CAMPING AT COTTONWOOD CANYON STATE PARK, May 2022

Another great camping trip in the books! This time we headed about an hour east of home to Cottonwood Canyon State Park on the John Day River with Mike's sisters and their husbands. 

As always with that crew the food and company were fantastic. Weather got off to a rocky start the first evening (rain and high winds, mid 30s overnight) and then turned sunny and gorgeous with highs in the high 70s.

I got up early the first morning to head up the Pinnacles Trail with Maple. We found some friends.

These are Big Horn Sheep but I could only find ewes and young ones - the big males hang out together and were somewhere else.

 

Each couple contributed a breakfast and a dinner and we potlucked snacks and lunches.

After breakfast we headed back out the Pinnacles Trail - I logged 10 miles between the 2 hikes.

Cliff swallow nests

This spider - body the size of my fingernail - looked unusual, lumpy. I took this photo and when I zoomed in later I could see she's carrying about 20 babies on her back.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner the next day.

The next morning 4 of us we headed up the onto the bluffs north of the campground.

We stopped by the interpretive area including the Murtha Brother's barn; Mike met the Murthas a few times when he stopped to ask to hunt on their property before it became a state park.

The camp ground from above

The last evening.

Dark chocolate and blueberry s'mores with handmade marshmellows and homemade graham crackers.

Full moon.

Morning coffee

Last breakfast

Our 3 little homes away from home.

HAPPY TRAILS!