Half-Day Mogollon Rim Adventure

Some time ago, my husband told me that he wanted to plan a day trip for us. It would include hiking and we would need a picnic lunch. He asked me if I wanted to know details about location, and I said I didn't. I just needed to know enough specifics to plan, and plan I did.

I have been going through some body changes and not liking how my clothes fit, so I decided to buy something new to wear. Did I need to? No. Did I buy something I did not yet have in my closet? Yes. I bought a tennis dress, convenient because it has shorts built in, inconvenient because it is one piece, and required wearing a jacket to ward off the chill. Still, in the end, it helped me get excited and feel more confident as we got ready for our adventure.

The Sourdough

I also planned our menu for the trip. My theme for trip food was sourdough, and I prepped our meals the day before. For breakfast, we had sourdough discard egg muffins and sourdough chocolate zucchini muffins. For our picnic lunch (that we ended up eating at home), we had snack boxes of carrots, cheese, sourdough meatballs, and homemade ranch dip, with protein boost sourdough chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I have to say, everything hit the spot. Adventure has a way of increasing the appetite!

The Travel

We left our house for our adventure a little after 6 AM Saturday morning. (We planned to leave at 6:00 AM sharp, but as usual, I ran late, and then packing the cooler took extra long.) The drive was foggy and rainy. The rain lifted some by the time we got to Payson, Arizona, and we decided to look for some coffee. (My parents sent us money for a coffee date for our anniversary, and we had not used it yet.) We found Smashley's Coffee at the edge of town, and stopped in. The shop was small, but the coffee was fresh. (My husband got a carrot cake latte and I got a light pour over coffee.) While we waited, we browsed the various olive oils and other food stuffs in the shop. Somehow, we managed not to buy anything.

The Adventure

Then it was off the Mogollon Rim, located just past Heber. I didn't know we were going there yet, but my husband has been there many times and knew just where to turn. We passed the main trailhead and pulled off at one of the first overlooks. From there, we walked on a gravel path and through some wet grass to join the paved Rim Lake Vista Trail. My husband hoped for views. I didn't know what we were missing and just soaked up the loveliness of the pine tree forest and peaceful, misty, air.

The Rim Lake Vista Trail stops off at several overlooks. Of course, my husband had to go to the edge. Something about heights makes me woozy, so I stayed pretty far back.

We took the Rim Lake Vista Trail to the Meadow Trail, and that to Woods Canyon Lake. I was thrilled to get to the lake, as I had not known where we were going, and I thought views plus forest, plus lake made for an awesome trip!

It started to sprinkle at the lake, and we had already walked over three miles, so we headed back. The fog cleared a little, but not too much. That gave me a taste of views that might be had, as well as time for lots of conversation. Some of the things I enjoyed most about dating my husband were the long conversations we had about life, and society, and dreams and faith. This time, we spent almost our entire walk dreaming about what could be in our future. Maybe it is possible. Maybe not. Still, it was fun to toss ideas back and forth.

We did need to clear the path for a stretcher to pass as we walked back. We had seen a police car barrel up the road on our way out to the lake, and saw the sheriff with a lady who was lying down. We tried to give everyone a wide berth and mind our own business. On the way back, though, EMTs were wheeling the lady out, and her family told us what happened. We took a minute to stop and pray with them, and then travelled back to our car.

From where we parked, my husband drove me out to the forest road where he and his friends camp. It was gravel, and a little rough for our car. He offered to park and let us walk out the rest of the way to the camp site, but given that I had just hiked 6.3 miles, farther than I have in ages, I decided I probably shouldn't. So, it was back in the car and homeward bound.

The skies cleared as we drove home, allowing for beautiful views. I love Arizona for many reasons: the mountains, the saguaro, the trails. My, how blessed we are, and how blessed we were to take this trip. Life is not about comparisons, but perspective does help. Taking our first active trip since my injury and then seeing someone get terribly injured gave me that, and made me extra, extra grateful. Thank you God and husband for this adventure!