Monday morning we were up at 9:30 AM to pack up

and head out to our next destination, the Big Lake

area in the White Mountains of Arizona, at 9100 feet.

We were packed and pulling out of Luna Lake Campground by noon. We stopped in Alpine to buy another bag of ice, and stopped at the Post Office to mail our Netflix DVDs. From Alpine, we continued northwest on Highway 180 toward Eager, Arizona. It was a pleasant and scenic drive…we had driven between Eager and Alpine before, but not in this direction and not with the Bambi. When we reached Eager, we turned west on Highway 260, and gassed up the truck in town ($2.730/gal … See? We knew it would be cheaper than in Alpine.) From there we headed west on 260 to the Big Lake Junction, just west of Eager...we turned south onto 261. This was a route that we had never driven, as we had never been to the Big Lake area. On 261 we immediately began climbing and continued to climb steadily through beautiful pine forests from Eager’s 8000 feet or so. There were very few stretches where we were not climbing ... and it was a fairly steep climb. Suddenly, at the summit there was a scenic view where we stopped to take pictures of the panoramic view north spreading out below us. It was amazing that we’d risen so dramatically. Of course, we had to position the truck and Bambi so that we could take pictures of it with the view in the background. We’re such tourists sometimes … And it was windy! We had to hang on to our hats at that stop.

Back in the truck and heading on to Big Lake, we had a huge surprise in store … not too far from the scenic overlook, we rounded a curve in the road and

                                      found ourselves out of the forest and in a wide prairie-

                                               like setting with small islands of pine stands every

                                                    so often. It was a bit surreal. If we hadn’t

                                                        known we were at nearly 9000 feet, we’d

                                                         have sworn we were in the high deserts of

                                                        southern Arizona or New Mexico. The only

                                                        vegetation was low, dried grass punctuated

                                                      with a barbed wire fence at times, and at other

                                                        times, we were on open range with cows

                                                            grazing with no fences between the road and them. We couldn’t help ourselves … we were so astonished at the terrain and vegetation that we took lots of pictures, which, of course, all look the same … wide open grassy plains.

We began to wonder what Big Lake was going to look like. As we drew closer we saw a few smaller lakes that were out in the prairie setting away from the stands of pine. Finally we neared Big Lake about 2:00 PM… a mere 63.6 miles from the campground at Luna Lake. The lake is a fairly good-sized body of water with a sod dam. Bordering the edge of the lake is a hill covered in pine and aspen trees. There were no campsites on the lake itself, but there were several day use areas for fishing and as we got closer to the campgrounds we saw a small marina and store along the shore.

There are five campgrounds in the Big Lake area, all of which are located in the hills in the woods adjacent to the lake. They are all named after varieties of fish, which is appropriate, as fishing seems to be the big draw for the lake. The largest is Rainbow Campground in the Apache Natonal Forest with 152 sites. It has several loops that contain reserveable sites and three smaller loops that are first come first served. This is the first campground we drove into. We explained to the volunteer at the check-in station that we’d never been there before and we’d like to drive around to all the campgrounds to figure out where we’d like to stay. She said that was fine and gave us a map and answered a number of questions we had. She said they had plenty of first come first served sites available and those in the reservable areas which weren’t occupied for the next four nights were also available (this is because you must make reservations a minimum if 4 days in advance). We had seen that the dump station near the entrance to Rainbow Campground was closed, so we asked about other dump stations, as we needed to dump our tanks, since there was no dump station at Luna Lake. She said that since their dump station was closed for construction, they’d made arrangement for campers to dump at Apache Trout Campground nearby for the same price ($3 for registered campers) as the dump station at Rainbow Campground. (That was a relief!)

So we began our tour of Rainbow Campground, beginning with the three first come first served loops. We found several sites in those loops that we liked. It was a heavily wooded area with a mixture of aspen and several

varieties of conifers. Terry commented that he’d never seen so

many different kinds of pine trees sharing the same space. And

virtually all the sites had great shade … Another thing that

struck us was the fact that there was green lush undergrowth

in the woods … grasses, smaller bushes, ferns, a number of

wild flowers, including wild iris. We are not used to seeing so

much green in the Arizona forests we’ve visited … they are

typically have a more arid feeling, with a forest floor of pine

needles and perhaps scrub oak. This was very different … and very appealing. We toured all three of the first come first served loops and decided that one of our choice there would be just fine and we didn’t need to look any further. We ended up decided on a back-in site, #124 in Loop E (in case you go there). We liked its privacy, the great shade and the whole feel of the space. Site #127 next door was also a nice one, by the way.

So back to the registration station we went with the trailer in tow. We told the volunteer that we’d decided on a site, but we needed to go dump our tanks at Apache Trout Campground before we unhitched. We paid for two nights and got our receipt, which would get us the “registered camper” discount at the dump station (normally it’s $6). We were excited to get back and set up!

