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| | Sunny Flat Campground, AZ | | | |
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Sunny Flat Campground, AZ
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| Car Camping | |
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| | Car Camping | | 2 Days | | |
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| no linked trail guides |
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| no partners | | Last time camping here was 27 years ago!
I camped here one other time, back in July 1990 with my Mom. A little drama occurred back then, when a small skunk wandered into the tent while Mom was inside changing clothes.  She yelled out, "Randy, skunk in the tent! What do I do?" I told her to stay quiet and the critter will walk back out, which it did. 
I tried camping here in August 2015, but all the campgrounds along Cave Creek were closed due to flooding. So, it was great to finally get to camp here again. It is a very nice campground with a great view of the night sky.
I arrived Friday at around 5:00, and there weren't many folks there, so that gave me a chance to find a spot I liked. I selected #11, next to the Nature Trail, and paid up for two nights.  It was a pleasant evening with no threat of rain, although there were occasional flashes from over the horizon lightning, probably down in Mexico. That persisted until after midnight, so I figured Saturday might have some thunderstorms, as the moisture was forecast to return.
Saturday morning I enjoyed my morning coffee and figured out what I might do for the rest of the day. Sure enough, the humidity was up and there were some low clouds scudding along the ridge tops, riding the outflow from the previous night's storms down south.
First thing I did was hike the Nature Trail (quite nice), then stopped over at the Ranger Station to get some information on the condition of the road to Paradise. The volunteer asked me if I was participating in the bioblitz, to which I replied, "What the heck is a bioblitz?" Well, now I know what they are, and this was the 2nd annual Charlie W. Painter BioBlitz & BBQ, sponsored by the Chiricahua Desert Museum in nearby Rodeo. I told her that there were a couple of gals camped next to me driving an Arizona Game & Fish truck, and she said they probably were part of the event, making sure everyone is playing by the rules.
Next I stopped at the Portal Store for lunch and everyone in there was talking about snakes and lizards, so guess there were a lot of bioblitzers roaming around. OMG...gummos everywhere! 
I drove up to Paradise, stopping at the cemetery to look around. Then back up to FR 42 again, before working my way back down to the Southwest Research Station. I turned onto FR 42A there an headed over to look around at John Hands and Herb Martyr camp/picnic areas. Those are other ancient campgrounds dating to CCC days, that have been pretty much abandoned, but remain popular. The John Hands area was really crowded with families having picnics and enjoying the water in Cave Creek. Down at Herb Martyr not so many folks and I saw some tents set up. Cima Creek joins with Cave Creek here, and there was a nice flow over the old dam. Always lots of activity at the Southwest Research Station, no doubt some of it related to the bioblitz event. Briefly drove down South Fork (not many folks) before heading back to camp at around 4:30.
As the day wore on, I could see the sky growing darker to the south, and it looked like rain was headed our way, but no big thunderheads were noted. When I returned to the campground a sign out by the road said it was full. Yup, glad I came in on Friday and secured a spot.  It started raining about 5:30 and continued with only several breaks until about 5:30 Sunday morning! It was always light to very light with not much wind and no thunder. When I checked the rain gauge in the morning, only .26 inch fell over the 12 hour period. Definitely less than I expected based on the duration.
After morning coffee and a little reading, it was time to pack up and leave. I decided to head back to the interstate at San Simon by way of Foothill and Noland Roads (unpaved most of the way but easy driving). This turned out to be a very nice trip to the Chiricahua Mountains.
[ youtube video ]
I usually don't get over to the eastern side, because it is more involved logistically, but I think I might hit the Portal area more often. |
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Wildflowers Observation Moderate
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