What a weekend!  Friends, Family, and a whole lot of fun!  That about sums it up.  But you did not come here for a summary; you wanted a story, so here it is…

The trip was originally supposed to be only 2 families going up Friday with the rest joining on Saturday, but due to a turn of events and opening of schedules, three vehicles were in the caravan up to Cinders Friday night, which consisted of 3 families.  Seen here at dinner in Chino Valley:

from left to right are Andrew (onwhitezj), Bethany (tankering), and Evan towing their tent trailer.  In the center are Brian (SilverBullet), Kristi (Kermit), Scott, Donovan (jesusluver), and Johanna towing Donovan’s RV trailer.  To the far right is Chris (Brutal), Mandy (Green M&M), Britney, Nicholas, & Cody with their 5th wheel and buggy on the flatbed in tow (affectionately referred to as the road train).

The trip up to Flagstaff was uneventful, thankfully.  Admittedly, Brian was a bit nervous towing an RV since this was the first towing trip since Calico and the RV accident.  We all arrived in Flagstaff around 7:30pm and Adam (firstofman) was already in town awaiting his family at a local hotel for their nightly accommodations.  The caravan unpacked, and after a lot of deliberation, changing our minds, and more deliberation, a layout for the three trailers was established and everyone was set up for the night.  The kids were put to bed, and the adults stayed up a bit longer to talk, joke, and just enjoy getting away.

Saturday morning started with a small trip into Flagstaff to retrieve some forgotten supplies.  While Brian, Kristi, Scott, Donovan, and Johanna were in town, Adam and his family arrived at camp after checking the new fabrication and work done on Adam’s Samurai.  Ray (Adam’s Dad), Bobbie (Adam’s Mom), and Carl (Adam’s Brother) all arrived with their own Quads in tow and they were ready to wheel.  After Brian and the group returned from town, everyone loaded up and we headed out to explore Cinders OHV area.

Adam (FirstofMan)

After bit of exploring, we found a nice hill climb that some people tried to conquer.

Brutal was first in the “Yellow Flash” and he easily climbed the hill with the paddle tires that he had on the buggy. 

Next, it was my turn.  I was driving the tow rig (Ford F250), and under strict directions not to break anything.  After the joking and haggling was done, verbal (bets) were placed to how far the truck would make it, and none were very far (I admit, even my guess was not very impressive).  The truck started the climb and as thought, it slowed down quickly and began to struggle.  However, after a brief pause, the tires caught and the truck actually climber the total hill.  Read that again to know I am not kidding, the Ford F-250 made a full climb!

Up next, Adam attempted the climb in his Samurai and had a bit of trouble to start.  With his tera-low gears, he was digging holes in the soft sand at the base of the hill.  He managed out of that and headed up the hill.  He had the same problems as he hit soft sand on the hill, and opted out of the climb in order to keep from unnecessary breakage this early in the trip, a good choice in my opinion. 

After we played a bit on the hills, everyone continued to explore the area and found some very fun areas. 

Before leaving the hills, Shane (Shane) and his family (I apologize I forgot the names already, again, I apologize), found our group and told us they would rendezvous for lunch at camp.  When they returned to camp, they found the ashes from the previous nights’ fire had re ignited and were smoldering.  It was a good thing they returned when they did!

At one point, it was determined that we wanted to head back to camp for lunch and as we began to turn around, the buggy sank deep into a soft spot and buried the rear tires.  Chris, who was at the wheel at this time, buried himself as well trying to get of this hole!  We removed the buggy from its holes, and had trouble restarting it due to flooding.  Some of the people began the trip back to camp while the full-sized rigs stayed to get it started, or tow it back.  We ended up towing it about 2/3 of the way, when Chris was able to get it restarted and return triumphantly under his own power to camp.  We all had lunch and great conversation.

After lunch, a few groups decided to take small trips around on their own, including Shane’s 3 kids sharing a small Quad and mastering the art of the donut!  At one point, the Quad had some problems, which made one of the kids very disappointed.  Brian, Shane, Adam, and Donovan came to the rescue to fix the problem (actually, Shane fixed it, we all supervised…) and the kids were back on the Quad and having a blast.  In the early afternoon, everyone me back at camp for a very productive club meeting (see the notes, which will be posted on the forum).  After the meeting, the group had a great dinner.  Shane and his family had to leave to get back to Prescott, but it was great to fellowship with them while they were there.  Shane’s Dad, the co-owner of S&S Off-Road also made a brief appearance at the camp.

Dinner was an array of food from each family, but Chris cooked a delicious pork roast in a Dutch oven in the campfire all afternoon.  It was delicious and everyone tried some if not making it their dinner.  Donovan and Johanna even passed up the steaks they brought for Chris’s cooking; I think we have a camping chef in our group!  After dinner, the karaoke came out, and we all had a great time.  Adam and his family had returned to their hotel and would join us for worship in the morning.  After karaoke, smores were cooked, and we all had a great evening.

Sunday morning, we had breakfast (again aided by Chris and his great camp cooking ideas), and most of us ate breakfast “omelet logs.”  Strange way to cook them, but you have to try one some time!  Then we all packed up our campsites and prepared for worship.  Adam and his family returned and made one short run, and then we had worship and a brief devotion.  Afterwards, Adam and his family headed home, and the rest of us headed to Flagstaff for lunch at Cracker Barrel.  Most everyone left with more than just leftovers in their hand; we all found something to our liking at Cracker Barrel.  I am not sure about everyone else, but Scott got some new toys!