On the Road Again and Home Again - Day 12 - August 26, 2010

We got up before the alarm because my Blackberry rang at 7:15 a.m. Turned out to be the chickens I had ordered at the Farmer's Market back in May were now ready. I frantically texted my friends the Kosiorek's in Devon to see if they could pick them up... they could so that was great. We then ate breakfast then started tearing apart the trailer... took our showers then finished the job!! We got out of the RV park about 11:40 p.m. Promptly put Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows on ... stopped for Gas and lunch in Prince Albert, then hit the happy highway again. Time seemed to fly by as the sky was clear and blue, the story was engrossing and we were headed home!!! Stopped for gas again in Lloydminster, grabbed a few snacks and forged on home. We got home at 8:40 p.m. or so, and it was looking like a storm was going to come in so we scurried and hurried to unload. Other than extreme winds, nothing really happened but it felt good to at least have it all in. The cat was starved for attention, although the cat sitter says she did get enough. I guess with no puppies around, she wants to hog all the attention. What a hoser!! Tomorrow we pick up the puppies and attempt to get back to real life!

Grey Owl's Cabin - Day 11 - August 25, 2010

So today was the day we have been waiting for all holiday, our trip to Grey Owl's Cabin. We got up bright and early to be at the marina before 10 a.m. We paid for our trip and got our instructions on how and where to meet the boat. That was an adventure in and of itself. From the parking lot, it is a 1.5 km hike to the South End of Kingsmere Lake. Lots of tree roots to trip over and the rail cart system makes up part of the trail if you were to take a boat from the Waskesiu Lake Narrows over to Kingsmere Lake (a bit long for a portage!) Everything is still pretty saturated but there were some great sites to see en route.

This is the rail cart which is used to move watercraft between Kingsmere and Waskesiu Lakes. There is a river that joins them but it is very narrow and has rapids, so this is the easier solution to portage.

Check out my purposeful stride at the beginning of the hike. Hoofin' it!!!

So we arrived at Kingsmere Lake and promptly got in to our boat. Kingsmere Lake is interesting because it  is shallow for quite a distance than really deep all of a sudden, there is a shelf where the lake suddenly drops off.  Sheltered in the bay, and at a low speed, everything was hunky dory but once in deeper water, our pilot opened 'er up and we were flying across the waves and got soaked!!!

You certainly can not tell how rough it was. It jarred our teeth sometimes!

Our pilot and the "beach" where we disembarked on the North Side of Kingsmere Lake

Once we got to the other side, we immediately hit the trail as it is 3.2 km to Grey Owl's cabin from the shore. It was a beautiful hike sometimes in the woods, sometimes along Ajawaan Lake. Finally we came to Grey Owl's cabin "Beaver Lodge". It is so named because it has a beaver lodge inside of it!! Grey Owl was reintroducing beavers to the area and wanted the lodge very near his home. It is quite the site to behold.

The beaver lodge was in the corner next to the bed... you could hear the waves lapping just under the logs.

The outside of Beaver Lodge, Grey Owl's cabin.

We also went up the hill to the guest cabin which was also Anahareo's cabin as she could not tolerate the nocturnal habits of the beavers.

Anahareo's cabin, which also housed guests when they had them.

We then visited the grave site of Grey Owl, Anahareo and their daughter, Shirley Ann.

We returned to the Beaver Lodge, had a snack, drink of water and after brief rest which I allowed my socks and shoes to dry and was visited by the local butterflies, we then hit the happy trail again back to the north end of Kingsmere Lake.

My new friend. It kept tasting me with it's little butterfly tongue. So cute!! You can't tell in the picture but it's body was a lovely shade of fuzzy green and when it's wings were in the closed position, it appeared like pine bark. Clever disguise!

Connor and I enjoying the deck and the scenery of Ajawaan Lake.

From the south end of Ajawaan Lake, you can make out the grey form of Beaver Lodge through the trees.

Coming back in the boat, I thought I was smart sitting in the back with the pilot but a wave came back off the shore and soaked my back side from the waist down. I also had to do some bailing as lots of water had come into the boat. Tim was sitting up front but after a few of the larger wind whipped waves, the bouncing that Connor enjoyed so much was hurting his back so I had to change positions with him. The pilot took it a bit easier after that, not quite so fast or hitting the waves quite so hard. It was fun and we did get wet.

Finally we got to the South End and disembarked, walked back to the parking lot and returned to our trailer to change. We had cookies and milk, then Connor put on his trunks and we headed out to the beach!!

It was a beautiful warm day so Connor hit the waves while Tim and I caught a few rays.

