Change in Plans -

I was planning on going on a scout campout this weekend, but had to change plans. A multi-troop backpacking trip was planned for the Superstition Mountains, but at the last minute (for unknown reasons) it was cancelled. That was a little annoying because we could have planned something that probably would have been more fun, but we decided it would be better to have the kids interact with other troops on this outing. Then it was cancelled, two days before we were to leave and we didn’t have the time to plan another outing.

This is the first month in 1½ years that the scout troop I’ve been involved in hasn’t gone on a monthly campout. That makes this a sad month for me.

But, I was able to have fun doing other things. In the morning, I went hiking with my mom and nephews on South Mountain. It was fun talking with my mom and being with my nephews. I sort of got after my mom about spoiling her grandkids, and she cleverly replied, "sure you can talk." She did bring up a good point. She did spoil me, so now I know better than to say she can’t spoil my nephews.

There are a lot of good trails on South Mountain, hopefully I will get to go back (with Mom, Marcus and Jacob). The weather was beautiful. There were black rain clouds in the sky that contrasted on the slopes of the mountains with a golden hue from the morning sun. Scenes like that make getting up at 5:00am worth it. When we stopped for a snack (oranges and granola bars) we saw jackrabbits and a whole bunch of other hikers. A perfect ‘in city’ morning hike.

Then in the afternoon I went with my sister to check out a cool camping spot that I heard about from a friend. We saw a 200 foot tall waterfall (yes, this was in AZ), but we were not able to find some Indian ruins that were supposedly up near the falls. I was disappointed that we couldn’t find the Indian ruins, but it wasn’t because we weren’t trying. We tried three times to find the ruins having to climb steep slopes, and sometimes we even had to ‘rock climb’ up the face of the cliff. Three intense, short climbs—but to no avail. My sister was a good sport about the climbs.

Unfortunately, I left my camera in the truck, so I didn’t take any picture of the waterfall. You will just have to trust me, we were there.

Semi-Funny Story: As we were climbing the mountain looking for the Indian ruins my sister noticed mistletoe and mint plants. I mentioned that this probably would have been a good place for the ancient people to live (referring to the abundant plant and wildlife) and she said, "Yah, that way they had good breath when they kissed each other." I thought it was funny, but maybe you had to be there.

I’m glad I got to spend the day with two important women in my life, my mom and one of my sisters. It was a lot of fun.

Scott

Ps: here are some more pics of South Mountain