We arrived at about 1:15 PM and the cabin was warm and cozy.
Usually we have to start a fire in the fireplace and wait as the combination of
baseboard heat and the fire gets the room up to a comfortable temperature, but
not this year. I carry the massive load
of items from the truck and Linda gets us settled in for the three days.
Our truck was packed with everything you might need for a
weekend in the snow. Snowshoes, cameras,
clothing, computers, tablets, table games, food and of course great quantities
of drink filled the cab. A large cooler
rode in the back filled with refrigerator items. In all when we got all settled
it took about a half hour.
Raina and Dean arrived at about 2:00 PM, they had about the
same amount of necessities as we did, it took them less time to pack it in with
the four of us laboring on it.
Bridget and Dennis arrived at about 4:00 PM; we all agreed
that they had made great time. Every
year Bridget and Dennis are the last to arrive, it’s a tradition.
The sky was blue and we had a beautiful view of the Selkirk
Mountains reflecting in the rippled waters of Priest Lake. The mountain peaks appeared and disappeared
as the clouds socked around them. We
were able to get some great photos as the sun set and the sky faded to dark.
Raina made dinner as the rest of us played with our
electronics and talked about the happenings of the past year. I mention the electronics because this year
we had brought with us to the cabin, smart phones, Mac tablets, Droid tablets,
laptops, point and shoot cameras, point and shoot DSLRs, Garmen GPS units and a
solar panel to charge them. We were so
tech-ed out that we really didn’t need to talk to each other the entire
weekend.
Dennis and I had brought the same new cameras, so we played
with them all the time trying to figure out the settings and buttons. Bridget either had a iPad or her Mac laptop
opened as she chatted. Raina, Dean and
Linda kept us grounded and only used the technology if they had a question that
could be Googled or viewed on a map.
We had a great time reminiscing past visits and catching up
with the past year. Raina made dinner,
tacos and such. After dinner Dennis and
Dean brought out the maps and scanned them reliving past camps and hunts. The rest of us played a table game called
Qwirkle, it was a fun evening.
Morning came and went quickly. The weather had changed and we were seeing a
bit of snow out the window. At about noon
talk turned to the Gonzaga game and everyone but Dennis walked up to the main
lodge and commandeered front row seats.
The game was good and the Zags won, the broadcast was a bit odd because
the sound was 4 seconds in front of the action.
You would hear a whistle and then 4 seconds later see the foul.
After the game we hiked back to the cabin and settled in for
the evening. Bridget had given Dennis
instructions on putting the meal together and so when we returned she only had
to do a few final touches and put it in the oven. She had prepared a Greek shrimp recipe that
she served over rice. It was phenomenal!
After dinner everyone gathered at the table and Bridget readied
the second annual Tim Tam Slam dessert. If you want to know more about this experience, check out last year’s event. Once
everyone had slammed, or watched a slam, we played an all-inclusive game of Qwirkle. The evening ended and everyone retired as the
fire burned down to embers.
Morning came and we all started discussing next year’s
events. With Linda retiring the events
of the past will no longer need to happen as they did in the past. Her teaching required that we travel and such
when she had a day off or a break from school.
Net year we will be able to go any time we want.
Another factor involved is that we will be in Mexico next
year during these dates. We decided that
we still want to meet up at Hill’s but changed the date to late October. After almost 20 years of going to a cabin
somewhere on President’s day this will be our last winter gathering. It is sad and exciting at the same time. Until next October!
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