Camping with the bears

So we didn't actually see any bears, but last weekend our church group hosted a camp out at Eklutna Lake.  I have been anti-tent camping since arriving due to the single nylon sheet separating me from the giant, hungry bears while sleeping.  But wanting to be social and continue to get plugged into this great state, I set my fear aside and packed up the car. 

It couldn't have been a more beautiful weekend.  We headed out Friday after work with the sun shining and the trees all fall-like and yellow in a beautiful 68 degree weather. 

We experienced our first camp fire in Alaska and made s'mores (yum!) the first night.  After we got all snuggled in our tent (including Mocha), I put on about 5 layers of clothes, feet warmers, 2 pads underneath me to keep the cold ground from encroaching on my warmth and bundled up in my 15 below sleeping bag I had from my mountain-guiding days.  When I woke up in the middle of the night sweating, I figured I had over done it just a little.  It also made me feel bad a little when the others all complained about being freezing throughout the night.  I guess it pays to be over prepared!

We enjoyed a feast of pancakes, eggs, sausage, bacon and coffee over a nice campfire in the morning which included a devotional about creation (very appropriate in our surroundings).  It was refreshing and we enjoyed getting to know some other young married couples who live in Anchorage. 

We had to cut the weekend short and head back to continue working on our bathroom remodel (more to come on that later...our bedroom is a disaster zone at the moment)...or might I say watch college football - whichever one you want to believe as the truth. 

However, while we were out there and it being so beautiful (remember sunshine has not been a frequent visitor lately) we wanted to hike Thunderbird Falls that everyone was doing later that afternoon.  So we loaded our car and headed to the trail head.  We heard it was about a 2 mile hike to this beautiful waterfall.  The time crunch allowed for a nice little jog/workout, which was much needed following a grand breakfast buffet.  We enjoyed the falls about long enough to take this picture:

 and head back - I think our "hike" took us about 30 min.  Next time we'll probably stop to smell the roses a little more. :)