Seven Days - SK Landing Provincial Park

Note: The following was written for "Go Here Destinations" (goheredestinations.com) and then published in the Gull Lake newspaper.

Fall has arrived. Our favourite camping season. We pack up and head out, with no particular destination in mind. After a spending a few nights at various AB and SK campgrounds, we find ourselves at the SK Landing Provincial Park. Our old 'stomping' grounds from decades gone by. It has been many years since we've set up camp here. It feels like coming home. Although there are changes. Mainly in the growth - the trees and the number of campsites. Plus there is a new golf course. Right now, one can enjoy a round for 50% off, Monday to Friday.

Only one loop, other than the seasonal campers' loop, remains open this time of year. We look for a campsite in the sunshine. We find the perfect spot with a great view of Lake Diefenbaker. We have power and the water tap is close enough that we can top up our tank when necessary. All this for $18. Our two night stay extends to seven nights. The price is right, the weather is gorgeous, the firewood is plentiful and unlike most of southern Alberta, there are no fire bans in effect. It is quiet, with just a handful of other campers. It is interesting that most of them, outside of the 'seasonal' campers, are also from Alberta. A construction worker from Medicine Hat, AB is camped across the road from us. He is working on the new cottage being built down the way. He came complete with his tent trailer and a lazy boy recliner.

Other than a 20 km trip to the Kyle Co-op for food supplies and a drive to see the Beaver Flats cottage development across the lake, we don't venture very far. We go for daily bike rides through the campgrounds to the Sandy Ridge cottage development. The fall colours are truly amazing.

We walk along the beach. Sand squishing between our toes. In our younger years, we might have been enticed to go for a 'cool' dip! We cook a few dinners over the open fire and we remain sitting at that fire late in to the evening. So relaxing.

A downside to this perfection? The BUGS! The house flies and the maple bugs are crazy this time of year. My husband, Ron, probably kills a dozen flies each evening and again every morning in the 5th wheel. The worst are those nipping blackflies which don't seem to mind the bug spray that we are constantly spraying on our ankles. SO ANNOYING!! At least they disappear when the sun goes down. Thankfully, the mosquitoes appear to be in hibernation already!

The weekend comes and goes and we can't understand why people haven't rushed out to fill up the campground. Fall camping. Summer weather. It doesn't get much better than this. There are still a few weekends before the snow flies. You really should 'go here'. . . For a day. Or make it seven!

Home . . .

Sad to leave when the weather is so beautiful. So now we will enjoy some of this beautiful fall weather at home.

for a few days, anyway . . .

Love the Landing

Sk Landing Prov Pk
Site #163 - $18, p/w (tap close), wood avail, cell, Temp 15C

We are still hanging at the Landing. Why? Lots of sunshine. Free wood. No fire bans. Decent price. The water tap is close enough to hook up our hose and refill the tank. It is a great camp spot this time of year and we are quite content. Ron is currently registering for 3 more nights which will take us through the weekend. There are a few other campers in our loop. Interesting that five of these units are from Medicine Hat. (Because as you know, Ron stops to chat with everyone and asks!)

We enjoyed a visit with Mom and Jerry when they came for lunch one day. We picked up a few things at the Kyle Coop and we drove around to the Beaver Flats cottage area. Other than that, we've gone for daily bike tours, cooked dinner and sat around the fire late in to the evening. Very relaxing.



The only downside are the BUGS.... The flies and maple bugs are crazy this time of year. Ron probably kills a dozen flies each evening and again every morning in the 5th wheel. The worst are those nipping blackflies which don't seem to mind the bug spray we are constantly spraying on our exposed skin. SO ANNOYING!!

On Monday, we will head home. Maybe one stop along the way? We are still toying with the idea of heading south later next week... Hmmm... decisions...

on the road again . . .

It was chilly in the Cabri Park this morning. A good 'moving' day. We packed up after lunch and are now heading to the SK Landing.

There are a lot of seasonal campers in Cabri Regional Park, but very few were at their units this weekend, so it was pretty quiet. They will have to vacate by Wednesday's closing day. It's not a bad camping spot, although it would be 'cozy' when all 130+ sites are full. All this prairie space available and they still crowd everyone together. I've never figured that one out!

