#campgrounds near edmonton | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

willowbendresortfeatures · 6 years

Text

Willowbend Resort Features

Willowbend RV Resort located at Lac La Nonne Alberta, is conveniently situated within and hour Northwest of Edmonton just off highway 33 and just 15 minutes South of Barrhead Alberta.

Willowbend Resort is a premium gated RV Community that is a fully serviced annual RV resort.

This luxurious R.V. resort is exclusive to long-term tenants. Willowbend Resort offers guests a permanent lakeside location for their R.V. while taking advantage of all the extras that come with being part of a recreational community.

If you are looking for a whole new camping experience ask yourself these questions and ask how Willowbend Resort can make all this go away:

Are you looking for a comfortable, safe and fun location for your family?

Are you tired of having to pack and pack up your RV trailer every long weekend?

Annoyed with all the weekends being booked when you start contacting campgrounds when all you want to do is take the family out of town for some camping?

Tired of eating up half of your weekend in driving to and from a campground and then having to set up and tear down all within a 2-3 days?

Tired of having to pack up clothes and gear o wash at home and then pack up again the following week?

The features related to Willowbend Resort are many! here is amenities they provide but are not limited to:

Spacious lots, 2400 – 3000 sq ft

Fully serviced 30 amp lots

3000 feet of lakefront property

Payment plans and programs

Full heated showers

Washing and laundry facilities

Heated full swimming pool exclusive to members

Store

Full service Store

Heated full bathrooms

Playground full use

volleyball space

horseshoe space

Secure and monitored boat storage

Boat launch facilities

Boat docking and pier space rentals

Excellent walleye perch & pike fishing

Exceptional Ice fishing

Water skiing & tubing and all other water sports

Quad and ATV trails (hours of space)

Walking trails

Bird and wildlife sanctuary near by

Bird watching

Mountain biking trails

Golf courses (minutes away) Barrhead Golf Club and

All services such as movie theatre, shopping liquor stores, groceries, farmers markets and unique gift shopping all in the town of Barhead

Wilowbend Resort supports a thriving closed community that enjoys not only the amenities listed above but also the following:

Community events through out the summer months

Boat Regalia Annual event

fireworks show and Canada day festivities

Pancake breakfasts

Community BBQ events

Hay rides

Children’s Halloween event in summer

Children’s ATV and bike parade every summer

Internal community events such as BBQs bake offs, challenges and family activities

Willowbend Resort is very active in keeping the integrity and overall quality of Lac La Nonne to ensure future generations enjoy this hidden gem of a home away from home!

Here are some of Peter and Gisel’s top resources related to whats going on here at the incredible Lac La Nonne:

Lac La Nonne, Alberta Lakes Information

Lac La Nonne and Albert Fishing

Fishing Feedback Lac La Nonne

Lac La Nonne Enhancement and Protection Association

Whats the weather like today at Willowbend Resort?

Affordable Benefits of RV Camping

Many people look for affordable holidays for their families and this can be challenging today, the average family holiday for a week or two is $4580 US* With costs soaring to go on a holiday why not RV you can easily get away and be at a RV site within an hour or so of commuting, and have a holiday experience at a much more affordable cost. Annual leases to secure and enjoy yearly RV camping can cost significantly less than the cost of a week vacation. YOu then get to enjoy a mini holiday weekly through out the year.

*rates are resourced from 2018 here

Contact Willowbend Resort

Willowbend Resort Lac La Nonne Site 17, Box 1 R.R.#1 Gunn, AB T0E 1A0 Telephone (780) 967-5529

Edmonton to Willowbend Resort at Lac La Nonne

Willowbend Resort at Lac La Nonne Commute to Edmonton

Barrhead to Willowbend Resort

1 note · View note

fictioncareercreativity · 6 years

Text

Into The Future/Afterlife Freestyle Creative Fiction Series episode one by Stella CarrierJuly 11, 2018