After an hour or two, we'd had enough, put our stuff back in the van and went to the "Angry Taco" restaurant for really excellent Mexican. Who knew in the middle of northern Saskatchewan they would have excellent Mexican food. Super cute place too, and reasonable considering.

It's hard to believe that we are packing up and leaving tomorrow. We are a bit sad now that the warm weather is finally showing up but, that is life and we must get back to reality!

Tuesday Transitions - Day 10 - August 24, 2010

Well, this day started off windy, a bit of cloud but it soon cleared off. We could hear the saws going in the morning, dealing with the crazy wind damage from the gusts overnight. I made french toast for breakfast using a gorgeous loaf of cinnamon bread from the Waskesiu bakery. I added vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon to the egg/milk mixture and boy was it ever good!!! We decided to take a bit of a cruise out to the Marina to see what was happening with the weather and if it looked like our trip to Grey Owl's Cabin was still a go... and it was!! We then went in to town and did some shopping. Connor was cold and I found a Waskesiu sweatshirt for just over $15 for him and a Mexx long sleeve hoodie for school also for $15. SCORE!!! We also walked down to the weir after having a delicious, albeit expensive lunch at the Asian Station. Here is Connor getting splashed with the waves that hit the concrete weir.

In the evening the wind had died down considerably and a family of elk came through. 

First there was BIG DADDY!!

Then he called in the rest of the family! He had two adult females, what appeared to be a year old or better and a baby not yet fully out of it's spots.

Later, one of the females came right by our tent trailer so Tim snagged a good photo of this girl...

That is the pole for our awning in the picture. She was that close!!

Seeing the elk was a great end to a fairly great day.

Miserable and cold windy Monday - Day 9 - August 23, 2010

Oh me, oh my... this day is cold and overcast, rainy and windy. Stayed in the trailer most of the day reading.

Connor played lots of DS/DSi while we were indoors and Tim read some magazines he had downloaded. It was a two movie kind of day. We ventured out in the evening to go and get some bread for breakfast but other than that, it was too yucky to do much of anything!!!

Laundry Day - Day 8 - August 22, 2010

The laundry bag was getting full and we were almost out of underwear so today is laundry day! We packed up our Santa worthy bag of laundry and headed into town to the laundromat called "Wash-Ka-Sou" -- very clever! $20 poorer and 4 loads of laundry later... headed back to camp to make lunch. I took a nap, the boys went for a bike ride, I read a book then we decided to play a game of "Life". Connor had 3 career changes, Tim and I both had 2 career changes and we all had a tonne of laughs. I made Cajun Chicken Ceasar Salads for supper, we did dishes then watched a movie. Very relaxing day and with the weather being less than ideal, it was fantastic just to take it easy.

Supply trip to Prince Albert - Day 7 - August 21, 2010

The day started overcast and cool and by 11 a.m., it was pouring rain. Rather than hang out in the trailer, we decided we would trip in to Prince Albert for groceries and supplies rather than waiting until Monday. We hopped in to the Blue Rocket (as in our Navy Blue Saturn Relay) and boogied in to town. We drove around a bit, looking for a place to have lunch and decided on Ricky's. After lunch, we popped in to Value Village in search of one of those stir top stove top popcorn makers, then the local Wal-Mart for a few of our groceries, then to Safeway to get the rest. Armed with Starbucks coffees, we took the scenic route back to Waskesiu. It is really different to come in to the park this way, definitely recommend it if you ever visit this way.

After packing up the groceries, I made hot dogs for supper and we relaxed the rest of the evening away...

Fish Tales With the Filtz's In the Narrows - day 6 - August 20, 2010

We had reserved a boat for 10 a.m. so we quickly ate breakfast, got dressed and headed for the Narrows. As I had yet another accident the previous evening, I was a bit trepidatious returning to the scene of my first "incident". Deciding to steer clear of the boardwalk, we rented our boat and headed out. As I sat in the front of the boat, I was in charge of the anchor while Tim piloted our vessel. Connor sat in the middle and dreamed of fish...

Luckily my camera is now dried out from my previous splashdown and able to take pictures.

Adding our lures to our rods, we cast them into the lake...

The wind whipped up, making the water quite wavy, carrying our lures into the weeds and pushing our boat around, making it all more challenging. We changed position quite a few times then...

The world's smallest Perch!! Caught by yours truly!

Well, at least we didn't get skunked! We tried our luck for another hour or so then Connor announced he had to go to the washroom so we decided that we would troll on the way back to the dock.

