Craig and Becca Maughan: The Yurt

Like last year, the few weeks during and after the holidays were super busy for Craig at work. They had another submission for the Federal Regulators, which caused many 15 and 16 hour days at work for him. Not fun for him, or for me at home.

One silver lining, however, is the time that he gets to take off after the project is finished. Last year, we went to San Diego. This year, we decided to do something a little different.

We dropped Calder off at Craig's parents house, (where we were going was a little too extreme for me to want to take an almost 2-year-old) packed our bags, took some friends with us, and came here:

Bloomington Canyon, Idaho

It is a canyon in Idaho, really close to Bear Lake to give you an idea where it was at.

the Jorgensens

We donned our cross-country skis, and started the 7 mile trek through the canyon to the yurt.

It was a slight uphill almost the whole way. We took it slow (according to Craig), but I honestly don't think I could have gone faster and made it! :) The last mile and a half was a lot steeper of an uphill. And after skiing for so long already, it was hard (at least for me!) I was exhausted, to say the least! But the scenery was beautiful!

We made it! And were so glad that we did! The people who own the yurt (Weber State) tell you to be prepared to spend a night outside, in case something goes wrong (i.e. you can't find the yurt, you can't get it open, etc). To say it was a relief to make it to the yurt is definitely an understatement! With a lunch stop and several stops for snacks and equipment adjusting, we made it in about 4 and a half hours.

Outside the yurt

Inside the yurt

You can't see in the picture, but as you open the door, to the right, there is a propane stove (for cooking) and some pots and pans. To the left are some bunk beds. There was also a folding table and chairs that were ready for us to set up.

This is the view north east of the yurt. There is the wood shed, and also was the area set aside for bathroom purposes.

This is the south east view. Beautiful!

We had to melt snow for our water, which made me feel like we were really outdoorsy. But in reality, it just took a while! We packed in the stuff we needed to make spaghetti, and the Jorgensens brought stuff to make orange cakes in the stove.

The yurt stayed really warm. I was actually surprised how warm it got. (Up to 80 degrees!) While we were sleeping, I even had to leave my sleeping bag open and take off my socks because I was too warm. Definitely the only type of winter camping I would do. :)

My stomach gave me issues that night, which was the only bummer about the whole trip. Thankfully, I felt fine in the morning, so I could ski out just fine.

During the night, our friends went outside to use the bathroom, and they saw cat tracks (like a big cougar-type cat) all around the bathroom area. And in the morning, there were different tracks there (jack-rabbit, I think?) too. It is crazy to think how many animals were wandering around outside while we were sleeping. Good thing Jon-David brought his knife! ;)

We enjoyed an oatmeal breakfast, cleaned up, made sure the fire was out, and started the trek back home!

What took 4 and a half hours to get there, only took a little over 2 to ski back! It was really fun (to not have to work so hard!).

I was anxious to see Calder. It was the longest that we have ever left him - almost 2 full days! But he did great! He loves spending time with his grandparents and aunts and uncles.