Week ending August 1, 2013

Thursday again was moving day,  as generally this summer we have stayed a week at a time at each campground.  We had a general idea of where we wanted to be, somewhere at a lake in the St. Paul area.  Our first thought was Lac Bellevue, but they could only accommodate us for less than a week, and we would have to move to new sites a couple of times (not an attractive thought) , nor could Stoney Lake.  Finally we got a week at Westcove.  They were very nice and gave us a double site, charging us for one, because we are a bit large to fit in their single sites.   A nice site, but in amongst a lot of poplar trees.   As we began setting up there was a lucky rabbit watching us.  Luckily we were able to get a satellite signal through the playground across the road, although John could have sworn that the dish was pointing right at the corner of the trailer.  After we got set up, we headed to take a look at the lake, but much to our disappointment we discovered it had blue algae, therefore no swimming, no water activity.

Friday we headed to Floatingstone Lake to check out the beach, which looked lovely, but when we saw a couple of kids (maybe around 10  to 12) wading, we discovered that the water in the swimming area at its deepest might have been 2 feet at its deepest.   We sat on the beach suntanning for a while and then headed back to the campground.

Saturday morning we woke up to a tremendous thunderstorm.  The day remained cloudy and showery.  We went for a walk through the campground and then played bowling and golf on our Wii. Of course there was football to watch Saturday evening.  Later in the day we talked to Trev, to find out that they are finally back in their house.

Monday was golf day. We went to Mann Lake golf course. We were the only ones there, but unlike the Big River course this one had an attendant.   After golf we drove into St. Paul for lunch.  On our way back to Westcove we had to stop to let a couple of goats cross the road.  I guess they  were on their way home from the afternoon walk.

Tuesday, on our way to Bonnyville we stopped at a few parks to check out their campgrounds, Franchere Bay Recreational Area, Pelican Point District Park and Moose Lake Provincial Park. The only one that we may return to at another time was Moose Lake Provincial Park.   It had lovely sites, with electricity and a great beach. Today was too cold for us to take advantage of the beach, but it is nice to know it is there.   After wandering down main street of Bonnyville, checking the liquor stores for some watermelon Boxer beer, to no avail, we headed back to our trailer.   We stopped at Glendon on our way home, a funky little town that has Alberta's largest perogy.

We checked and there was no where in town to buy perogies.   We have discovered that in these little towns one can buy liquor, petrol and fireworks, but rarely groceries.   Does that tell you what rural Albertans believe are priorities?

Wednesday we grabbed a pail and headed out on the walking trails that run through the park to pick raspberries. We came to the conclusion that if we relied on our foraging skills to feed ourselves we would likely starve to death.  However we did gather enough raspberries for an afternoon treat.