and the week(s) goes on . . .

This is why we haven't moved on. Our view.

And this . . . Yup, this is the life! It is so quiet and peaceful.

You'll find us here every afternoon. The weather is amazing! There are so few people around. It feels like we are alone. Us, the warblers/songbirds and the geese which are by far the noisiest occupants of this campground! There is a unit next door, but it sits empty. Saving their site for weekend maybe?? 

window reflections

And so we have paid for 4 more nights and will be here for the weekend. This is by far the longest stretch we have stayed in one campground for many years. It may just be our new favourite.

our week at the Reservoir

There is not a lot to write about since we haven't been moving about much.

We had two very hot days but the Thursday prior to the long weekend was windy and wet, so we made the 1 ½ hour drive to Medicine Hat for the afternoon. It was good to do a home check, pick up mail, do a couple loads of laundry and pick up some supplies. We were in need of a new lawn chair as someone (I won't mention his name) backed over mine with the truck. One must remember to put the truck in park before exiting. 

Apparently it poured while we were gone. The 8 km stretch of grid road back to the park was horrible -- mud and slippery. I was pretty happy to see our 5th wheel again! Ron spent the next afternoon with a brush and many buckets of water. 

We are enjoying our stay here. (One of those trailers above is ours.) Even though it's been a busy weekend, our spot is fairly private and quiet. It's nice to have such large campsites with decent space in between! Some of the upper level off lake sites are more open with units closer together and doubled up. We did hear that the cops were called in for one group of young partiers. 

The weekend weather has been great other than some wind. Kids have been swimming, but holy moly the water is COLD! I don't know how they can stand it! I walked up to my ankles and instant numbness. I promptly re-packed my floating chair. 

wind block

Today the units are lined up at the RV dump and heading home. We have paid for another night and then will make the decision to stay or go. With all the weekend traffic we haven't been able to access the wifi network. I'm glad to see it available again!!

Exit line-up at the dump. Glad we are staying!!

Rolling Hills Reservoir Campground, Scandia, AB

Rolling Hills Reservoir
Site #A-19, $35 (x13) p only, cell & wifi (spotty at site, good office)

We are camped beside the lake (a reservoir) and the temp is 30C. Heaven! Just look at this beach!

We did our two nights at Kinbrook Park. It was nice and we enjoyed our usual activities -- bike about, etc. We had neighbours on either side, so it was not the 'privacy' we are used to. While there, we also took a drive to check out Rolling Hills Reservoir campground. We had heard about it, but had never been. Well we got lost. We took some horrible grid roads and we ended up in the town of Rolling Hills. We turned left when we should have turned right. Ron talked to some locals at the golf course and we backtracked on those horrible roads. We took another wrong turn and almost gave up. Then voila! We finally found it! It is directly below Newell Lake and Kinbrook park. Crazy we missed it. 

But we are so glad we pursued! What a great camping spot. Other than some 'lease sites' all the spots are 'first come'. These places are getting harder to come by and it is almost impossible to get good sites on a long weekend without a reservation. So we made our way here this morning and here we will stay. For at least a week to get through the long weekend. It will be interesting to see how busy it gets. Right now it's very quiet. 

In the meantime, we will hang in the shade, soak up the heat and enjoy our large, fairly private spot in the trees with the birds. Love it! We have wifi! We could do without the mosquitoes! 

Some beach life

on to Kinbrook Island Prov Pk

Kinbrook Island Prov Pk
Site #H-112 - $33 (x2) p only, no wifi

Well the sun finally came out again and we enjoyed two more days at the Oasis and evenings around the campfire. It was back to our regular routine!

Three more units joined us for the weekend. There were a couple of boaters and a ski-jet on the lake. One realizes this lake is much bigger than it first appears when the boats drive off and disappear into the horizon. I'm sure it's a very busy place in the summer months.

Sunday -- Happy Mom's Day! Flower's camping style from Ronnie.

We headed south with the wind at our tail and landed at Kinbrook Prov Pk. It's always a busy place on Sundays with the locals from Brooks coming for picnics in the day use areas. The weather was awesome and we enjoyed steak, wine and a late evening around the fire. Happy mom's day indeed.

It's COLD at this Oasis!

There are days -- when the temp is 4C -- that one wonders, "Why the hell are we doing this again??" I am NOT a cold weather camper! So, yes, two days of this ugly weather. Enough already I say!

Poor weather also generally means we are doing things that aren't so much fun. Yesterday we vacuumed, washed the floor and cleaned. Today's agenda included laundry, baking bread and driving to town -- the BIG town of Hanna to do some shopping. (I need more flannelette sheets!) 

Thank goodness for our trusty little heater and for the internet.

Here's hoping for better days ahead!

Oh yes, also yesterday. There was a National Emergency Alert test sent to cell phones that many would have received.  Ron didn't get it, but mine came headed with "Presidential alert".  I thought this was rather odd and I later found out other people's alerts were headed up with "Emergency alert"???  So what the...???  Weird!

Prairie Oasis Pk (near Hanna)

Prairie Oasis Pk
Site #34 - $30 (x6) p/w, wifi & cell

We arrived at this "prairie oasis" along with a wind so it was nice to get settled in our somewhat protected campsite in the trees. It looks like an invasion of caterpillars hanging in the trees and all over the ground!

