July 29, 2012: Today we had to return home, but thankfully the drive would be short, giving us a few hours to continue to explore the White Mountains. Originally we'd planned on canoeing at Crescent Lake, but the cold and the winds kept us on shore. Instead, we hiked a few miles along the East Baldy Trail, descending to a wildflower filled meadow along the banks of the Little Colorado River before returning to camp to load up and head home. The first portion of the drive home was uneventful; however, just north of Globe we encountered extremely high winds and the beginning of a rainstorm that would mark the beginning of Arizona's Monsoon Season. We beat the worst of the storm to Alison’s parents to drop off the trailer, but hit flooding on the way home, requiring a detour even after passing through one stretch of flooded road, being followed by a Mesa PD officer who was kind enough to say I could go first and he’d pull me out if I got stuck.