Manitoba Yurt with friends....

 none of us had ever been here so we decided over coffee at the Monday walk to get it together...see what happens when you walk together...you make plans together.  we just did an over nighter, which was actually perfect for a little get a way in winter. 

 it's on this side of Summit Lake.  there is a pull out that you park at and a little trail on the near side of the pull out. the hike to the yurt is only about a mile.  GT and i both used sleds to bring our gear in.  we weren't sure if it would snow, it was predicted, so we all brought snow shoes.  as it turns out the trail was actually nicely packed down.

 some of these are SH shots and also a few from LS phone too. 

 that morning i woke right before my alarm and also right before the earthquake.  i guessed this aftershock at a 5.6.  i was in bed, upstairs and the place shook long and hard with an extended shimmy that lasted quite some time as well.  the reports were anywhere from 4.7-5.4...i think they finally settled on like 5.1.

 with all these aftershocks it seems this is what we all do.  feel it and get on facebook and guess the magnitude. the numbers do seem to be slowing overall but we still get some good ones...and one this size comes with it's own aftershocks...so the fun continues. a few things fell down and some pictures on the wall were again crooked. i think i will just live with crooked pictures now...seems pointless to attempt to straighten them only to have Mother Nature make them all crooked again.

 we had a great escape.  we even got a fun game of Nertz going.  it got loud and the laughter seemed to never cease! they have the two yurts to rent and then there is a main cabin. it has a tiny room to rent as well, with a common space for all to share...as it turned out we were the only ones out there that night so we had the whole place to ourselves. they supply wood for burning and they have lights on solar power in the main cabin.

 my selfie with the pups.  getting ready to walk out.  we had warmish weather...warm, for Alaska anyway, but not so warm it ruined our pretty snow. 

 SH is the selfie queen....as you can see by her selfies...just lots of smiles and laughing by all...

 i was the only one who brought pups.  they had a great time.  Tusker got up several times in the night...i think he's just used to having a dog door and would get restless and warm in the yurt with the fire going.  i was granted the double sized bunk to accommodate sleeping with two pups.  mostly they did curl up with me.  pretty tuckered out from the day and all the excitement.

 icicles on the main cabin.

 as i was prepping to leave my handyman showed up to work on the tiles.  he was there again today when i returned.  he got all the tiles up and tomorrow he will come grout them.  the folks at Wayfair charge Alaskans for shipping and yet, many of the tiles were cracked up. thankful i had extra.  i just had fallen for these tiles and kept coming back to them.  I'm sure it was a pain for my handyman though...which will end up costing me more for the install time.  he's very meticulous though so i know all he does is up to a great standard.  will be great to see them with grout. 

 i think he is saving up the last bill for after this...it's really all that is left.  toss in a little shelf over sink...just to break up the space and get the stove installed. just so crazy to be near the end of this all.  pretty crazy and fun to see the transformation of my tiny and droll kitchen into this beautiful space.

 i must have gotten some good sleep last night, not uninterrupted though.  always worry when you have the dogs that they will annoy all, and Tusker did bark a bit.  thankfully, they were an understanding group of friends.  always happy to have the pups along. Tusker was whining in the main cabin before we started playing cards...in the end he was tired and just wanted to fall asleep where Ivy had settled in...as soon as she moved, he moved right in and crashed.

 the trail head is right along this busy road so i packed up my sled, grabbed the dogs on leashes and headed into the trail quickly, we moved along a bit then waited for everyone else.  on the return i slowed up and hooked the dogs up before we hit the road.

 more of the tile progress from today

 thought this was a funny shot LS took of me. 

 got a few loads of laundry done this evening.  will try to run dishwasher tomorrow night if he is far enough along for that.

 we found some smoked salmon vodka in the main cabin...I'd heard someone had made this up here, but had never tried it or had any desire to spend money on an entire bottle...but there it was sitting in the cabin..so we all tested it out. it tastes like vodka laced with salmon.  not going to rush out and buy a bottle but it did add some spice to our evening.

 the counter sink is in protective mode for the tile install.

 more icicles on the main cabin

 the area used to be more formal skiing and we did run into several skiers on the trail beyond the cabin/yurts.  we just went to a gate that was there and returned...we had some time after we arrived and the pups needed the extra tennis ball chasing time.

 my handyman put me on completing the beam project...he'd put the finish pieces up that i had painted so the seams needed touch up and it needed seams filled and then i put up that last stencil that i had pondered putting in....i mean i had the ladder out anyway, right? 

 i just hoped another aftershock didn't hit while i was up on the ladder.

 we stashed our sleds and snowshoes on the deck of our yurt. they have two yurts, ours could sleep 8 and was dog friendly...i think they said up to 3 dogs...pretty tight.  really just bunks, a small table and the wood stove..it's really just for sleeping.  you cook and chill at the main cabin

 the fire kept us all plenty warm through the night.  I'd brought a fleece liner for my sleeping bag but i didn't end up needing it.

 SH took this one below of my sled in front of the yurt.  that is my new ski hat..i really liked the shot though.  with the hat colors it made it look cool

 the kids in front of the main cabin.  looks like a fire pit area in front there...of course, we did not utilize that..the other thing we didn't use but that they have there is a sauna!!  those are great.  maybe next time.

 well, i shall head to bed in a bit.  a nice slumber in my own bed is always a great reward. we stopped in Girdwood for a meal and headed home....a fun trip i would totally recommend this little trip out to the Manitoba Yurts!!

thankful for A.  great friends B.  winter get away  C.  laughter