We began this week’s outdoor adventure on Friday morning as we headed south after packing was completed. On our journey to the outskirts of Arizona (specifically Patigonia) we were rewarded for our flawless execution on this weeks group intention being love and positivity with a stop at the not at all over hyped “In-n-Out” where in fact many skeptics in the group walked away with an entirely new outlook and appreciation for said establishment. Once we arrived at our destination we efficiently unpacked and set up camp conserving enough energy to get as much as possible out of our first nights AA meeting that was based around what we are excited to get out of sobriety. On our full first day we checked out an old settlement called Kentucky Camp and then explored around a nearby area for some abandoned mines that we found out to be protected by numerous Rattlesnakes including 2 Green Mohaves. After the expedition came to an end we spent some time in silence journaling for our SIC (sharing is caring) topic. The rest of the afternoon the guys had the option to choose between a relaxing and sun filled fun time at the camp playing in the creek or a speed hike on part of the well known Arizona Trail. The hike group arrived back at camp around 6PM where we were pleasantly surprised by the prepared Stir fry dinner that the stay back crew had made. After another extremely beneficial nightly meeting the guys fell into slumber as we listened to exciting crime podcasts and soon awoke to the smells of savory breakfast as the sun came up.
After cleaning up a few of us indulged ourselves into a few intense rounds of Spikeball that really got the blood pumping to start the day. Soon after we loaded the van full and went out in search of the notorious “Wandering Jew” (name of the mine) up in the scorching desert hills. We had some difficulty in the beginning and all hope seemed lost as the heat was getting to some guys heads and tensions were rising, we asked ourselves:”Will we ever find the Wandering Jew?”, “Does the Wandering Jew even exist or is it just another urban legend?”. Luckily we had the mine expert in our midst that when combined with a GPS system became unstoppable and quickly he was able to lead us straight into the mine. Again the boys were rewarded for their hard work and determination this time with a refreshing dip in the beautiful Patagonia Lake. The group as a whole grew much closer with this bonding experience since we all partook in the swimming festivities battling off gorgeous locals and dangerous leeches. We carried out our SIC Journal shares and ended the great lake day with a few more rounds of Spikeball, this time the trip leaders arose victoriously. Back at camp as nightfall crept so sneakily upon our sunburned skin we had an all out feast consisting of all the camp snacks you could imagine with main courses of Hot Dogs and Chicken Curry. With bellies full and minds at peace we decided to journey inwards into deep mindfulness soul searching with a meditation. We needed only to use the blissful and ambient sounds of our surroundings to ease our minds into the Theta realm. The goat frogs croaked in unison with rises and falls of velocity almost following along with our meditation as the creek water filled in as a backing track to the symphony of nature.
Thus ended our final night and capped yet another marvelous outdoor adventure at B2B.
