Campsite # 14 Bird’s Hill Campground, Winnipeg, MB
Bird’s Hill Campground, our favourite so far. There is a unique design here, with six campsites set around a centre ring. The vehicles stay parked along the edges of the ring, beside the campsite entrance. The campsite is a delightfully spacious and private enclave. We pitched our bug-tent because, well because there were bugs. Not as atrocious as elsewhere, but it felt comfortable in that space. Granville and OrangePekoe had space to move around (yes, tethered, but on long leashes) without being perturbed by others.
Bird’s Hill has many amenities – a lake for swimming, many trails, a tuck-shop, and a first class restaurant. All within walking distance of our campsite. It was a fine campground, from our perspective because we could relax and recharge our batteries here.
Campsite # 15 Chez Pienke, near Lipton, SK
A friend from Botswana days is working on a farm in Saskatchewan. We parked in his yard. OrangePekoe stayed in the trailer, which we think suited her to a ‘t’. Granville was permitted to sleep inside, so she was in the lap of luxury
Chris’s home is surrounded by grain fields. He has an acre or so of mowed grass around the house, which was plenty of room for Granville to roam. Us, too, actually. We stretched our legs here. Mostly we stretched our thoughts with conversations about what we three were doing now-a-days, “when-we” talk of Botswana (as one does), and our various plans for our futures. Good conversation. Couple with a southern African braai, which we thoroughly enjoyed.
Campsite # 16 Tillebrook Provincial Park, Brooks, AB
A little bit of a surprise. I booked Tillebrook for one night, a pause in the dash to get west by self and externally appointed deadlines. After a long day of driving we found Tillebrook, tucked against the highway, about half-way across Alberta along the Trans-Canada Highway. Tucked away is exactly how it felt to us. This was a small, green oasis, a well-appointed campground with fairly generous sites. We were close to neighbouring sites, but somehow it felt more spacious. Opposite our campsite there was a large green space where we could walk undisturbed towards the trails that circled the campground.
Unfortunately we only had one night here; had I realised it’s attractiveness I would have booked a second night. We both also misjudged the recovery time necessary after a long drive. One night is not enough. A couple of lessons learned from Tillebrook.
Campsite # 17 Canyon Hot Springs Resort, Revelstoke, BC
Canyon Hot Springs was a welcome relief after a second day with a long drive. It is well marked, and easily accessible from the Trans-Canada Highway, with an access road directly off the highway. It was a busy place, with short and long term campers, and people coming only for the warm water swimming pool. This pool is apparently fed by hot springs, but it looked too much like a regular swimming pool, which tweaked our credibility. While we were not impressed with the hot spring pool, we did find the campsite was just right. We were tucked into a corner, surrounded on two sides by woods. In a commercial campground, where trailers are parked cheek by jowl, this was a huge bonus.
And in the greater spaces of the campground, we found a couple of trails, and a rapidly flowing, icy-water river. Plenty to interest us. And for me, a bit of nostalgia because the train track through the Rockies was just there, with the regular clackety-clack of trains all day and all night long. No, it did not trouble me; it was a sound from my childhood, when we lived near the train tracks. All that, plus surrounded by mountains. A lovely location.
Campsite # 18 Hazelmere Campground, Langley, BC
A third day that required a long drive to reach our destination. Thankfully the road was smooth, and usually it was a divided highway. These long drives always take much longer than expected; google maps fails to calculate for driving with a trailer. MsGeo got us to Hazelmere Campground, which is located in an urban area. The reception was as it had been when I phoned to book the campsite – warm, welcoming, and informative about what was available in the campground, and where to find essential places, like the grocery store. Our site was wonderful. We were in an end-site, with a slightly larger side yard surrounded by a cedar hedge. Behind us was a tree-shaded river. It was like camping in a tiny park.
We just wanted to rest, because the days of driving, which means, in essence, little activity, are beginning to tire us. There was a large field just across the river where we could walk with Granville. OrangePekoe was content to sit on the wall beside the river and watch for birds. And finally, we had our annual, vacation mini-golf tournament. This time our scores were even. We both liked the ambience at Hazelmere, which was continuously warm, welcoming, chatty, no matter who was working.
A couple of more campsites, and then we’ll be at our final destination. We’re looking forward to both – continuing camping, and the final destination.
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