Into The Future/Afterlife Freestyle Creative Fiction Series episode one by Stella CarrierJuly 11, 2018 Into The Future/Afterlife Freestyle Creative Fiction Series episode one by Stella Carrier 30 to 45 minute freestyle story series start time 831 pm completion freestyle time approximately 9:43 pm title updated by 946pm A Little About My Life In The Year 2123 That Influences My Work As a Writer Author Who Channels Celestial Beings For Both My Non Fiction and Creative Fiction Writings I Irvin Olson can easily travel by train from my home in Edmonton Canada to a Shopping Mall in Switzerland because of the revamped public transportation system that allowed people from around the globe to live and work in various parts of the world by the year 2100 For instance, the shopping mall that I work in the evening as a DJ has me interacting with coworkers across Europe, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Various parts of Africa, various parts of Asia, various parts of Latin America, other parts of Canada etc. For instance, I travel on a train from Canada that takes me all the way from Canada to Switzerland in a span of just 49 minutes or less, a coworker who lives in the Washington D.C. area gets to the same shopping mall in Switzerland in a span of just 37 minutes, and a coworker from California gets to Switzerland via train around 53 minutes, for the other parts of the world usually 60 to 70 minutes on train, basically as a DJ and part time author I work with over 5300 other coworkers from 144 other countries in addition to Canada Various malls in Canada and across Europe built up theme parks, hotels, water parks, and even libraries inside of the malls by the year 2090. The U.S. government was inspired by this example and also set up malls with theme parks, hotels, water parks, libraries, certain universities, and additional military bases with the businesses being open from 8 am to 12 am in many places. Many of these places opened in in various parts of the U.S. across various socio-economic classes and I got to see alot of this even as a music DJ based in Canada because my company loaned me out to other companies to work as a music disc jockey and one of my novels was even selected for an upcoming movie. However, the caveat to many of these expanded hours and amenities in these malls were the type of circumstances you would expect when millions of men and women get together andor meet around 9 or 10 pm on weekend nights at theme parks, even certain party events available for the public to attend. By the year 2098 many government officials remedied some of these circumstances by beefing up more funding and support to planned parenthood as many of the wealthiest daughters from the most powerful families some as young as 16 getting together with males around that age from unlikely parts of the same area just in more middle class backgrounds. This was not as much as a scandal as when some of the youngest women got involved at these places with males from some of the most powerful families who would visit some of the malls mostly frequented by the middle class out of curiosity. As a result, 24 hour planned parenthood clinics complete with a range of contraceptive options became available in malls across the United States both for when the mall opened and for closing time especially as many music festivals are now held inside many of these malls globally. Speaking of festivals, as a part time author of 3 self published novels under 2 different aliases I have been asked to speak at some book festivals being held in 10 different malls for next week to talk about the self published novel being used for a film. How do I do this; My job approved for me to use the time on the condition that I check in at work for 2 hours after I speak at the events. I also am bringing along my 2 career life coaches as they helped give me good advice that helped my writing. For instance, I was given advice to embrace being scrutinized for my interest in films andor media different for someone my age. However, this interest helped me create the novel that has already generated 3300 dollars after taxes just in the last month. How did this happen from a sleeptime dream that I am about to explain A little about some of my sleeptime dreams that influence my life andor work as a music disc jockey andor writer Less than a week ago Less than 2 weeks ago I had a sleeptime dream where I was inside a 2000s era building of a Downtown Disney Mcdonalds in Orlando Florida. I noticed 43 kids smiling and laughing with their families while watching a movie that this particular Mcdonalds was featuring for the family movie night that they started by the year 2091. They even had a special Downtown Disney Mcdonalds menu to accomodate the movie night. I then went over to a mysterious gentleman sitting across the next table near me and asked him what film they were watching. He just simply replied your next story and I am one of your muses and assistant to one of your guardian angels who is going to help you accomplish this. However before I could ask this mystery man whether to include the menu details andor any additional tips I woke up. However, I did remember this dream, composed a 50 page story which is now generating much money and even a movie deal. My spiritual beliefs I Irvin Olson follow various afterlife authors. My grandmother when she passed away less than 30 years ago left me over 450 books pertaining to spirit guide communication, guardian angel communication. I have utilized an afterlife book by Bruce Moen that recently helped me transport to a beautiful and colorful campground completely different from what I have been before in my waking life and three male spirits who told me they were my spirit guides were happy to show me around this area. More on at least one of the three male spirits who showed me around this beautiful gorgeous place to come within 3 days or less of this communication. I want to say more, however my name is being called from the 3 bedroom home I am writing this message and one of my best friends staying at my home is introducing me to 4 of her friends and 4 of her sisters who she is close to, and all of them are going with me to a music DJ and author writer event that is about to take place within the next 3 hours or less. Next Entry To Transpire by Friday July 13, 2018 andor Saturday July 14, 2018 One of the celestial spirit helpers connected to the character in this story to tell some details on their life from the realms they reside in, some ways how they orchestrate career mentors, and more. Resources

https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/20th-century-english-names.php#.Wx8w1-4vycw

