I am not exaggerating!

Well, I have to finish my story about the first camping trip before I can share all the wonderful birding adventures I have had since then. This place is unreal, and the bird peak is not really here.

But first, a week ago, on my second night camping, I experienced 25-degree temps. I have a heater in the camper but my goal was to stay warm enough to avoid using the heater while sleeping (and saving the power for the morning when I would be up and about the camper). To that end, I put on four layers of clothing on top and 3 layers on the bottom. I slept under 2 sleeping bags and a wool blanket. NO PROBLEM. Seriously. I was so warm I did not wake up cold one time. When I finally woke up, Tango moved into the warm spot where I slept and claimed it for his own.

Dish pan with frozen water

Two sleeping bags: the blue one is a mummy bag rated to 20 degrees. The brown plaid one is a heavy “Maine Guide” bag rated to zero degrees. I open up both, tuck my feet in the bottom of the mummy bag. Sooooo cozy.

Some other “tricks” for staying warm in the popup:

The left pkg had a large body warmer. I put this under my shirt while sleeping. The toe warmers (upper right) have a sticky side. I stick them between two wool socks. The hand warmers (lower right) go inside my gloves. Perfect.

Space blanket over door, traps heat inside. This is directly across the camper from the heater so it keeps out drafts and reflects heat back in. I cover my computer, camera and other electronics with a wool blanket and another space blanket.

One friend said to me when I texted some of the photos: “Why don’t you just go home and sleep in your own bed?” I say, why do that instead of having this great adventure? Life is too short to always sleep in your warm bed. Besides, cold cold cold is not nearly as awful as people think. Some of my best new memories are walking beside frost covered trees on a crisp day. Ice-fishing too. Trust me, there are enough warm layers out there to insulate against any discomfort.

I have been trying to view northern lights. They are quite active at the moment but will fade out as the “midnight sun” up north obscures them. I have an app for my cell phone that predicts northern lights and I was close to seeing them one night. People in Michigan observed the lights, so I should have seen them. I couldn’t wait up all night but the northern sky clouded up anyway. So close! Maybe next winter, when the northern skies are dark again.

I made it to my minister meetings that morning, and arrived home later that afternoon. I was blessed by two golden eagles who hovered in the air looking for food. That whole trip I saw a handful of “firsts” for the year and was feeling proud. I had no idea what I would see this week. Wowee. Here is a hint:

Who are these guys and gals? What are the dark birds among those white ones (in the main flock)