Home again

We just returned from our 8th-Annual FLMRR Camping Trip (Flexhaugs, Lauders, Mulhollands, Rauschs, and Rices - this year without the Rices).





Prior to the trip, we did our planning via a Facebook group that Trevor set up. It really helped to coordinate everything, but I was still stressed because this year I'd suggested the spot (Lodgepole Campground in Cypress Hills), and made the reservations. I had a nagging fear that we would get there only to find that they misplaced our reservation - I have ruined our own camping plans before, but it would really suck to ruin the trip for three other families too.





We got to the campground early and managed to get four spots together. It was a beautiful area but I started to get worried again when I saw that the bathrooms were just outhouses and the water taps had "boil before using" signs on them. The outhouses ended up being not too bad (the ladies might beg to differ). And as for the water, a kindly old French lady at the check-in office told me that, while they're not allowed to tell people they can drink it, she drinks it all the time. We drank it too. The other families arrived throughout the day and Mulhollands were the last because they got caught in a giant hail storm. Or rather, a storm of giant hail that dented their van up pretty badly.





It rained the first night (some water found its way into the tent) and it was still foggy and chilly in the morning, so we all decided to go in and find a swimming pool in Medicine Hat. We ended up at the Family Leisure Center which had a wave pool, looping river, kiddie pool, hot tub, water slide, and Olympic sized pool with diving boards and high platform. Predictably, seeing as all us guys were together, we dared each other to jump off of the high platform. When I did it, the force of the water was so great that it bent both spring bars on my watch and the bracelet came loose. Luckily I realized it was missing a few minutes later and I was able to retrieve it from the bottom of the pool. The water slide was great because it emptied into a shallow trough instead of a pool, and the kids could go down by themselves. Ella even shed her life jacket for water slide runs. Here is a picture from the web - it only shows the wavepool though.





The weather for the rest of the trip was perfect and we spent the next day at the sand beach and marina. The kids played in the water, the ladies visited, and the guys played boccie... a camping tradition. There was also mini golf, boat rentals, and ice cream.











The real success of this trip goes to Heather. Our camping menu was amazing. We had grilled salmon with dill, a salad, and homemade foccacia bread, Thai subs one day, and then eggs Benedict and sausage and pancakes for breakfast. Even our tinfoil dinners were special: rice, mixed vegetables, and homemade ginger beef. Oh and yes we did roast hot dogs, again in the name of tradition.





We tried to find a couple geocaches in the area but, this time a Rausch tradition, we ended up stuck in a bog, halfway to the cache. I found a pure white sea shell in the side of the hill and was sure I had made a significant geological discovery. Unfortunately my ancient-seabed theory was debunked by the discovery of more shells - this time with snails still in them.








Other wildlife we saw were a flock of wild turkeys, and a young deer that ran around the campsite acting all snaky like it just realized it was surrounded by humans.





One morning, people saw what they believed was a ferret browsing for food in our campsites. I don't know what part of the world ferrets come from but I'm pretty sure they are imported. Weasel is probably more likely but, who knows, this could be an isolated North American population of ferrets. If so, it represents a significant biological discovery. Like all great discoveries, no one got a picture. In the evening, at dusk to be precise, we took the kids to a large amphitheater where we watched the movie Cheaper by the Dozen. It was a long day and a late night and we didn't get a chance to stay up telling scary stories in the tent, despite the fact that the cougar notices in the area provided fertile soil for nightmares. Here is a video full of turkeys:





The next day, Sunday, was spent packing up, taking group pictures, and saying goodbye. Normally Heather would have insisted on a sacrament meeting and maybe the sharing of testimonies but she made an exception because we were on vacation. Vacation Heather is so much fun : )

An interesting fact about the town of Elkwater - it is the only Provincial Park in Alberta where people live in the park. There are 35 full-time residents and while we were there I met nine of them. They are all required to have addresses outside the park as well. According to the cranky guy at the gas station, the weather is unpredictable at their altitude, and "Medicine Hat has nothing to do with Elkwater".

After months of looking forward to it, the actual trip was over much faster than we expected. The weather was great, the location was great - an old guy at the docks called it "an oasis in the desert", there were only a couple mosquitoes spotted the entire time we were there, and - as always - the company was fantastic. We are already looking forward to 2009's trip.

You hear that Rices?

I like to end off my posts with a small photo. For this one, I chose the winning shot from the Elkwater Campground Nature Photo Contest. (Disclaimer: I didn't actually enter the contest, but if I had, I'm pretty sure I would have won)





- C