It ended up that Mike and Gail didn't join us for camping after all. Gail decided it was too much work to pack up their trailer for the amount of time they would have been able to spend in it. We had already paid for three nights, but it was not a big deal for us. Camping is camping, it doesn't really matter where we do it. They did drop in on Friday night after the volleyball game and we drove over to the Cabri school for a couple of the games yesterday.

We also drove to the Sandhill Viewing near Sceptre. The signage is lacking and we almost gave up and came home. Anyway, we made one last 'backtrack', followed a 'birding trail' sign and discovered they were one and the same place. The last mile of road to the parking lot is thick with sand and I worried we may get stuck.





Occasionally one misses having that 4-wheel drive. It was cool to see all those active sand dunes. One of the area 'oldtimers' had created a cowboy boot archway.

How about Cabri??

Cabri Regional Park
Site #4 - $25, p/w/s (water not potable), poor cell, Temp 19C

Yesterday we drove to the T-Rex Centre in Eastend. It was a pretty drive. I don't think I've been to that area of the province before. At the centre we watched a video and had the guided tour.

After being to both the Dinosaur Park Tourist Centre and the Drumheller Museum, I found it was a bit anti-climatical but Ron enjoyed it. Scotty, the 'big find' from the area was away getting re-cast, so that was a bit of a disappointment. We hadn't realized that there were so many dinosaur discoveries in that Frenchman River Valley area.

When we got back to the campsite there was a bright red notice re the Fire Ban propped on our firepit. It is rather hard to ignore that one. Actually, we hadn't planned to 'play dumb' another day but with the ban in place, we didn't have much desire to hang out in the hills any longer. It is just too cold. And so, we were quite happy that -->

Our plans to meet Mike and Gail were changed. Lucas ended up having a volleyball tournament in Cabri. So today, we are off to the Cabri Regional Park. A new discovery. We've never been there before! And that is where we will spend the weekend!

Cypress Hills, SK

Cypress Hills - Rainbow

Site #12 - $22, p only, free wood, cell, Temp 11C breezy and cool!

Yesterday we did a drive tour to Reesor Lake and Spruce Coulee. It is always pretty when the fall colours start to show, but I'm not liking what that means weather wise.

There were a lot of wind warnings for southern AB plus some out of control fires burning around Lethbridge and Milk River. We didn't get major wind in the Park, but we were aware of the smoke in the air. I phoned home to make sure all was well at the condo. Our lower deck chairs had blown over, but no other problems in our hood.

This morning we moved on to Cypress Hills, SK. One tends to forget how much cooler it can be there. Like 11C. With a breeze. And the sun is not so plentiful under the pines. Brrrrr... I might be bringing out my parka before long. Also, I believe we will be burning a lot of that free firewood! Ron is currently chopping.

LATER: Just finished a late late supper. We were sitting around the fire and we hated to go inside. The wind went down and it actually got quite pleasant. We saw a park fellow hanging a sign at the registration box shortly after we settled at the fire. When he left, Ron, over to investigate. "Fire Ban in effect - NO FIRES". Crap! Anyway, we had already registered and there was no sign posted at that time, so *ahem* we didn't see this. Funny thing is, when the park guy left, he drove right by us sitting at the fire and he didn't even stop to tell us (??) We got in a good 5 hours of fire time with that free wood, but I guess tomorrow we will 'see' the sign. We did have a 'goody two shoes' camper come by and tell us that a sign had been posted, but we didn't hear him... ;)

Hopefully tomorrow will be warmer. At least we can still make use of the propane firepit.

Fall Travels to Elkwater

Old Baldy
Site #5 - $35, p/w, Temp 25C

This morning we finished packing up the RV and headed for Cypress Hills, SK. We ended up at Elkwater, AB instead. Another one of those 'last minute change our mind' things. We were set up and settled in time for lunch! A whole 68 km from home. It feels good to be camping once again.

We did our usual campground tour by bike. Collected some wood and then had an early campfire. We were treated to quite the thunderstorm this evening. Lots of rumbling and lightening. We moved indoors when it began to sprinkle, however, it has since moved on. Hopefully we'll see nice weather again tomorrow.

So our fall plans are pretty sketchy right now. We really have no idea at this point where we are headed or how long we will be on the road. We'll figure it out as we go. We will be here for two nights and then will continue on to Cypress, SK. While there, we plan to check out the T-Rex Centre and will visit the new winery. I believe Mike and Gail will meet us for camping on the weekend. After that ??  That's all for now... Must get some sheets on the bed!

