group was, and then found out that the group itself is about 250 people, all 20-30's singles. Wow. It was interesting to watch the eclectic group of people that attended. Conversations sparked and invitations were made to come to more events, which I'm planning on doing.
Our night was filled with singing songs around the campfire, with a guitar, and 60 voices. While our campground neighbors were enjoying Cinco De Mayo celebrations, we were singing and listening to one of the guys preach about God. I couldn't help but think about how this must look to these people. I'm sure they're thinking, "These people are crazy." Not that I care. I've been there, done that, wondering if my religion is real, if God is even real. At this point, I know why I believe what I believe, and what other people think is not going to deter me from practicing my faith. But as I've been through some things, my understanding of what other people think of Christians has grown. There's more to say here, but I'll wait...
Since this was the night of the super moon, we were able to enjoy it from the outdoors. Unfortunately, because we were in the mountains, we couldn't see it until it was all the way risen. But, as I was sitting there enjoying the cedar wood campfire (heavenly smell, by the way), I looked past to the creek bed and thought for sure someone had a spotlight shining on it. The moon was so bright! We hiked up to the road to see it and take some pictures. I love full moons, night skies, stars. Love the stars. I could stare up into a night sky for hours and still want more!
I had the smart idea of sleeping in my van again, which was awesome. I had an air mattress, and egg crate mattress, blankets all lined up in the back. Sleeping on the ground, or out in the open is wonderful, but cold temps and hard ground doesn't really go that well with all the metal residing in my body. And while I'm miles better than I have ever been, I didn't want to push it. I knew if I slept on the ground I would be so uncomfortable the next day. Hence, the air mattress.
My plan would have turned out great, except my air mattress sprung a leak, and somewhere in the middle of the night I woke up sleeping on the floor of my van, which was pretty much like sleeping on the ground. I think I actually starting laughing at this point. So much for that idea! I woke up two times during the night, shivering cold. The dog was shivering too, which is definitely not good. Good thing I was in the van. I just turned the car on for ten minutes the first time, let it get warm and then went back to sleep. The second time however, I woke up and turned the car on, but fell asleep in the nice hot air pumping through every single vent in the vehicle. The car ran for about 45 minutes before I woke up super hot! Oops. Oh well. It was worth it.
The only bad things were the air mattress deflating, the broken camera, and the renegade pebble that cracked my windshield on the way back to Phoenix. I could think of worse things that could happen. I honestly enjoyed myself. And it was great to meet some new people as well. Just another adventure to add to the list, and I'm sure there will be more to come.
After my 24 hour camping experience I can honestly say I could do it again, and would love to have stayed longer. So much for bad childhood camping experiences!!
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