Camping Trip Day One
We began our trip down to Skilak Wildlife Management Area on Monday around 1100. We got on the road when we thought we would, which was surprising to me. We stopped by New Seguya to pick up lunch and off we went. We headed south on Seward Highway and made a quick pit stop at Beluga Point.
I was extremely glad that we rented the A-Liner, but more on that later. Autumn was having a great time in the back seat playing peek a boo. She fell asleep shortly after we got on the road (pat on the back to us for planing the bulk of our driving while Autumn was napping). It was a beautiful drive down to Skilak. Once we arrived at the park, we drove through on a dirt road trying to determine where we wanted to camp. It was during this part of our drive that we bumped into a black bear and two cubs on the side of the road. We couldn't turn around though and we were unable to get a picture of these guys. We finally picked out our campsite down at Upper Skilak Lake campground.
Sean and Autumn setting up the campground.
Lovely Autumn.
The view from our campsite. The only problem with this campsite was that the mosquitoes were AWFUL!! They didn't seem to bother Sean or Autumn, but they were swarming me. It didn't seem to matter how much bug spray I put on, they just weren't going to leave me alone. After getting camp all set up, we went on a hike.
We decided on "Hideout Trail -1.5 miles." Don't let the sign fool you-that was a somewhat strenuous hike. I mean Sean had to carry Autumn, but I had to hold onto the camera and my water bottle!!
Autumn sure does love going on a hike. We had to take blankie with us almost everywhere!
Stopping to smell the flowers.
This area was beautiful and at one time (in the 90's I think) it was devastated by fire. It seems to have recovered quite nicely, but you can still see some of the damage. I was grateful for the great weather. We actually did get hot.
Sean and Autumn.
Me.
Autumn pointing out nature.
Sean needed a little break from the extra weight of the back pack, but more so than that, Autumn wanted out.
Taking a milk break.
Using Sean's head as a resting spot.
Checking out nature.
After our hike, we made our way back to our campsite. We finished getting our camping area together and Sean started dinner. We had steak with wild mushroom couscous and enjoyed a glass of wine with our dinner. Once we finished dinner, we went down to the lake and skipped rocks and just sat around enjoying the view. We put Autumn in her pajamas and put her down for bed time in her pack n' play. She cried for a good 45 minutes before she finally went to sleep. Sean and I went to bed around 9 pm. At sometime in the middle of the night Autumn woke up quite upset. Everyone within a 5 mile radius heard Autumn screaming. Sean picked her up out of the pack n' play and she was quite cold. We were unable to get the heat to work, so we set Autumn between us. It did in fact get quite cold (down in the 30's or 40's), but once Autumn was warm, she went back to sleep. She woke up about every hour or so screaming because she didn't know where she was at. Finally at 5 am, we decided to go on and cook breakfast (eggs, corn beef hash, coffee, orange juice) and get ready for day two of our fabulous camping trip.
I was extremely glad that we rented the A-Liner, but more on that later. Autumn was having a great time in the back seat playing peek a boo. She fell asleep shortly after we got on the road (pat on the back to us for planing the bulk of our driving while Autumn was napping). It was a beautiful drive down to Skilak. Once we arrived at the park, we drove through on a dirt road trying to determine where we wanted to camp. It was during this part of our drive that we bumped into a black bear and two cubs on the side of the road. We couldn't turn around though and we were unable to get a picture of these guys. We finally picked out our campsite down at Upper Skilak Lake campground.
Sean and Autumn setting up the campground.
Lovely Autumn.
The view from our campsite. The only problem with this campsite was that the mosquitoes were AWFUL!! They didn't seem to bother Sean or Autumn, but they were swarming me. It didn't seem to matter how much bug spray I put on, they just weren't going to leave me alone. After getting camp all set up, we went on a hike.
We decided on "Hideout Trail -1.5 miles." Don't let the sign fool you-that was a somewhat strenuous hike. I mean Sean had to carry Autumn, but I had to hold onto the camera and my water bottle!!
Autumn sure does love going on a hike. We had to take blankie with us almost everywhere!
Stopping to smell the flowers.
This area was beautiful and at one time (in the 90's I think) it was devastated by fire. It seems to have recovered quite nicely, but you can still see some of the damage. I was grateful for the great weather. We actually did get hot.
Sean and Autumn.
Me.
Autumn pointing out nature.
Sean needed a little break from the extra weight of the back pack, but more so than that, Autumn wanted out.
Taking a milk break.
Using Sean's head as a resting spot.
Checking out nature.
After our hike, we made our way back to our campsite. We finished getting our camping area together and Sean started dinner. We had steak with wild mushroom couscous and enjoyed a glass of wine with our dinner. Once we finished dinner, we went down to the lake and skipped rocks and just sat around enjoying the view. We put Autumn in her pajamas and put her down for bed time in her pack n' play. She cried for a good 45 minutes before she finally went to sleep. Sean and I went to bed around 9 pm. At sometime in the middle of the night Autumn woke up quite upset. Everyone within a 5 mile radius heard Autumn screaming. Sean picked her up out of the pack n' play and she was quite cold. We were unable to get the heat to work, so we set Autumn between us. It did in fact get quite cold (down in the 30's or 40's), but once Autumn was warm, she went back to sleep. She woke up about every hour or so screaming because she didn't know where she was at. Finally at 5 am, we decided to go on and cook breakfast (eggs, corn beef hash, coffee, orange juice) and get ready for day two of our fabulous camping trip.
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