jae lindsay & aaron: happy campsite.

...and we're back from a little weekend in the wilderness!

Julie (graduated year ahead of me, & we now work together) and her boyfriend, Jay, were planning a weekend trip to the great outdoors & asked us lil' campers to join in on the fun. We met up with another OU genetic counseling alum, Christine, and her husband, Bill, for a couple nights down at Lake Murray. We had such a fun weekend just hanging out and exploring our outdoorsy-sides.

It's about a 2 hr. ride south of the city, plus and extra half hour to find that perfect campsite - you know, the proper checklist of firepit, charcoal grill, picnic table, flat grass and tree coverage, and proximity to both the lake and bathrooms. We all had to work on Friday, so we didn't get the party started until pretty late the first night...

...but, we got the tents up & fire crackling in no time. We had plenty of hot dogs, burgers, & s'mores to keep us quite satisfied all weekend. That Backpacking & Camping class at Baylor sure came in handy. ;) Yes, it's a real class. Yes, we took it. (in fact it met a core requirement) Yes, your final exam is how well you load your backpack for the end of the semester overnight trip. what a great education, I'll say.

our 5-star suites...

from our tents [not our bridges] we could hear Andy making some very bad decisions.

Julie & Jay were our seasoned breakfast chefs - who delivered a very non-continental spread of pancakes, bacon, sausage, eggs, toast... Aaron said he's not going camping again without them.

These early birds were...up using their worms.

A real angler herself.

I'd say we found a great campsite in the dark...because in the morning, we discovered this was our frontyard.

Can you see how clear the water is?

We could see the fish, just had trouble getting them interested in us.

the six 'rowdy' screamin' campers who earned a late night visit from Officer Friendly.

now, when I say screamin', I don't mean yellin'. we don't know him, and he doesn't know us. I don't know if you have any weapons, but....there's been some complaints of wood chopping. Oh, now come on. No, you already admitted it.

instead of being a murky, muddy lake, it was actually more rocky. there were scuba divers out enjoying the 15 ft. visibility. I've never seen a lake so clear.

just more landscape shots for ya. the weather was so perfect- we managed to swim during the day, & it was cool enough at night to still be warmed by the campfire.

Our 'activity' for the day.

I've already been checking out craiglist to get Aaron & I one of these. They're so much fun!

The great Kayak Races of '08.

the view from my seat. ...see, this new little camera is being put to good use. My SLR doesn't like to swim.

it was a very good thing we weren't depending on the fish for dinner.us happy campers just before the sunset... one of the great things about camping, no rush. no agenda. no one ever knew what time it was. even preparing each meal is a great activity. and sure, it definitely takes some effort. but, well worth it.