Family (and friends) trip to
the Cinders near Flagstaff, AZ 09-03-05

My friend saved us this camp site Friday night.

Too bad it was so close to the first big hill to climb. We had
to listen to people ride their ATV's and Dune Buggies all night long!

Three tents all the same. That's because a few years ago when
we were each buying "Dune" camping gear we all bought at the same store.
Wal-Mart. Funny coincidence.

I'm starting to want a Toy Hauler / Trailer to store my ATV's
in and sleep in.

It's getting tough to pack my families gear on the truck and
12' trailer for these trips.

Two full size ATV's and two kid's 90's.

2.5 hours from my home in North West Arizona Valley and things
look a bit different.

It's WAY too hot for going to the Dunes this time of year. So
this is my alternate to the "Dunes". The "Cinders".

This weekend it was a high temp in the low 80's and dropped
down to the high 40's at night.      Perfect.

One of my Rug Rats wanted to do some stove top cooking the
next morning.

We got the full riding gear for this one (the more accident
prone 8 year old).

Soon we will buy the full gear for the 10 year old as well.

This is "100 Dollar Hill" at the Cinders.

Look close to the top and you can see a ATV climbing it. That
is how BIG this hill and many others are out at the Cinders.

These hills make the hills at the Dunes at Gorden's Well look
SMALL!

The color and texture of the Cinder's (like low density Lave
Rock) varies here and there.

Some areas are large craters. Some are large hills. Some with
Pine Trees throughout.

Deep into the Pine Tree area are some hills small enough to
train the kids on.

Not too mention it takes a LOT of horsepower to climb some of
them hills.

These smaller hills were enough work for the girls to climb as
them tires dig with the paddle tires.

And just across the road from our camp was this guy I know
from the DodgeDakota web forum known as ProwlR/T :)
He bought himself a new YFZ450 so he's got himself a pretty fast bike.

Funny coincidence how his friend's camp was so close to ours.
We talked on the phone for 15 minutes trying to figure out where each other was
once he arrived Sat morning.

Then we realized we could see each other from across the way,
but each of our Dakota's view was blocked from our camps... DOH!  :-)

Dodge Dakota and ATV enthusiasts unite!