Friday, September 4, 2009

Madge Lake Fun


Once camp was set up, we took off for a nature walk. There is a really cool boardwalk through a nature refuge area at Madge Lake and is was so beautiful! When I visited this camp ground as a child, I didn't look at it the same way as I did this time. I sure admire God's handiwork!






I never knew underbrush and ferns ever grew this lush in Saskatchewan!





This image is straight from camera. This point and shoot never ceases to amaze me!








You'd think I was back at home in the San Juan Islands! It was cool to see a sailboat in the prairies.








I love that they left some of the retro toys in the park for this generation to play with.




Mmmm! I had two of these during our campground stay and they were SO yummy, cream soda and black cherry.


Once again, Kit is well entertained by the "bad-guys" (buckles).


Mmm, what an amazing meal for our first night at camp. Chili on the camp stove, baked potatoes on the grill and corn in the fire. It was such a good meal. My sisters did some serious planning and they did an amazing job.




Glow sticks! Everyone got a couple to play with and there were a few exploding glow sticks which made for some laughs. During the bible reading, Hosh (Jolly's hubby) was speaking and playing with the glow stick at the same time. We all knew what was going to happen, but we couldn't interrupt him and he ended up with glow in the dark spotted hands! We also put one on each of Kit's wrists and ankles just for fun and it made it easy to keep track of her. :)


We had some packets of powder that you add to the fire and it turns colors.


The next morning we laid logs against the side of the fire again because it had worked really well the day before. This time they got dry enough to start on fire just from the heat of the metal. Oops.


Ground Squirrel.


Kit and I


Lesson learned: after cooking bacon, do not attempt to drain the grease off the pan by tipping it towards the fire. Made for a pretty picture, but we ended up tossing the pan.




These ground squirrels are quite tame, but skittish. They will eat out of your hand, but run away at the slightest movement.


Nate with his toast, bacon and eggs.... and ketchup of course.


A towel on the line attracted this little lady.


No camping breakfast is complete without cereal eaten straight from the box. Anyone who opens these mini-boxes and pours the cereal into a bowl is really missing out!


Colorful dishes. A lot of the mugs and dishes are the same ones we used as a family. They match the tent trailer, with their 70's colors.


The first night we had two campsites because we had more people but for the second night we decided to save money and squish into one site. There was plenty of room. Nod and Social brought the guys tent over via the back of the truck. It was still set up and all of their stuff was in it! The guys returned from a bike ride surprised to see an empty campsite!




Uncle B and Aunt Y brought the boat over for the day and it was so much fun. I don't have any photos of it, but Social and I went knee boarding and it was a blast.




Back at camp- it's dinner time for the squirrels too!


Spaghetti and garlic toast.


The largest marshmallow I have ever seen.


One of my favorite photos from the whole trip. I know this seems weird, but sometimes the photo or the subject doesn't have to be spectacular. This kettle brings back countless memories from my childhood camping trips and I am so thankful for those memories and parents who loved to take us camping.


Ice cream at the campground store.


Their soft serve was some of the best I have ever had and gluten-free as well.


The next morning it was raining so we put up a tarp.


It started raining harder and we were getting wetter. The tarp was collecting too much water so we snagged a rain flap pole from the tent to use in the center of the table and tied the rain flap string to the tarp. It worked great.


We decided to get out of the rain and go to the Yorkton wave pool. We got there about 10 minutes before it opened so that is why the pool is empty. It was pretty crowded once open, but still worth it!


Kit all tired out from swimming.


Oh oh, this is what we saw as soon as we pulled back into our campsite. Social, Nod and I had a problem on our hands! I already knew the tent was having problems when we left as there was water collecting on the tent when we left and no one to keep draining it. This particular tent relied way too much on tent pegs and the ground was mush. I had thrown all my stuff in the tent trailer, all of Nod and Social's stuff onto their air mattress in the tent and then thrown my vinyl covered mattress on top of it all.


This huge puddle was sitting and dripping directly on top of all of the stuff in the tent, but only the corners of a few pillows, sleeping bags and foam mattress got wet! The water draining off of my mattress and onto the floor.


Victory! After repeated attempts to set the tent back up, it was decided that the tent was trash. Good thing the tent trailer was along and it sleeps 7 if needed!


Satisfaction!


Being silly trying to get the tent to fit in the garbage can. I should be embarrassed of this photo, but these memories are so fun that I'm not. I bet the garbage men thought it was funny to see a tent in the trash.


We weren't doing a very good job of getting the fire started, so I ate my pork and beans straight from the can.


Nod and Kit taking a walk.


2 comments:

  1. What a blast! Except for the rain and the tent issue of course. But even that isn't too bad when you're making memories and doing it with family and friends. Your little niece is getting BIG - she's really growing! And very cute too!

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  2. We've been wanting to go camping some time soon...but those rainy pic.s are kinda scaring me. :0) Looks like you guys had a blast in spite of the weather!

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