We are happy to have decent cell service once again and also a working wifi connection. We are all for modern day camping, thank you very much!

We had an early campfire and roasted wieners for dinner. So a little old style camping mixed in with the new! 

Tues. we awoke to some rain, but it was clear and sunny by lunch so most of our day was outdoors. Today is breezy and cooler.  We may be huddled indoors with the electric heater. Ron is busy doing some of his family tree updates as I post.

Final Days at Dinosaur

Saturday: So much for our quiet relaxing stay in the park. We were invaded! The number of campers increased significantly for the weekend. Our loop was almost full.

And then Saturday morning? A marathon/run in the park. There were approximately 450 participants all ages and sizes doing 3,5 and 10 km runs. Yikes people everywhere. At least we had a quiet campspot at the far end of the campground away from the activity. We stayed pretty close to our 5th wheel. By 3 pm, all evidence of the run was gone. 

We have a spot on our kitchen table where I prop my phone and we can pick up a little cell service. We received a call from Janice while eating dinner last night. Richard had another (his 3rd) heart attack yesterday while fishing on the river. He recognized the signs and was able to get to shore in the Maple Ridge area to call 911 and he was rushed to Royal Oak hospital. He has had another 5 stents put in and will require 4 more before leaving the hospital. He is certainly in our thoughts.

We ended up paying for one last night to make it a full week in this park. We then made a run to Brooks for a few groceries. We capped off our stay with beef tenderloin and wine and a little Sambuca at the fire. At 27C, it was the warmest of our days and nights.

It's been an almost perfect week, but the mosquitoes are beginning to hatch and become a nuisance. This place is notorious for that come midsummer. As much as we enjoyed our stay, it's time to move on!

Love the old Cottonwoods on the River Trail

Still dining with dinosaurs . . .

Our three nights in the park went by quickly. We just weren't ready to pack up and move on. Three more nights it is!! 

A few other campers have now joined us. The campground workers are busy getting ready for the season. Raking, cleaning, setting up the yurts etc. They were to turn on the water today, but have instead spent the day working on a leak. Speaking of water leaks, we also have a leak in our fresh water tank that we will need to address. Hopefully it can be patched once the tank is empty. We'll see... In the meantime we catch and reuse. 

Last night some neighbours from up the way joined us at the fire. They are from Fairbanks, Alaska and on their way to a granddaughter's wedding in Philadelphia. They were looking for places to visit along the way and will do a day trip to the Drumheller museum tomorrow. 

Today we rode our bikes around the Dinosaur display loop. There were crocuses! Also, when in Dinosaur country, one expects to find dinosaurs! 

It was hot hot in that sunshine. I'm not complaining, but I can't even imagine hiking those hills midsummer. Regardless, it will be busy here as always. Once again, I was pleased with my pedal ability! Oh, and my sharp eye came up with this great find. The fuel for tonight's fire. 

We are still undecided about our plans. We are reluctant to head to BC for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, our truck has a bit of a 'stutter' and so we worry about straying too far and about pulling in the passes. And then there are the fuel prices. Ouch. We might not be travelling very far this year. Anyway, as I said earlier, I guess it's one (or three?) days at a time.

Ready Set Camp! Dinosaur PP

Dinosaur Prov Pk
Site #S-33, $31 (x7) p only, wifi and some cell

Ahhhh..... camping feels good. We seem to have this gig down pat. We are well organised and once again nothing important was left behind.

It felt much warmer than the 14C in the park with the sun shining and no wind. . We set up camp and did our usual bike tour. I was extremely thankful that I could ride my bike with no problem. Although I have been riding my recumbent exercise bike at home, I was a little worried about the regular biking motion as I still have some swelling and stiffness in the op knee. However, it is working! A big relief. Hopefully when the other knee is done I can add more walking. 

These were the only other campers in the park last night besides us.

A little mishap at dinner last night. I forgot about the hot handle when I went to pick up the pan of onions and peppers. They ended upside down on the floor. So it was perogies and sausage without the side of veggies. Damn. Anyway, a couple of cocktails, a nice campfire and all was well in our world. 

Today it is cloudy with a breeze.  Hopefully tomorrow will bring some sun. We have paid for two more nights here.

2018 - Is it SPRING yet??

Whoa..  This has been a LONG winter with Spring reluctant to show it's face.  I believe April 20 is the latest our Cottonwood Golf Course has opened since we moved here 18 years ago. (Can you believe we've been here that long!!??)  Some of the passes are still seeing snow and Saskatoon showed possible snow this week. Seriously!!??

However, we have decided that this is camping season.  With the RV packed and ready to go, it was celebration cocktails on the deck last night. And we watched the semi-finals of the last curling event of the season. On Ron's tablet. What an evening with a high of 27C! It makes one wonder why we don't just stay home and enjoy it?!

And then this morning. Wind.... Ugh, a tow vehicle's nightmare. And, it's cloudy and cool today at 14C. *sad face* 

So our plans have changed and we'll be heading to Dinosaur Provincial Park tomorrow morning. We haven't planned further ahead than that. We will watch the weather and make plans as we go.

One day at a time. The good news?? I get to watch the curling finals on TV today!