The Ozbirn Family: Show Low

Over Memorial Day weekend we had the opportunity to take a camping trip. James' buddy at work, Tony, has land up north and he invited us to go with he and his family. The kids and James have all gone on day trips hunting with him before and had so much fun. They were totally pumped to spend the whole weekend with him outdoors! It started out to be a good trip until we got to Tony's house and I realized the pies I made to take with were still at home sitting in the stove! We didn't want them to go to waste so we went back home to get them. It made us run a few minutes late but after that we were back on track. Once it started to get dark Maddi started to get whiny. She was scared and couldn't see (we don't drive at night much!) and was tired but wasn't liking her car seat too much. After a while we got to the Salt River Canyon. If I never have to drive through there again I'll be happy. We knew that we were on a mountain road but then we saw little specs of light WAY down below and realized that was where we were headed!!! What really only took about 10 minutes to get through seemed like eternity!!! After that it was only about an hour to our destination. I was so ready to get out of the car and on a straight path. I was able to get out of the car but Tony's property is on the side of a mountain. I discovered that I just don't like mountains. They are pretty to look at from a far but I like my flat ground! We got to the trailer pretty late at night and it was super dark so we got our good nights rest to get our energy for the next day.

The next morning Tony's wife, Sandra, made us a delicious breakfast and then we were off to see where we were. We were surrounded by very tall ponderosa pine trees, the dirt was black and there was grass!!!!! Tony got out the bow and arrow for the kids and they were shooting that for a while. After a little exploring Tony took us to Silver Creek for a fun filled afternoon of fishing. It was a very cute little creek only about 6 feet wide and it actually had water in it!!! It's funny because down here we see river or creek signs and all it is a bunch of rock and sand. Maddi was the first one to catch a fish and she FREAKED!!!! She didn't touch her pole after that. Everyone caught a fish that day but Laura and Kenni. They caught a lot of crawfish and had many bites but never got a fish. Tony and his family were down the way a little bit and Tony had a huge fish on his line twice but it got away both times. When we were done we packed up and James went to shut the top hatch of the suburban and the glass shattered. His tackle box wasn't quite in all the way and had hit the back break light box and that shattered the window. We picked it all off the best we could and drove to the car wash and vacuumed it all out. In the mean time we were trying to find a glass shop. We found quite a few but of course they were all closed for the weekend! Once we got back to the trailer Sandra had fried up the fish and Tony made some corn on the cob and ribs for dinner. We were all starving from the long day of fishing and everything was so good!

The next morning James, Tony and Tony's nephew went out on Tony's boat to the lake to do some fishing. It wasn't too long and they were home. I guess it was just one problem after another with the boat and it was SUPER windy that day. Not a good day for boat fishing so after lunch we headed back over to the creek to fish there. Tony wanted to get that fish he had been wrestling with the day before. When we got there someone had his spot. We stayed close by and before we knew it the man pulled in a huge fish! It had broke his line so he was done fishing. The day before Tony's son, Jake, had jumped in the water to try and grab the fish Tony had on his line and when he did he split his tail in the back. The fish the man caught didn't have a split tail so Tony moved back into his spot to catch him. A little while and several smaller fish later Tony finally got his prize! It was even the fish with the split tail! He was so happy and could finally relax! Kenni never ended up catching a fish that day either but Laura caught one and Kenni took it off her line for her because she was freaked!

After another long day of fishing we went back to the trailer and James made some super delicious carne asada. While he was cooking we walked up the mountain a little more to see what we could find. We found a ton of petrified wood. Sandra was telling us that she finds it all over. Tony was telling the kids that last time he was at a rock shop you had to buy the rocks and they were about $20 a rock. So Little Man was walking around with all these rocks saying I got $80! Every time he would find another one he would announce his new total! It think he ended up at $120! Sandra was telling us also that their land was old Indian land and she sometimes finds old broken pottery. We didn't find any of that but we did find a ton of petrified wood! Also while James was cooking dinner Tony got out the blow dart gun and we all took turns doing that. It was pretty fun and Sandra ended up getting the dart closest to the bulls eye. Later that night we had a smore roast after dinner and then headed inside to watch a movie on the projector. That was really neat but we set off the Carbon Monoxide detector! To run the electricity we had to run the generator and Tony accidentally left his window open. That was interesting but everyone woke up the next morning so that was good!!!

The next morning it was my turn to make breakfast. While I was making breakfast Sandra and Jake were helping the kids shoot the bee bee guns. Jake was showing how he could shoot it one handed so that got Little Man started and he had to prove he could do that also! While they were doing that Tony and James were rigging up a back window for the suburban. They ended up using a clear shower curtain, painters tape and bungee cords. It sure looked hillbilly but it worked like a charm! After breakfast we got ready, packed up and headed home.

The ride home was much better during the day and with Dramamine!

It was an interesting weekend to say the least but in the end it was a good time and a change of scenery!

Kenni holding Laura's Fish

Tony's big fish

This was a bowl thing that the Indians used to crush various things. It has a name but I can't think if it. Next to this was an old rock oven but people have used it as a seat over the years and broke it. These two things Tony and his wife found on their property.

The kids washing their petrified wood.

Mr. Single Handed shooter!

When it was time to leave we couldn't fit all of the petrified wood in the truck so Kenni and Sandra buried them here so he can come back and get them later.