The weather could not have been more beautiful this past weekend.  This was my first weekend off in several months (I've been working 6 days a week with only Mondays off) and I was excited to get out and soak up some sun.  As you can see, I need it.

On Saturday afternoon Josh and I went to Pike's Landing with our friend Dolores, as we were all in the mood to produce some vitamin D.  Pike's has a huge outdoor seating area so it was the perfect choice for lunch.

Going to lunch with two geologists who are both weeks away from finishing their masters theses was maybe not the smartest idea I've ever had.  The food was really good even if the company was a little insane.

Later that day we all headed up to a piece of land owned by our friend Matt for a little overnight camping trip.  The view from his land is of Goldstream Valley and it's a beautiful and convenient place for us all to camp and have plenty of privacy.  Public campgrounds on Memorial Day Weekend?  No thanks!

Here's the view of Goldstream from the driveway.

We had plenty to do to amuse ourselves: hike, collect firewood, hit golfballs, shoot guns and bows, and of course sit around the campfire and sing, tell stories, and play games.  Early in the evening a short hike up the road led to the discovery of a moose carcass - well, a lot of it anyway! - and the jawbone was of much interest.

Check out the teeth!

The weather was sunny but partly cloudy and we did get hit with some of the rain that we could see falling across the valley.  The daylight gets really disorienting when you're camping...3 AM comes before you know it.  Don't let the last two photos fool you - as soon as those clouds moved across the sky it looked just like it did in the first two photos!

8:35 PM AKST

10:04 PM AKST

10:08 PM AKST

10:24 PM AKST

The days are long but our time here is short.  We're so lucky to have found this place and these people, these friends who became our family.  We owe much of this incredible experience to them.  Thanks, guys!