More Camping Stuff

All righty then, back to camping. Where was I . . . oh yeah, rain and lots of it.

But that's over now. It's Day 2 and the sun is shining. We are at Blue Lake Provincial Park, which is just north of Vermillion Bay, which is just east of Kenora, which is just east of the Manitoba border. Way up north, for most of you. A little south for us.

And today we are exploring . . . exploring Vermillion Bay and Bobby's Sport Shop at 6 a.m. because we didn't have electricity yet and they had hot coffee. Really friendly place, friendly people and everything a fisherman could ever need, or want, in one of the most awesome northern tackle shops EVER!

And, as the rain finally blew off to the east, and the sun began to shine we headed back to our campground to get a fire going. Breakfast that day was bacon and eggs, in a cast iron skillet. And it was awesome. Supper the night before was ribeye steaks, in a cast iron skillet. It was awesome. And over the course of the trip, I would cook pancakes, pork chops, potatoes and peppers and lots of other stuff that doesn't start with the letter P. 

And it was awesome.

I LOVE cooking in a cast iron skillet. The key, I discovered, is bacon. Doesn't matter what you're cooking, you start with at least six strips of bacon, just to wake up the skillet. Then pull the bacon, set aside in foil by the fire to keep warm, and make your pancakes, or stew, chicken, lobster, soufflé, whatever. It's all better in cast iron and bacon grease.

See?

Oh, one other thing. I took along, on a whim, my Starfrit silicone oven mitt. And I will NEVER camp without it again. It is perfect for the cast iron cookery and it even works for re-arranging the logs in the fire. It's that good. 

See?

Of course I don't recommend it for anything other than its intended purpose. Just telling you what I did with it. And what I will continue to do with it on all future camping trips.

Anyhoo, we had planned two full days in Blue Lake. The first was spent exploring the park and its surroundings, and much of the second was spent swimming in the beautiful, very clear water that bordered the long, long, sandy beach. 

The staff was impressive (even if they couldn't find my electrical outlet). They tried hard, were eager to please and friendly. Probably the top park staff we encountered on our 3-week adventure.

Recommend Blue Lake very highly if you're planning a little vacation. It's about 3 to 3.5 hours from Winnipeg. A little further from Toronto. But worth the visit either way.

Have a great Wednesday.

Generously donated . . .

And, just like that, school time is upon us.

Can't say I'm not ready. Been a wonderful summer and all that, but any semblance of a routine has kinda gone the way of the dodo. There are times when routine isn't all bad.

Anyhoo, I've taken Sonwun shopping for clothes. And, if I do say so myself, I did an awesome job. Five pair of pants, eight shirts, all for less than $100. And my efforts, combined with some "experienced" clothes kindly offered by a friend with a slightly older son, have made us dressed and ready.

Now then, school supplies. Ecole Crescentview School kindly provides a list of things Sonwun will need for his Grade 2 academic experience. And I really do try to keep a sense of humour when I read that list, and do my shopping.

Sometimes the list makers challenge me.

So, pencil case, check.

"1 Oversize t-shirt, for painting," check. (One of my failed tie-dye experiments. Perfect for art!)

"1 Sturdy backpack," check.

"Water bottle, (Rubbermaid drink box with straw please) 473 ml or 16 oz." Um, I guess they've discovered it's just easier to have water at the desk of every child instead of allowing them out to use the fountain. But I gotta think it increases bathroom trips. Well, I'm sure someone's done the math. So, check!

"1 Large box Kleenex." Um, this is the second time they've used a trademark name without using the little ™ symbol. Interesting. But check!

"1 box medium size Ziploc (no little ™ again) freezer bags. Not sure what these are for. Must remember to ask Sonwun. They were required for Grade 1 as well.

Let's see, "1 set earphones." These, I've been told, are for computer class. I'm still adjusting to the fact that my son needed a computer class in Grade 1 and Grade 2. Not a Luddite, just older.

"1 USB flash drive (4GB)." Now you're just messing with me.

And gym clothes and gym bag wrap up the must-haves.

