Fossil Springs

We got back from our backpacking trip last night. Boy was it an experience to remember. Fossil Springs is a beautiful spot up in Strawberry, AZ. There is a trail that takes you down to it, where you find fresh water bubbling up out of the ground into Fossil Creek. The creek meanders down over rocks, through lush trees and bushes. Then the waters spills out through the access hole in the dam over trees and moss covered rocks. It is an awe inspiring site. So be sure to look at the link on the side here, that takes you to snapfish to view our pictures from Fossil Springs.

We left early Sat. morning to hike into the springs. We started hiking down the trail about 9 am. The way in is mostly downhill and we all did pretty good going in, except for the biting gnats. Our group consisted of Mike & I, our 4 kids, Spike (our dog), Mike's brother, Scott and his wife Tausha, their 3 boys, Devon, Nathan, and Jared, My brother Jason, and his friend Cliff. The biting gnats followed us down the trail and into our campsite. They were quite bothersome, they ate poor little Jared, age1 1/2 all over his face. They drove us to leave our camping trip a day early.

We left Sunday afternoon, after doing some swimming in the swimming hole. Here's what Mike says is proof that he walks on water, just in case anyone ever doubted his claims. We had alot of fun playing in the water, and swinging from the rope hanging from a tree and dropping into the water. My favorite part was sitting in the small waterfalls while the water massaged my back. The kids really enjoyed the water as did Spike who especially loved the plants that floated on the water.

The hike out was a harrowing experience. 4 miles uphill with heavy packs is a very trying thing for everyone. Even Kassi who didn't have a pack on, and Spike who was so eaten up by bugs on his underside, that we couldn't put his pack on him either. We hiked out in the hottest part of the day, and guess what, the bugs decided to hike out with us too. They had to be the most unpleasant part of the whole trip. But we all made it out ok. Jason, and his friend Cliff helped went to the cars then came back down to help us with the little kids. We were quite thankful. Over all it was a great trial experience as we get ready to do a longer backpacking trip in CO this summer. Be sure to check out all our great pictures on Snapfish!!