First Camping Trips Since...

It has been a year since I last posted about a trip.  We were supposed to have posted in January about a two-week trip through Asia in December.  This trip had to be cancelled, however, because of what happened in August: Tanya was in a motorcycle accident.  It was bad, but she's alive, and she's walking.  We were in Seattle for about a month for her initial treatment, but that wasn't exactly a vacation.  We went back for a follow-up appointment in March - again, not a vacation.  We were there for less than 24-hours that time.  But Seattle really is a lovely city, for what it's worth.

Now that summer in Alaska is officially here, we don't want to not enjoy it.  So in the coming months, we'll be doing a few trips throughout the state.

We had one short trip in May to Whittier, AK.  Tanya, my brother (who just moved here in May), and I joined Tanya's parents in their camper.  We may actually really love glamping.

Back in December, I booked a cabin up north.  It's a drive-up cabin, since neither of us were sure where Tanya would be with her recovery, and it was something to look forward to.  It's at Fielding Lake, which is a bit far out.  For those of you who don't know where it is, it's north of Paxson, AK, at mile 200.5 on the Richardson Highway.

We arrived in the evening - the Golden Hour, if you will - just in time to start a fire, drink a beer, and watch a beautiful sunset behind the mountains.

The cabin is small and very well managed.  We were pleasantly surprised, actually, with how clean it was.  It's very accessible, too, and although there are plenty of camping spots in the immediate area, it doesn't seem to be a very frequented spot, so it was pretty quiet.

We spent some time walking around the lake, letting the dogs run around.  This is one of my favorite things about traveling in-state - we can take our pups!

As you may be able to see, though, clouds rolled in.  It rained for most of the day, although that didn't stop us from practicing our fire-starting skills outside and cooking some brats and s'mores in the pit fire.  But with the temps dropping to 46°, it did mean that I got to use the wood stove, my favorite part about cabin camping.  Also, lots of card games and relaxing with my favorite person.

We've already decided that we will be coming back to this low-key spot, but with kayaks and fishing poles.  Also, it was a beautiful drive!!  Definitely worth the several hours in the car.