Before we forget to mention it, the fee structure at Rainbow Campground was different from what we’ve experienced. The entire campground is dry camping, with water available throughout the park, and it has flush toilets. Pull-through sites were $18/night; back-in sites were $16/night and some pull-through sites in the reservable areas were designated as small group sites that were large enough for 2 or 3 rigs…the prices of those appeared to vary. We had never been to a campground where the back-in sites were differentiated in price from the pull-throughs. (We have no problem with a back-in so we opted for that.) On top of the nightly fee, it costs registered campers $3 to use the dump station, as mentioned earlier. It also costs non-registered campers $5/bag to put trash into the dumpsters (no additional charge for registered campers). Showers where available but cost $8. Whew! Talk about nickle and diming!

After registering we drove to the Apache Trout Campground entrance where the dump station is located. We dumped and filled the fresh water tank with potable

                                water … and drove back to Rainbow Campground to set up

                                        camp. We were amazed at how pretty and shady it was

                                             … and it was only 74 degrees when we arrived! We

                                                 had no nearby neighbors at that point, though we

                                                suspected that would change by the weekend. We

                                                knew we’d enjoy this stay. The roads in the

                                               campground were paved, as were the trailer pads.

                                                The site we chose had a wider section of the pad

                                                   near the back that served as a great place for our “patio” … and it was so clean that we didn’t even need to use a rug. Just off the pad was a great stone fire pit and a concrete picnic table. There was also a great clear flat area for a couple of small tents or one large one.

We got all set up and immediately began to enjoy ourselves. Terry was amazed to find that he could get an Internet connection, though the cell service was next to nil. We finally found one place in our site where we could get voice mail and make calls, but only if we held the cell phone at a certain position and used the speaker phone feature.  We found it interesting that we could get an Internet connection more easily than we could get cell service. Weird.

Greg made sandwiches for us, and Terry settled back with a

Bloody Mary to kick off our first evening there. By 7:00

PM it was in the 60s. Since we ate late in the afternoon,

we didn’t fix a full-fledged dinner, but snacked on a few

great meals revisited (aka left-overs) … and finished up the

evening checking email and a movie before bed.

Tuesday morning we were up around 10:00 AM and took the Girls for their morning walk. Then we cleaned the Bambi and got everything ship shape. After coffee and email, we packed the Girls into the truck to go exploring the other campgrounds.

We mentioned Apache Trout Campground earlier. This is the next largest campground after Rainbow, and the newest, opened just this year. It has some first come first served sites with both dry camping and full hookups, including sewer … this is very unusual for national forest campgrounds. It’s also the most expensive campground, with dry camping sites costing $24/night and full hookups costing $34/night. (And you have to pay $3 to use the dump station!) We figured it would be the nicest campground as well, but in our opinion it missed the mark by a long shot. The roads and pads were not paved — they were gravel, and it was very dusty. There was virtually no shade available for any of the sites, and there was a lot of construction debris … mostly uprooted and downed trees … that you have to look at from your site. We were very disappointed in Apache and wondered why anyone would bother to reserve a site there (with another fee, of course) if they could stay in Rainbow Campground where both reservations and walk-ins are available. We were not the only ones who were disappointed — we ran into a couple who were staying in Apache Trout and they were not enjoying it — too dusty, no shade, and overpriced. We suggested next time that they try Rainbow Campground where we were staying.

The third campground that will accommodate trailers is Graying Campground. It is fairly small, dry camping, not paved and only small rigs would be able to maneuver themselves into the spaces. We felt it was better suited to tenting. The remaining two campgrounds, Cutthroat and Brook Char were closer to the lake but they were for tents only. Neither of those is paved either.

So in the end we were pleased to realize that we had hit the nail on the head with our choice of campsites … we got in the only campground that was paved … we were in one of the most secluded loops, and our site would be hard to beat. We really felt like we lucked out. There is something to be said for not making reservations and winging it!

After touring the various campgrounds, we checked out the general store and small marina at Big Lake, Big Lake Tackle and Supply. The store was

                            surprisingly well-stocked with just about anything you might

                                  have forgotten or might need … a good selection of

                                        canned goods, snacks and treats, of course … RV

                                            supplies, drug store type goods … even a limited

                                            supply of frozen meats … and of course a lot of

                                            fishing gear and supplies. The prices were high, but

                                            after all, they had to haul it all there, so they deserve

                                          it. The marina is managed by the store proprietors …

                                         they have rental fishing boats, both oar and small

                                            motors (the only kind allowed on the lake). We walked the Girls along the lake and Sadie got to wade in yet another Arizona Lake. She’s so cute when she plops herself into the water and drinks while she wades. Annie, in the meantime, is careful to keep her feet dry. Equally cute.