As we were proceeding, all of a sudden my reel came off my rod and landed in the lake. I tried to pull it in but I couldn't as my line was tied up on something. "STOP THE BOAT!!" I yelled at Tim. Meanwhile he had problems of his own, his line was wrapping around the engine prop. He killed the engine, I recovered my reel, put it back on my rod and tried to get my lure back. My reel fell off again! What the????!!! I was frustrated at this point, blaming it on Tim as he set up the rods. I did not know I was supposed to tighten it every once and a while. Anyhow, I managed to get my reel back together and proceeded to reel in my line which was pulling and jerking in what I thought was weeds but wait, that's not weeds, that is a FISH!!!

I handed Connor the camera and this is the shot he too of my "big" fish. He jumped off the hook into the bottom of the boat, causing me to scream (I am such a chicken!) so I grabbed Tim's fish gloves and picked him up for another photo op.

Happy with my fishy!! Threw him back in the water after this.

Connor still had to go pee, so we hightailed it out of there for the dock and that concluded another edition of Fish Tales with the Filtz's

Accident Report - Day 5 continued...

So, it is pitch black, dead of night... we just finished watching a movie and I had to go to the biffy before climbing in to my pajamas and getting in to bed. Getting there, not a problem. Coming back it was very, very dark with only a small amber light on the outside of our trailer to guide me... I failed to take the flashlight with me. I didn't need it the 4 nights previously... famous last words! As I am stepping from the pavement to our gravel pad, I inadvertently step in a low spot, twist my right ankle, land abruptly on my left shin and come to a stop with my right butt cheek in  what feels like a puddle. SERIOUSLY??!! I am having serious issues with gravity in this neck of the woods! Of course I was wearing shorts and scraped my leg but good. I cleaned the wound with soap and water but felt it needed a little more TLC so I went and got the first aid kit out of the van and wiped it with hydrogen peroxide. Sigh. Wish I had brought my tube of Polysporin with Novacaine in it to numb the stinging. Oh well, off to bed I go...

Hamburgers and Hanging Heart Lakes Fish Tales - Day 5 - August 19, 2010

Well, we had a slow start this morning, didn't get showered and out of the trailer until 11:30 p.m. Since it was lunchtime, we went to the Patio Cafe and sampled their hamburgers before heading out to try our luck fishing at the Hanging Heart Lakes.

After purchasing our licences, renting our boat, getting our dockside instruction... we were off! And guess what? Tim and I both caught 2 fish each. Here are the pictures!

The biggest fish of the day, and the first catch of the day, Northern Pike.

I caught this kicka$$ walleye. First of my fishing career... a real beauty!! So excited. Please note the awesome lucky fishing hat. Do I rock that look or what??

Daddy's little pike. No fish stories here!! It seemed that each time we moved to a new spot we could only catch one fish at that spot then nothing... but then...

I caught a teeny tiny pike in amongst the reeds. Connor hadn't caught any fish so I let him hold this one with the orange glove on for the picture. This was a little wee fish.

Now of course we catch and release. Connor was taken aback with the fish bleeding a bit from where the fish hooks were, or if the gills were touched. Flipping around freaked him out too but all part of the experience. He is learning to be more patient which, for a kid with ADHD, is a challenge for sure. Tomorrow we will be trying our luck at the Narrows, which is part of Waskesieu Lake but narrow... (I know, lacking imagination but what the heck) Hopefully I don't slip and fall down again!

A Day at the Beach - Day 4 - August 18, 2010

Well, believe it or not, I was able to sleep with my various injuries although I mollycoddled my right wrist. Found that I also bruised my left arm and the fourth toe (next to the pinky toe) on my left foot. How I manage to do these things to myself, I will never know.

The day started off rather fresh, but the sun was out and we went for a drive up to Kingsmere Lake. This is where you, if you were so inclined, would launch to paddle across the lake and up to Ajawaan Lake, which is where Grey Owl's cabin is located. As it is a big lake, and a two day canoe trip, we have opted instead to take a power boat next Wednesday the 25th to get there. We will have to hike up to the cabin and we think this is more conducive to our current level of fitness. After that lovely drive, since the day was shaping up to be quite nice, we decided to take Connor to the beach. He brought along a large bag of beach toys with ambitions of building the Ultimate Sand Castle. So we packed up the camp chairs and headed for the beach.

Waskesieu Lake has a beautiful beach. After a few hours of fun in the sun and a lovely swim, Connor decided he had enough and back to the trailer we went. After a delicious supper of Soy Pork Loin Chops, rice and diced cucumber and peppers, we decided to take a bike ride downtown for an ice cream. Mmmmm! It is about 1.5 km each way and on the way back we visited the concrete wave break and biked the trails along the beach. It was the perfect end to the perfect day... Love being on vacation!

