July 10th- Camp Verde

Bernice and da Dog Ojo's
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We woke up early to beat the hard Arizona sun as we traveled to Camp Verde to visit Gabe’s brother and family. Our goal was to get there early so we can fish. We arrived early and hiked a small trail along the Verde River but the cat fish were not biting at all. Calista and Ojo’s enjoyed the river more than Gabe did because she was catching minnows in her bug catcher and Ojo’s was enjoying the swimming in the river. As for me, I chose to photograph the area and just breathe in the nice air. Camp Verde was full of historic sites too. We went to visit the Montezuma Castle which was only 6 miles from our niece’s mobile home. It was just so relaxing to walk up the small trail and enjoy the wonderful life that the Indians had in this area. The ruins were just so unbelievable because they remained standing after many years of erosion and still so unique and amazing. All we could think of is how did they climb the mountains so high and create such beautiful homes. Many would call it dwellings but when we toured the imitated castle via miniature display it opened your eyes to know it was there homes. The rocks were so evenly distributed to create good size stone walls and steps. We all enjoyed this area and just realized how much history our country holds when you go exploring. Our next stop would be the Fort but it got so hot and the early morning rise got the best of us and we all wanted a nap. So we took a nap and it was a hot afternoon for the Varela’s at 109 degree temperature waking up to severe sweat. Our trailer AC froze up and stopped producing good cool air and had a sheet of ice on its vents. So once we got cooled down by enjoying our little sit in the tub and rinse, Gabe was able to trouble shoot the problem. Then we were all clean and off to enjoy our niece’s 19^th birthday which was so fun because the company and homemade Mexican food was there to enjoy. Yeah! I (Bernice)got my red chili too! We then closed the night with shopping for our meals for next three days and a movie. We were set up to depart early for the next day our destination Bryce Canyon in Utah.