Mazenod Homecoming 2012

It is July 20, 2012 and the homecoming celebration at Mazenod, SK is our destination. This homecoming has become an annual event for many of the former residents since 2005, when Saskatchewan celebrated 100 years as a province. This year also marks a 'big one'. It is the 100th anniversary of the RM of Sutton #103.

Highway 43 to Mazenod has certainly seen better days. The 'Rough Road', 'Loose Stones' and 'Slow Down' signs are plentiful. It is not an easy drive especially when pulling an RV.

There is not much left of the old farmsteads that once surrounded the town. Ron points to a clump of trees here and some fallen down buildings across the road and remembers the families who used to reside there. The only thing marking the old Kesslar home are three shiny new grain bins. Nothing remains of the once busy two household farm where the Kesslar family first homesteaded when they came to Canada.

We approach town from the west entrance and are greeted by the one remaining town business. The old Co-op Service station still pumps gas and sells a few confections to the remaining town residents. That would be a grand total of seven people. This Co-op was managed by Ron's dad, John Kesslar for 20 years until his death in 1957. We spoke to a current Co-op employee. He is a young fellow who bought the former United Church manse for $400. and is now happy to call Mazenod his home.

We have been told that we can park our RV anywhere in town and we choose a spot near the town hall where the festivities will take place. We are behind the home that Ron grew up in, now abandoned and overgrown.



This area behind the home was once the family garden until the town decided to move the outdoor skating rink here. Today, there is no evidence of either. A couple of old sheds and a small broken greenhouse are all that are standing in the freshly mowed field. I am once again amazed by how much work has been done by a handful of people to spruce up the town and get ready to host a homecoming plus a roast beef dinner for 400+ people. Many thanks to this hard working, dedicated crew.

We visit the graveyard behind the big old Catholic church. It is now the garage and shop for the current resident of the once upon a time rectory. Again, the graveyard has been mowed and is well kept by one of the local residents. Ron trims up the large spruce tree which was planted as a tiny green sprig at the head of his dad's grave.

Back at the town hall there is lots of reminiscing and laughter. We are treated to a wiener roast and an endless supply of homemade desserts. Everybody still pitches in for these small town celebrations. On Saturday we line up in front of the hall for the parade. We quickly hide our beer cans when we learn the local RCMP is the lead car. The old vehicles, old farm machinery, a couple of floats and the thrown candy are enjoyed by all. My favourite candy? A pair of false teeth. Too funny.

Other events include an afternoon beer garden and a tour of the Dennis Spanko farm. Dennis has reconstructed miniature structures of the former Mazenod businesses. Many of his old vehicles and machinery were in the parade. There is musical entertainment plus speeches by the MLA and SARM reps. The roast beef dinner? Delicious and plentiful. "Metro" (www.metroscomedy.com) provides some comic entertainment and after dark, fireworks light the sky. The weekend concludes with a Sunday morning continental breakfast and a prayer service.

Once again we have enjoyed this 'step back to the past'. Although Mazenod wouldn't necessarily be considered a "Go Here Destination" for much of the year, you will be welcomed and entertained at least once a year when the former town's people gather, share stories and bring back life to this old town.

The above was posted at "Go Here Destinations":  https://goheredestinations.wordpress.com/2012/07/30/coming-home-to-mazenod/

Milk River and then . . . Home Again

Writing on Stone Prov Pk
Site #14, p only

We said our goodbyes to Glacier National Park and headed towards Canada -- passing Chief Mountain, Montana.

We spent the last two nights of this RV trip at "Writing on Stone Provincial Park". It remains one of our favourite camping spots although we haven't been there since Fall 2006. There have been some upgrades. One of the biggest is the addition of 45 or so power sites. Nice! Previously there were only 7. Also? A beautiful new interpretive centre which was being built when we were last here.

We went on a couple of bike rides around the park. Met and enjoyed visiting with some Vancouver RV-ers. And Ron hiked the "Hoodo Trail". No rattle snakes on the trail this time.

The best part about this place was being able bring out the capri's and the shorts again. Warmer and therefore later nights at the campfire. And putting away the electrical heater. Gotta love that this is Alberta's hot spot.

Now we unpack what has been our home for 6 plus weeks. There is mega laundry to be done and a few minor RV repairs that need to happen. It is also time to think about the lake. And a lawn that will need to be mowed.  Yes . . . Home again . . .