Gravity of our situation - Day 3 - August 17, 2010

Today's plan, after pancakes and sausage, shower and dressed... drive out to the Narrows to see if we can reserve a boat for Friday when the weather is supposed to shape up and we can go and catch us some fishes. First run in with gravity was in the morning, Connor slipped in the mud AFTER his shower and got his pajamas dirty. I hand washed them and hung them up before we zipped up and left for the Narrows. It is about a half hour drive from Waskesieu, lovely and scenic. We saw a gorgeous male elk, I wanted to get a picture but Tim went by too fast for me to snap it. I got a bit cranky as I had rolled down the window and gotten the camera ready and he didn't take that as an indication that he should STOP. Apparently mind reading isn't part of his repertoire after 15 years of marriage... LOL! Anyhow, we got to the Narrows, talked to "the guy", reserved for Friday and then went for a lovely walk on the dock.

I love lilypads and the delicate little flowers they have.

Anyhow, after the walk on the dock, the boys wanted to go walk on the boardwalk that lined the shore. It was at about a 20 degree angle, partially under water but it looked safe enough. About three quarters of the way down, all of a sudden my feet flew out from under me and I landed face down on the boardwalk submerged in water. My purse and camera went into the lake, although still attached to my wrist. I think I must have slipped like a cartoon character, feet right out behind and spread eagle on the ground. Tim laughed as I stood up sopping wet, both wrists abraded, the right one more so and squashed duck poop on my right leg. It hurt!! Damn Gravity ANYWAY!! Connor thought it was Karma as we "tortured" him by making him dry dishes earlier in the day. I'm not so sure, but my right wrist has a purple bruise the size of two loonies.  Needless to say, I didn't make lunch (Tim made sandwiches) or supper, we visited Pete's Terrace for Pizza, and are now at the Patio Cafe using the internet and having a coffee. Always and adventure with us!

Connor liked the blue dragonflies that were all over at the Narrows. We hope catch to lots of fish on Friday!

Waskesiu Day 2 - August 16, 2010

After a quickie breakfast of cereal, hit the showers (FYI, clean, warm, sufficient water pressure... very important in a campground!) we decided to reorient ourselves with the town. We went for a bit of a drive, looking for where we could obtain internet signal (for Tim's iPhone and laptop), visit Pine & Fancy candy store (for Connor, honest!) and just recover from our previous day of drama. I read in the afternoon, Tim and Connor went for a bike ride, played a little football and chillaxed.

As it was so cold the previous evening, and this evening was not forecast to be much better, when we went to town after suppertime for "dessert" of ice cream at Scoops, I popped down the street and bought myself some toasty warm sweatpants. I also got Connor a long sleeved T-shirt as a momento and just in case it stays cold as he brought mostly short sleeved t-shirts.

The ground here is quite wet from large amounts of rain before we came, and night 2 it poured all night. The inside of our trailer sounds like a really loud rain stick when it rains really hard. Musical white noise, great to fall asleep to.

Adventures in Vacationing - Day 1 - August 15, 2010

So we got up at 7:30, showered, got dressed, finished packing and hit the road at about 10 a.m. Quick stop at McD's in Nisku for breaky then on the road. It was funny getting used to towing the trailer again, it has been two years and even Connor commented on "it's really bouncy". We listened to Harry Potter: The Deathly Hollows audiobook en route, in preparation for the movie this winter (November release of part 1). We stopped briefly in Lloydminster on the Alberta side for fuel and a quick Subway break. Onward to Prince Albert where we again fuelled up, grabbed some snacks and went the last stretch to Prince Albert National Park. We checked in, pulled into our site and this is where it began to get interesting...

We figured we were close enough to the plug ins for our services, unhooked and began to set up the trailer. When we went to pull out the pull out, we ran in to a little trouble. The kitchen pullout hit the water post. Quickly, we buttoned up the trailer enough so Tim could hook back on and pull it forward a bit. When he hooked on the trailer to the ball, the trailer was too low to lock on to the ball properly but he figured it was good enough to pull it forward. Famous last words you say, you would be right! Pulling forward wasn't a problem but we wanted to back the van on to blocks and get the trailer on a block to level it left to right. When Tim backed up, the trailer bounced up, off the hitch and promptly hit the ground. Being tired from the long trip and frustrated with our predicament, Tim asked ME what to do. "Where is the jack for the van?" I asked.

Quickly we unloaded the back of the van, no easy feat considering that we had beach toys, extra shoes, food, suitcases, games (bocce, badminton), and a plethora of other camping gear. Tim got the scissor jack out, under the hitch and started jacking!! We got it high enough to put the hitch dolly leg down and used it to get us high enough to hook back on to the van, locked onto the ball and actually got the trailer situated and set up without further incident.

Connor, now 10 years old, is finally strong enough to crank the trailer up.

We finally got the trailer up, made organic beef bratwurst for supper and watched "Over the Hedge" before collapsing into bed... long day!