I need not purchase anything else. Why? Well, apparently it's because of the generosity of the Portage La Prairie School Division. See, at the bottom of my little list, which is from the Portage La Prairie School Division, there is a little paragraph that makes me laugh, then cry, then fume a little. 

It says, in part . . 

"In order to reduce fees/supply costs to parents the Portage La Prairie School Division has generously donated $20.00 per child to each school in the division . . ." blah, blah, blah.

Um . . . school division . . . don't school divisions collect taxes? Oh yes they do. And what is the money they collect, through taxes, non-optional taxes, supposed to be used for? Um . . . what was that again? Education! Teachers, buildings, SUPPLIES!!

"GENEROUSLY DONATED????"

Are you freakin' kidding me? They took my freakin' money and when they use it as they are legally obligated, they are "generously donating??" 

Fine, thanks. Now where is my special mention for "generously donating" my share of the taxes, in order to reduce the burden on the school division? Where's my plaque, where's my parade?

Oh, and before I forget, I would like to thank the local utility board for generously donating the water I use.

If this is truly a donation, it means you took more taxpayer money than was necessary. So take that $20, per student, off the tax bill, and let each parent decide whether or not they wish to "donate" to the school. If it is not a "donation" but simply the cost of doing school business, then take that annoying line off the list of school supplies. A tax dollar used for its intended purpose is not generous, and is not a donation. (It may be a rare thing, but that's another rant.)

I'm done. Have a nice Wednesday.

Vacation v.1.5

So, where was I?

Oh yeah, first night camping at Blue Lake Provincial Park in our new trailer.

It rained. It rained, it rained, it rained and it rained some more. The news folks on the radio the next morning used the word "torrential." I think the area got around 45 mm over night. That's about 1.75 inches. It's a lot of rain.

And I learned that sleeping in our new tent trailer was kinda like sleeping in a tin can, or maybe a drum, when it comes to raindrops and noise. It was noisy. It was never-ending. Oh, and it was dark too.

It was the kind of dark in which you can not see your hand in front of your face. And for two boys, ages 6 and 4, that can be a little frightening, when you're sleeping inside of a drum for the first time.

"Dad . . . DAD . . . I think I'm lost," Sonwun said, as we was pounded out of his sleep at about 1 a.m. He wasn't panicked or anything, but he was a little nervous. You could hear it in his voice. He just needed to know, basically, where he was and that he wasn't alone.

Okay, lights on, switch sleeping arrangements up. Me with Sonwun, Sontoo with Neomom. And it rained, and it rained and it rained . . . And, not lying, I actually dreamed the Red Cross showed up to move us to higher ground. Weird, I know.

But when dawn arrived, we were dry. Our beds were dry. Our clothes were dry. Yeah, we were tired as no one had slept much, at all. But we were dry and tired. Glass was half full. And we still had a little less than three weeks to go in our little road trip adventure.

Anyhoo, last time I think I mentioned that we couldn't find the electrical supply at our campsite. Upon arrival, we searched and we search. Parks staff searched. More parks staff searched. The closest one anyone could find would have taken at least two extension cords to reach.

We were assured by parks staff that, yup, that appeared to be the one we were supposed to use. And yup, sucks that it's so far away. And yup, we can rent you an extension cord for a small fee.

Wasn't happy with this. Rented an electrical site. Didn't want to have to rent a third extension cord to use the electricity within our electrical site.

And, without belabouring the point, eventually, the following day, another parks guy showed up and found the one we were actually supposed to use, buried in the trees. Now we had power, we had music, we had our own source of coffee. All was well.

So, that was night one, half day one of our 3-week vacation. 

More later.

So, in spite of the negatives, I am happy to report a very positive positive. Before we tucked in to sleep the first night, we met "Lynn" and her husband at a nearby campsite. Unfortunately, they had to leave the next day and they did so while we were exploring the campgrounds. But we returned to our site to find their leftover (dry) firewood and a bubble gun (yes spelled correctly) for the boys. A really beautiful gesture from someone we barely met. Thanks Lynn, of Oakbank, MB. The boys loved it!