They’re finally here….8:05 am

After being sound asleep for 45 minutes, the last thing I want to do is jump out of bed and go back outside.  But, promises of breakfast were made, so…

First on the agenda is coffee – we have a giant traditional blue enamel coffee pot (28 cup), so we get that filled up and boiling on our new Camp Chef Everest stove

There’s never too much coffee in camp

We love this stove – two burners (20,000 btu each), so it gets water boiling fast.  Sometimes you just gotta go with power.  Into the boiling pot goes nearly two cups of finely ground french roast coffee, and it steeps for a bit.

Some for now, more coffee later…

Then, we pour thru a filter, directly into cups first, then the balance into a carafe.  John figured out that we can keep the pot warm on the grill (needed the burners for other stuff), so going forward, we’re going to dispense with the carafe and go pot to cup.

Who knew you could grill coffee?

Joel, Susanne, and Brad are drinking the coffee as fast as we can pour.

Joel, Susanne, and Brad – still smiling.

Once the first gallon is gone, we decide to get serious about breakfast.

John’s a Dutch oven guy, so he gets biscuits going.

Baking biscuits

Ready to eat w/honey or jam.  We ate three pans full!

Bacon!

This was disappearing as fast as we could get it off the stove

A million scrambled eggs.  Coffee cake.  Orange juice.  More coffee.  The bacon-y smell drifting across the campground gets others milling around, and pretty soon there are bodies everywhere eating.

Marissa and Gretchen chowing down

We’re happy – this is what we love to do.  Four of the Shifters (Matt, Matt, Jason, and Bob) apparently begged Dawn to make food for them immediately, so when I wander down to their campsite to invite them down for breakfast, they’re already sound asleep.

The day passes with tubing (kids never care about freezing water), socializing, and drinking beer in the sun.

Gretchen and Matt enjoy the frigid water

Matt and Marissa cruise past….

Brats, chili, more beer, and campfire all night.

Seen along the trail in Luther – not sure exactly what this is.

Everyone packs up & heads out the next morning.  John and I linger a bit – it’s finally our chance to ride a few miles, so we haul the bikes out – check out a campground downstream, then ride back to Luther.

Time to hook up & go home.

Night Shift 2013 is over.  Epic weekend.