gabe's version of "un-established campground discovered with a special ending on how it lead to me getting an x-ray

Ok, so here we go.

The story begins with Shan and I cruising up to Wet Beaver Creek area to camp Friday night and then have some other peeps meet us there on Saturday. Well, we didn't get up to the campground til about 630pm and all 12 sites were full. We were told of a "secret" spot just down the road that we could scope out if the campground was full. Side note: this "secret" spot was provided to us by a woman that would be meeting us on Saturday with her husband and 6 month old daughter. Another family of 3 would be joining us on Saturday as well. 8 people total. Back to the story, the "secret" was in fact a cool place but had enough area to accommodate 2 ultra light backpacking tents max. So after doing some recon on this spot, realizing that it was not going to work, it getting dark and us checking out some sweet frogs in the creek next to the spot, it was off down the road again to see if we couldn’t find a spot to camp. At this point it’s about 7ish and we are both getting hungry, like real hungry. Instead of wandering down random roads to see if we could find a "dispersed" camping spot, we decide to pull over and cook dinner. It was Friday so we had veggie burgers and chips with bud light lime (which, btw, is one of the best "summer" beers ever.....ever). After appeasing our appetites we determined there was another campground about 20 minutes away that we could check out. We drive its full, story of our lives. So at this point it’s been narrowed down to "dispersed" camping. We begin by driving down NF618 towards Bull Pen Ranch trailhead. We start by checking some pullouts to determine if they'll work and are disappointed time and time again. The first one that looks somewhat ok was very eerie, all the trees had "landscaping" around them (rocks lined up nicely to form a ring around the tree) and firewood already stacked. Seemed a little to domesticated (i.e. used by some weirdoes from Camp Verde). We pass on that one. Next one, we pull in and the headlights shine in the spot and it looks like the ground is covered in sparkly jewels, or loads of broken glass, you decide. Reluctantly, we pass on that one too. So we are about at wits end here and finally find a decent spot out in the middle of nowhere, set up camp, no fire, and hit the hay. Another side note: I had a "special" dream on Friday night. I woke up thinking that something was sniffing the fly of the tent. I lay there, absolutely silent in order to hear everything and determine if we were going to die. I am thinking to myself, 'quietly reach up and grab a headlamp, shine it out and scream like you've never screamed before." Well, before I can do this, my wife, who is dead asleep, decides to roll over and make a series of noises that I can only imagine will provoke whatever devil creature that has been attracted to our scent. She stops making noises, the beast doesn’t devour us and I realize that it was the freekin wind ever so slightly moving the fly........I’m an idiot. That was a big side note. So we wake up, make some lovely coffee (in the nalgene press, we need a percolator I think). Ok so were driving and its pretty much desert, no trees, just cacti and dirt. We come up over a hill and in the distance is a super bright green strip of trees. I felt like we were the dinosaurs in Land Before Time when they reach the valley at the end. Anyways, were driving towards the trees and we can see down where they are and we see a bunch of campsites. So we get to the "campground" and it’s really cool, runs right along the creek and lots of trees, etc.... would be a dynamite campground if it weren’t for the trailer park feel it has to it. See, it’s an unregulated campground. Meaning, there is no charge, no max stay, and no camp host. There’s a toilet and that’s about it. So we find a spot, luckily. It looks like it will just barely accommodate our tents but we will make it work. We make breakfast, French toast. I got in trouble during breakfast because I packed the cooler and I packed the entire carton of eggs in the cooler and the carton got wet and pretty much disintegrated. They are farm eggs from the farmers market so they’re a little spendy, no worries though; I put the yellow egg container dealy to work and saved the day. While making breakfast, we are admiring the surroundings, the colors, sounds, etc.......however, it’s a little hard to hear anything when there is hate metal being blared at 930 am in a campground. Unreal. Ok so I’m making this a little long. We’re hanging out with the first family that gets there and I begin my ritual of collecting firewood. Its slim pickings but I spy a sweet log that has been lodged up in a tree. I tell Shannon, she says nice, but don’t try to get it. Well, I try to get it down. Climb the tree, push on it, nothing. Then almost fall out of the tree, look at Shannon and she's just shaking her head. New plan, throw a rope up over it and pull it down. After a few pulls, it comes down. I am the hero. Later on that day, I am using the classic "swing the piece of wood like a bat against a tree and see if it will break in half" method. Everything is going swimmingly until I grab a piece, swing it and my thumb begins hurting like a mug. What happened was the piece of wood I was trying to break split down by my hand and a part slammed into my thumb. It hurts bad, and bruises immediately. The next day it looks like the end of a bratwurst. It hurts, not too bad but I decided to have it looked at for safety sake. Turns out its not broken, possibly chipped. So, in ending, that’s how I ended up getting an x-ray. If you would like more on this story, please send $9.95 to:
5635 S. Clambake Bay Court
Unit E
Tempe, AZ 85283
USA

Hope you enjoy the story,

gabe