Parents visit - Part 2

On the Saturday morning of my parents' visit, we (Beth and I, my parents, Bella, our friend Bryn and her dog Dash) made a leisurely getaway around 11 AM to head north of town for a quick canoeing and camping trip. It was an overcast and chilly morning, with a bit of wind thrown into the mix by the time we reached Nancy Lake State Park. From the trailhead it was a 3 mile hike in to Red Shirt Lake, where our canoes were waiting, and by the time we pushed off from shore there was hardly a cloud left in the sky.

Despite the good omen of the weather, I was pretty nervous as we set off in the canoe for the simple reason that this was Bella's first time in such a tippable boat. She did just fine, despite a really tempting fly-by from a dragonfly where she thought about making a lunge, probably because she was just as nervous about her maiden voyage as I was. In the end, after only about 10 uneventful minutes we were pulling ashore.

Home for the night was a small (~200 feet across) island with a rustic (amenities include wooden sleeping platform and table!) cabin looking southwest across the lake. It was the perfect place to let the dogs run amok, which they were more than willing to do. That left us two-leggers to enjoy a beautiful, sunny and warm afternoon however we wanted.

Not surprisingly, we based our entertainments around food, drink and a cheery campfire (which was also a welcome source of warmth as the evening wound down). Sunset in late September was still nearly 8PM, so we were able to prepare dinner at a leisurely pace while sipping from a variety of wines (carried in our brand new Platypus PlatyReserve wine reservoirs - YUM!). The main course was Spaghetti with Parmesan and Bacon - a favorite new recipe that I highly recommend - with a dessert of baked apples filled with brown sugar, cinnamon and butter. It was all delicious, even according to my mom who had uncharacteristically assured us that she would not be enjoying the pasta recipe.

Sleep was restless, especially with two dogs who each interpreted the other's every move as an invitation to play, not to mention Dash's attempt to French Kiss me in my sleep (note: this was only unsuccessful because I had the misfortune of waking up a millisecond before Dash licked my tongue, not because Dash in any way failed to take advantage of me). It also got really chilly in the cabin by the time morning rolled around, although I may have been the only one who needed to add extra layers overnight.

{Dash, you saucy dog, you}

In the morning my mom rekindled the campfire, my dad made a ton of pancakes, Beth and Bryn got water and I... well surely I must have done something. I probably kept the dogs out of trouble. It was a beautiful morning, and when a few snowflakes drifted down on us they seemed so out of place with the mostly sunny skies that I thought they were just ash from the fire. We took our time packing up, with some folks taking the opportunity to head out in canoes to explore the lake a bit before we headed out.

We left our island a bit before noon and were back to the cars a little after one. The weather turned nasty on the drive home, and when we stopped for a late lunch on a detour into Palmer it was raw, windy and dark. There was snow on the mountains and reports that it was snowing hard (but not sticking) in Anchorage. But by the time we got home the sun was out and shining off of the newly frosted peaks. Quite the view from our cozy living room. I'm guessing we celebrated our safe return with a hearty dinner and some wine. I know Bella celebrated by sleeping from about 5 in the evening straight through to morning.