A friend was getting married on the first Saturday in May in Pinetop, AZ. A great opportunity for some nomadacy! We made arrangements with the owner of the wedding venue to camp overnight in the parking lot and after attending the lovely afternoon ceremony and reception we retired to our camper parked next to the pine forest. The night was cool but not too cold and we were treated to soft rain on the roof off and on.

Sunday we were soon on the road to the adventure part of our trip. We headed west on Highway 260 from Pinetop. Soon after Forest Lakes we turned north on the Old Rim Road (FR300). FR300 follows the Mogollon Rim for roughly 44 miles through the Apache-Sitgreaves and Coconino national forests. The rim is the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau a major geological feature of Arizona.

Soon the pavement turned to gravel, we were past the major campgrounds at the southern end of FR300 and were keeping a sharp lookout for a camping spot. It wasn't long until I saw it; our "Oh My Gosh" spot. We turned left and Joni hopped out to guide me past a branch stub sticking out at camper height.

Soon we were tucked away in our campsite.

And this is the reason we chose this spot.

We spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying this view and exploring the forest around our campsite. Lots of views in other directions, wildflowers and lizards. Go to the images page for other photos I made during this trip.

What a pleasure to retire somewhere that was very dark and very quiet. That is until around midnight when the rain forecast for Monday came early. Rain in itself is no problem but I couldn't remember how steep the road was out of our campsite and kept having visions of a difficult muddy drive out. Joni had concerns too so neither one of us slept well the rest of the night. We were up early and the first thing I did was check the drive out. Yep not nearly as steep or muddy as I thought it might be during the night. In fact for all the rain we heard on the roof the ground was still dry under the truck.

Soon we finished breakfast, had cup of coffee, broke camp and made our way up to the road. As expected the road was muddy but that's what 4X4 is for.

We saw the sign for Knoll Lake and decided it was worth a detour. The campground had not opened yet and we had this beautiful place to ourselves.

Joni loves to make photos of me making photos.  Yes I'm cheating and not using a tripod for landscape shots. — Joni loves to make photos of me making photos. Yes I'm cheating and not using a tripod for landscape shots.

I shot photos of the lake until the breeze came up and rippled the lake surface causing the reflections to be less attractive.

After Knoll Lake we continued on the Old Rim Road stopping off and on to make photos of the wonderful views.

A view from the driver's window.  It is the Old Rim Road and sometimes it is literally on the edge of the rim. — A view from the driver's window. It is the Old Rim Road and sometimes it is literally on the edge of the rim.

Before we knew it we were at the end of the Old Rim Road and turning onto the pavement for the drive home. We had a great adventure!