At the beginning of July, Kuehlio and I were out paddling on Lake Mary with our kids for the day. We pulled onto one of the shorelines to let the spawn play in the mud, catch crawdads, and pretty much act their age. We started to investigate the area and found a nice little campsite. It was flat with a lot of trees and had views of the water on three sides. This initiated the idea to go paddle camping the subsequent weekend.
We enlisted two more Viva Team Borracho members to join us. CDub, The Hoff, Kuehlio, and I would paddle out to camp, watch the sunset, drink beers and tequila, and relax. This would also be the maiden voyage of my new touring specific paddle board, a Badfish Selfie 14. The new SUP handled the load without issue and tracked amazingly in the afternoon winds common at Lake Mary.
We set up our camp while enjoying some drinks. Soon after the wind died down we decided to paddle out to enjoy the sunset. Our expectations were shattered as the setting sun continued to get better and better with each passing minute.
Being an early riser, I was able to enjoy a few hours of quiet the next morning before the weekend warriors descended on the lake. I set my chair by the water and enjoyed some coffee and breakfast charcuterie while the world continued to sleep.
After the other boys entered the land of the living, we decided to hike to the ruins of an old railroad bed. The Arizona Mineral Belt Railroad was supposed to join mineral rich southern Arizona with logistically connected northern Arizona. Unfortunately the railroad that started in Flagstaff never made it further south than Mormon Lake. The railroad bed used to travel up the valley below Anderson Mesa before it was flooded to create Lake Mary. The ruins of the rail line are commonly experienced along the Arizona Trail between the Pine Grove Campground and Dairy Springs. These ruins, along with those of the many forestry railroads in Flagstaff, offer an interesting perspective to the industries that once thrived here.
The weekend trip was a complete success by everybody’s account. More importantly, it inspired us to plan out our next adventure using SUPs for a multi-day tour. More on this at the end of September…
Long Doggy World 