Fool Hollow Lake SP, AZ - May 2006

HOORAY! Pine trees, mountains and a lake view -- I think I'm in heaven. Well, in actuality it's Fool Hollow Lake State Park located just outside of Show Low, AZ. The park is lovely and we have a gorgeous site amongst the pines with a nice view out over the lake and full hookups -- what could be better! The town of Show Low is nearby and is good-sized with lots of shopping, dining and entertainment opportunities. We're so smitten with the area that we're going to stay here for a couple of weeks and enjoy the scenic area as well as the great weather. Heck -- it got chilly enough last night that I had to wear a sweatshirt -- imagine that! Anyway, we just arrived two days ago, so stay tuned for additional posts.

Our site is perched on a terraced hillside and we have a nice patio that looks out over the lake from the back of the site. Our nearest neighbors are down the hill and there are lots of pines between us that give us privacy. The campground facilities are extremely nice and there are lots of places to walk -- roads that meander through several campground loops as well as nicely groomed trails. We did our exercise walk (about an hour in length) nearly every day and thoroughly enjoyed all the paths around the park.

During our two weeks here, we took several excursions around the area. One place we especially enjoyed was Woodland Park in the nearby town of Pinetop-Lakeside. It had a lovely pond surrounded by a paved walking trail about a mile long. The trail meandered through shady pine trees, crossed over a couple of bridges and edged up next to a marshy area that had lots of bird activity. We went back twice to enjoy the walk and the peaceful surroundings.

There were lots of waterfowl at the lake, but this mama duck and her ducklings were pretty cute. All-in-all, we thoroughly enjoyed our stay at this park and will stop here again if we get back to this area.