Elk Creek Cabin

Sean had a spontaneous moment this week and decided that we needed to go on an adventure up to a cabin. We decided to rent a snowmobile and head up to a cabin in the middle of no where with no electricity/water/ or bedding! Sounds like fun!!! :) We packed up our gear and followed the directions given to us by maps we printed out and a GPS. We parked in a pull out off the side of the road and got our gear ready to go. Sean and the scouts made this sled a few years ago for the Klondike derby so we pulled it out and used it to pull our gear. It actually worked out really well. Honestly it was a life saver for us. We arrived at our starting point around 4:30 p.m. to begin our adventure to the middle of no where!

This is our gear packed up ready to head out!! We put the coordinates into the GPS and started on our way.

Lets just say it was a little bit rougher of a trip then we expected it to be. According to the direction it was only 15 miles from point of entry!! Little did we know we parked in the wrong spot and it added another 15-20 miles to the trip. We took the wrong path to start off with (it added at least 6 miles to the trek)! The GPS kept telling us to take this turn that didn't really exist, it went out into the middle of this field and trees were everywhere. But this time it was dark and we were getting a little nervous. We decided we needed to say a prayer, and instantly afterwards we both thoughts lets go back to the sign 3 miles back and turn the other way before we adventure off track. We did and in about 5 miles we ended up at Elk Creek Guard Station. We drove around a little not knowing which cabin we were suppose to stay in or where to go. The GPS told us to go another 6 miles from where we were at. We decided to check the coordinates again and sure enough we had the wrong coordinates in, off by just a few numbers. It was like living Elder Uchtdorfs talk about the importance of a few degrees. Once we put in the right coordinates we realized we were at the right spot we just had to find the right cabin. We checked a few cabins and no pad lock on them. All the sudden we saw a wood shed that was opened a little and then we knew we were close and we pulled up to a cabin. I checked the lock and put in the code and it didn't work. My heart just dropped. Then Sean came over and tried and sure enough it was the right one. I just didn't know how to work the dumb thing!! We immediately said a prayer of thanks! By this time it was 8:30 p.m.!! Late and cold. We unpacked all out gear and started a fire!!! Thank goodness for wood and matches!

This is the room we slept in it had a fireplace in the room. We put two twin beds together to make a queen bed for us to sleep in!

Me overjoyed to have found the cabin to sleep in!!

Carter standing in front of the warm fire!! His little hands and feet were freezing. Oh yeah let me add that Sean forgot his boots so all he had were the shoes that he wore up there. That isn't the smartest thing to do when we have to trek through snow to find a cabin! The fire worked well to heat up freezing feet! I think that first night Carter was the only one who slept. Between keeping the fire going all night, uncomfortable beds, and noises of being in the woods Sean and I both struggled to sleep.

We woke up the next mourning to sunshine and beauty all around us. At this point we were very excited to be up there. Here is the cabin we stayed in.

For breakfast we cooked eggs over the fire/stove with Seans mess kit. It was a great way to start the day. We gathered up snacks and headed out for some fun in the snow. We decided to needed to move the truck closer to where we needed to be so we road the trek in the daylight back to the truck. Both of us could not believe that we made that journey in the dark the night before pulling a sled with our stuff. It was a long ways away.

This is a picture of my boys eating up the beauty of the mountains!

More fun Carter and I having a snowball fight! He loved being in the snow.

Me pulling Carter around on the sled. He thought this was the best part. He even fell off and face planted and just laughed it off. Sean fell off the sled so took these pictures of us riding around!

After a hard day of play we had the best dinner ever. We took a grill up with us and marinated steaks and chicken, then we cooked corn over the fire and had chips with pop! I was scared to be grilling in the woods. I was afraid the smell would attract wildlife. Another side note: As we were going outside to get the grill going Sean shut the door behind us and it was locked. I started to panic because I was pretty sure I had locked the front door. We were in the back so we made the trek in the snow to the front door without snow pants or gloves! When we got to the front luckily it was unlocked. Sean had gone out to get wood or something and unlocked it on his way out!! We were saved #2!!! Talk about one adventure after another.

We put Carter to bed around 8. He was asking to go to bed. He played hard. One thing Sean and I noticed was how talkative and energetic Carter is. From sun up til sun down he continually made us laugh and said the cutest things. He loved riding on the snowmobile and making snow angels. When it came down to leaving he didn't want to go. He was having too much fun.

Anyhow after putting Carter to bed Sean and I stayed up in front of the fire and just talked. It had been a long time since we had such peace and quite to really enjoy the moment. Being in the mountains really slows down time. We didn't have any technology to keep us busy. No cell phones, no computers, no TV or music. Just the beauty and peace of being in the wilderness. It was great to be up there after learning about the creation in Sunday school. We really appreciated the outdoors!

We woke up Sunday mourning to about 4-5 inches of new snow. It was awesome all the trees were covered in snow and everything looked so clean. Sadly all good things have to come to an end! Packing up and heading out wasn't as exciting as arriving. We made it back to the truck safe and sound. All gear intact. It was a perfect weekend filled with lot of excitement and lots of love! I love my family and am so grateful for Seans love for fun and the outdoors. We both have a weakness of loving to play way to much!