F-f-f-f-februcamping

We did it. We camped in February. And we still have all of our extremities.

Thank you mild winter for your less than ferocious temps and mellow breeze that only partially chilled our bones. After a full week of work, a visit from the wonderful Beth Ann, class and two nights in St. Charles, we packed up the Camry in less than 40 minutes for a night of fresh air. We're getting good at this, but we want to get better. More pre-packed plastic bins are in our future.

We got into White Pines through the back entrance and found our site, complete with electric. Yes, an electric tent camping site. We're not as fierce as you might have thought. The most important ingredient to our successful Februcamping experience was the electric blanket. Ahhh... we were recently given a two-person biking tent and we broke it in with blankets, the usual sleeping bags, more blankets, an electric blanket and more blankets. Sleeping was no problem, and in spite of the 20's temps we stayed toasty under the electric cocoon. The new tent is perfect for the two of us.

For dinner, pescatarian February met Februcamping with a delicious foil potato packet which included red peppers, onions, butter, salsa and seasoning. It was a surprisingly delicious rival to the usual Italian sausage potato packet. There is nothing like open fire cooking with tin foil. And perhaps the old adage is true... hunger is the best sauce. This morning Dad Englert rode his bike out to join us for a cup of sludge - I mean coffee and omelets.

This afternoon I (Anna) was thinking about cold weather camping. Why is this so fascinating to us? Why are we driven to vacate our cozy home in exchange for icy snow and a frigid wind? I haven't come to a full conclusion but perhaps it has something to do with the desire to know we can survive. There's a fascinating connection to the past when we put ourselves in these situations. I feel as though I can relate to the pioneers who ventured across the virgin prairies in their conastogas. For me, it's reaching beyond the banks of normal and collecting yet another adventure to savor for a while. I love experiences - especially ones that most people don't go after. There's also something amazing about embracing winter and getting a full breath of that deprived fresh air. Winter isn't so daunting after spending a day taking it all in. We both commented about how different God's glorious creation is during this season. We don't want to miss any of it.

Cheers to yet another adventure in Andersonville... it's a pretty amazing place to be.