Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm so thankful for God's mercy and grace, for the blessings of a wonderful husband, sweet and supportive parents, loving family, wise friends, and my adorable fur baby! This time of year is usually very difficult for me when we're not with family or close friends, and this year is no different. I miss my parents and close friends that I can't see everyday. However, if you're reading this, you can know that I love you dearly and miss you so much. The holidays aren't the same when I'm not with you.

This year, we spent a couple of days snow camping near Cle Elum Lake on the east side of the Cascades. We had a difficult time finding a place, as every campground was closed, but we scored an open outhouse at Cayuse Horse Camp, and by 3pm on Tuesday afternoon, we were home tent home at site number 11.

It was quite chilly, but hauling our bins to and from the truck and snowshoeing helped us build up some warmth. Also keeping us warm, was Mountain Man's fires. Thankfully, he was able to build a fire in the rain and keep it going long enough for us to cook our hobo dinners the first night. It got dark around 4:30, and poor Bexar was wet and shivering, so we turned in early. This made it a long night in our small tent! After a restless night, the first words out of Mountain Man's mouth on Wednesday morning were, "Happy Birthday," and indeed it was. We made oatmeal for breakfast, washed dishes, and then set out for a short snowshoe. When we got back to camp, we enjoyed a nice cup of hot cocoa by the river then headed back to camp for a fire. It was an overcast night but thankfully the rain held off until early Thursday morning. When we woke up to a steady rain on Thursday, we decided to pack up but spend the day snowshoeing. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving day and came home in time to cook our planned hot dogs and baked beans! Go to our album to see more photos.

Trip highlights:

snowshoeing, sipping hot cocoa by the river, tent snuggling, Starbucks instant coffee, watching Bexar bounce in the snow, scoring an open outhouse, playing "Would you rather" in the tent

Happy Thanksgiving!