It’s that time of year when dad brings the house on wheels (aka camper) out. Where we go depends upon the weather. Right now, it is the in-between season or spring, and that means we can go places that get too hot in the summer. One such campground is Tortilla Flats in the Superstition Mountains and Tonto National Forest.
From Mesa, Arizona, take U.S. Highway 60 to the Idaho Road exit. Go north to State Route 88 (Apache Trail) and turn right. Continue for 18 miles on Route 88 to Tortilla Flat (the campground is two miles past Canyon Lake). Tortilla Campground is directly across from Tortilla Flat, on the left side of the road. The entire route is paved now, narrow and has sharp curves; traffic can be heavy. You won’t have any trouble pulling a camper, but your humans will need to go slow. Take in all the views. The Superstition Mountains are rugged and impressive.
Tortilla Flats is only open from October to the end of March, so we got in just in time. It not only gets hot but very windy here in the summer since the campground is in a canyon. The upper section is still closed and it is first come, first serve. We found a nice spot in the middle with great views. Your humans will want to find just the right spot then pay at the entrance using a credit card; it is $12 per night. Tents and RV’s are welcome and some sites have amenities like water hook up. Of course, dogs are allowed on lease or we wouldn’t go! To the two barking dogs below us – what was your problem? I mean really dudes—not cool to bark your heads off.
Before long, we were set up. My humans have gotten good at this! I’m a superb supervisor…unless I 
smell something that I must investigate! We sat down to enjoy the views, and my folks broke out their books. The sites don’t have much shade, but my dad always puts up a shade tarp. All of a sudden, the winds kicked up. We thought we’d lose the tarp so my dad had to rig it with some rocks to weight it down. We settled back in when the next thing we knew, another gust of wind tore off the camper rent top. We watched it as it soared right toward my mom! Crazy!! Thankfully, it didn’t hit her but self-destructed into a bazillion pieces.
After all that, we thought we could finally enjoy the peace and quiet of nature but our RV neighbors turned their generator on. It sounded like a 757-jet-engine, so I’m told anyway. All I know is I couldn’t hear myself think! It actually hurt my ears after awhile and certainly took away from the outdoor experience. They ran that thing nonstop for hours upon hours. Seriously folks? Why go camping if you only sit in your camper with your AC and TV on?? I don’t get it, and it really is disturbing to those of us wanting to actually see and hear nature! We share this planet, and when our spaces are close together, we need to be considerate of others.
Since sitting quietly wasn’t an option, we went for a nice walk. Everything was incredibly green from all the winter rains, and we could even hear a stream down below that didn’t exist last time we were here. Cool! Before long, we had dinner and called it a night.
That’s when things got REAL interesting. Before I go any further and in my own defense, I recently had my snake training tune up. That smell scares me! The winds kept blowing through the night, and I kept smelling strange things. I had snake on the brain, and my job is to alert my humans: DANGER! So, all night long, I alerted them all right. I ran around the camper, jumped on their bed, and pretty much ensured that they didn’t sleep a wink. All I could think of was going home. We needed to get away from the snakes, wherever they were! Woof!
My poor folks tried to snuggle with me, and my mom tried to make me a nice, safe cave to sleep in. She banged and scrapped her hand in the dark, which made me feel worse. I just had a major melt down. It was one long night, and my folks were totally exhausted by morning. We stepped out of the camper: windy and noisy. My parents decided to pack it up and head out. One of the best parts of camping is bacon, but I didn’t get any. We drove off and headed home.
I was actually relieved and happy to be in my kennel. I took a nice long nap. When we got home, I was refreshed. My parents…not so much. There’s only one more thing I have to say about this camping trip: There’s no place like home.
Hi! I am Kumaito (Kuma for short), a multi-tan Shiba Inu. My breed is one of the oldest and purest from Japan. I personally was born in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, moved to Friendswood, Texas, and now call Phoenix, Arizona home. I enjoy running or hiking almost every day with my mom, chasing rabbits out of my neighborhood, playing with toys, pestering my brother Edmond, eating, napping … well, I love just about everything and everyone!
My mom, Lorraine Bossé-Smith (Founder of the FIT Leader Formula™) is kind enough to help me share my Great Adventures, big and small. My mom is a motivational speaker, corporate trainer, business consultant, executive coach, behavioral-wellness expert, and author of eight published books. More importantly, she’s the best doggy mom ever!
Enjoy my blog at https://www.lorrainebosse-smith.com/category/kuma/ and be sure to follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kumathedog?ref=hl
Get outside! You never know what you’ll discover, and our paths just might cross. Happy tails!
