Camp Verde Public Library

I'm at the Camp Verde Public Library because I can't go hiking anywhere. Five of the six National Forests in Arizona, are closed due to wildfires. Only the Coronado National Forest is open. It really sucks, and State Land Trust is also closed. Now I have nowhere to camp.  It is rather depressing. I have to resort to stealth camping within Cottonwood. I found a safe spot at a dead end road where a few medical offices are clustered together. I park behind a row of empty offices after sunset. Then I leave at 5:30am. The view is a wall, a dumpster, and desert shrubs. But it's quiet. However, I really miss the expansive views of the high desert grasslands and the Black Hills that stretch from Camp Verde to Cottonwood. I can still see Mingus Mountain but the foreground is Sovereign Laboratories. It's a ruined scene. I hunger for wide open spaces. Throughout the day I look skyward and hope for the monsoon rains to put an end to the wildfires, and then I can return to my little spot in the desert.