We returned to our campground and hung out the rest of the afternoon around our campsite enjoying the cool temps and quiet setting. We fed the Girls and started a campfire around 5:30 PM. Terry fired up the grill and we had grilled kielbasa with fresh cole slaw courtesy of Greg and chips. Mmmm. After dinner we finished our campfire time, watched a movie and were in bed for the night by 11:00 PM. We had a restful night and cooler temps … almost chilly … into the low 40s!

Wednesday morning we were up about 10:30 AM and took care of our morning routine … and Greg made scrambled eggs with veggies and served outside under the awning with chips and salsa … a sort of Mexican brunch. It was tasty!

We hung around the camp all day Wednesday, taking the Girls for walks periodically and generally enjoying ourselves. Terry made a couple of trips to the water spigot for water to add to the fresh water tank. For dinner that evening we had grilled rib eye steak and shrimp with sweet potatoes. Another winning meal on the road! We enjoyed another evening around the campfire and watched part of a DVD and turned in by 10:30 PM.

We were moving from Big Lake to the Greer area on Thursday so we were up a little earlier than normal … not that much earlier, though … about 9:30 AM. (We don’t want to get carried away, after all!)  We got the Girls fed and walked and were all packed up and out of the campground by 11:00 AM. As the weekend approached, it was getting busier and busier at Rainbow Campground. The number of available sites shrunk by the hour, and that morning while we were packing two different parties stopped by our site to ask if we were, in fact, leaving that day (our departue date it posted on a tag in the truck window), or if we were planning to extend our stay. When we told one of them that yes, we were leaving, he went to the ranger station and paid for the site for the next night. Then he came back and left a lawn chair, asking us to leave it in the pad when we left, which we were happy to do for him, of course … so that nobody else would slip into the site before he got there. This rush for sites made us a little nervous because we wondered if it was that busy at Rainbow and Big Lake, would it also be that busy at Greer, where we were heading? We didn’t have reservations there, either. But we decide not to worry about it and that if it was too busy or full, we’d just keep going.

The dump station at Rainbow Campground was still down, so before we left Big Lake we made our second trip to Apache Trout Campground to dump our tanks and fill the fresh water tank. We were at one of the two dump

stations when an early 90s Avion pulled into the other station.

We chatted briefly about our rigs being “kissing cousins” …

Avions are also aluminum-bodied trailers and have common

roots with Airstreams in the early days. But Avions are no

longer made. Greg also chatted with a couple from Tucson

at the dump station while Terry took care of “business”…

they were heading back to Tucson that day. Who knew a dumps station could be such a social gathering place!

Finally we were on the road again … all by 11:30 AM! We retraced our route from Big Lake back to the intersection of 261 and 273. Route 273 is the other route to the Big Lake area which heads south from Highway 260 to Big Lake between McNary and Greer, AZ. Our map … an old one (gotta replace that thing) … indicates that 273 is an upaved road, but we learned at the campground that it’s been paved recently except for about 3 miles, and that stretch is currently under construction. And it’s a more gradual climb and descent to lower elevations than route 261 (the paved road we’d brought up from Eager). We were also told it’s a very pretty drive. So we decided to take 273 and see some new territory. And we weren’t disappointed. While 261 has lots of drama and panoramic views because of the steep climb, 273 is a beautiful drive through forests and meadows with a much more gradual descent.

We did have to stop and wait for about 15 minutes where the construction was happening, and eventually got lead through the construction zone by a guide truck. We had to take it slow in a couple of places because it was literally a dirt “trail” with some deep ruts and bumpy areas … the trick is remembering where you’re the plumbing hangs down from the trailer. We made it without any problems but were glad that there was a guide truck … because everybody had to go slow … not just us! While we were stopped to wait for the guide truck, Greg got out of the truck and took some pictures of the nearby meadow. There happened to be a gravel road that took off at that point toward Greer … but we opted to stay on the paved route.

After we got through the construction we passed the road that goes south to the Apache Sunrise Ski area on the Apache Reservation. We could see the ski runs on the mountain side … where the trees had been cleared away. The Sunrise Lodge located at that intersection was closed tighter than a drum … obviously only open in the winter for skiers. Shortly we arrived at Highway 260. We headed east on 260 for about 8 miles to route 373 which goes south from 260 to Greer and our next destination, Hoyer Campground, just before the summer resort town of Greer, AZ.

Below are pictures of the second leg of our trip to Big Lake. Click on the “Slide Show” icon below to view the  pictures, or you can return to the Luna Lake leg or skip to  the Greer leg by clicking those respective buttons. At the end of the pictures section you can click on “Other Trips” and go to the trips page where you can access all of our travel logs.

Enjoy!