https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/07/09/weta-documentary-washington-in-the-90s-marion-barry-redskins-go-go-music/ a new documentary examines 1990s dc by elliot williams published july 9, 2018 https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/07/09/weta-documentary-washington-in-the-90s-marion-barry-redskins-go-go-music/ https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/07/09/brett-kavanaugh-neil-gorsuch-georgetown-prep/ Two Scotus Picks High School Together by Brittany Sheperd https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/07/09/brett-kavanaugh-neil-gorsuch-georgetown-prep/ https://www.myaustrianblog.at/en/category/travel-2/ Austria Travel Blog https://www.myaustrianblog.at/en/category/travel-2/ https://buschgardens.com/williamsburg/events/ Busch Gardens Williamsburg Virginia Special Events https://buschgardens.com/williamsburg/events/ https://www.spendwithpennies.com/strawberry-banana-salad/ Strawberry Banana Salad https://www.spendwithpennies.com/strawberry-banana-salad/ https://www.masterclass.com/classes/david-mamet-teaches-dramatic-writing https://www.masterclass.com/classes/david-mamet-teaches-dramatic-writing https://www.thegreatcoursesdaily.com/category/literature/ https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/07/03/the-runners-guide-to-washington/ https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/06/27/chuck-todd-on-why-hes-a-runner/ https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/07/11/georgetown-prep-vs-sidwell-friends-a-tale-of-two-schools/ https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/07/11/georgetown-prep-vs-sidwell-friends-a-tale-of-two-schools/ https://www.washingtonian.com/2018/07/11/georgetown-prep-vs-sidwell-friends-a-tale-of-two-schools/ switzerland shopping mall https://worldradio.ch/news/2017/11/08/switzerlands-second-biggest-shopping-mall-opens-today/ Switzerland's Second Biggest Shopping Mall Opening Today by National News November 8, 2017 https://worldradio.ch/news/2017/11/08/switzerlands-second-biggest-shopping-mall-opens-today/ canada shopping mall http://www.wem.ca/ West Edmonton Mall http://www.wem.ca/ http://www.wem.ca/play/attractions/galaxyland/ http://www.wem.ca/play/attractions/world-waterpark/ I am about to add an update to the freestyle story series Into The Future/Afterlife Freestyle Creative Fiction Series episode one on an Oprah Winfrey link that I just found by 1031 pm https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/oprah-winfrey-is-about-to-get-into-the-restaurant-biz-with-an-investment-in-true-food-kitchen/ar-AAzV0Dw Oprah Winfrey Is About To Get Into The Restaurant Biz With An Investment in True Food Kitchen by Sarah Whitten CNBC https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/oprah-winfrey-is-about-to-get-into-the-restaurant-biz-with-an-investment-in-true-food-kitchen/ar-AAzV0Dw True Food Kitchen link https://www.truefoodkitchen.com/ https://www.truefoodkitchen.com/ cnbc link by 1039 pm https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/10/oprah-winfrey-makes-investment-in-true-food-kitchen.html Oprah Winfrey Is About To Get Into The Restaurant Biz With An Investment in True Food Kitchen by Sarah Whitten CNBC https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/10/oprah-winfrey-makes-investment-in-true-food-kitchen.html songs andor music collections for me to keep in mind; lovesong by the cure, All the Right Reasons music collection by Nickelback, Angel by Madonna, Bop by Dan Seals, added after 943 pm yet by 944 pm for the right reasons I preface sharing this freestyle story that I am doing as creative writing therapy both to show appreciation for all who look at my online writings yet to also make this clear; I am humbly and modestly touched at an online communication I received pertaining to someone who wants to become a career coach. However with both modest and brave intent, I must make it clear that I do not plan to become a career coach as I sense that I am destined for a career path(s) completely different from career coach. Rather, I am writing this for other reasons pertaining to wanting to be employed as a career coach one of the reasons I feel comfortable sharing that my creative fiction genre freestyle writings are a form of creative writing therapy. Additionally, I notice that the more I write, the more my wiser parts of my logic and creative intuition are activated/increase for the benefit of the wisdom I seek for greater knowledge and application of that knowledge in various areas of my life both offline and online.With that out of the way, here is today’s mini story I Stella Carrier Humbly Call Upon What I Imagine To Be The Influence of Benevolent Spirits From the Heavenly Realms, my higher self, and my celestial spirit ally team for creativity in both my writings and all other areas of my life both present and future. I also welcome any and all forms of spiritual assistance and divine intervention in all areas of my life both present and future. I Stella Carrier give thanks for the blessing of a sweet and handsome husband who is supportive of my education and career goals for both present and future.I Stella Carrier feel blessed to be an American born woman who has the freedom to live wherever I desire within the United States regardless of my economic andor career situation.Every Day I Stella Carrier Become More Creative, Intuitive, and Imaginative.Each Day I Stella Carrier increase my self-confidence and become more proficient with sharpening my genius and writing abilities.

1 note · View note

bothfuckingcrazy-blog · 7 years

Text

Jasper and the Next Leg

Upon our arrival to Jasper we followed the directions of the young lady who dropped us off at the edge of town (right off the highway): follow the trail and that’ll take you into town.

We stretched our legs after the long drive from Lake Louise to Jasper and made the hike into town from the Trans-Canadian Highway. The first thing we did was walk under a train bridge (while a train was on it). It was loud.

We made our way into Jasper which, little did we know at the time, would become a comfortable week-long stay. I say comfortable in the sense that we had a nice tent to sleep in every night, but it was a bit... under the radar, so we had to pack up and take our things with us every day.

We spent days lazing around in the green spaces near the visitor’s center watching (and hearing) the trains go by --

Afternoons/evenings in the local brewing company and/or anyplace we found that served good beer at reasonable prices and had electric outlets --

We languished in the internet and Martin was able to catch a footy match (live!) on a really fucking big TV --

We ate some nachos, burgers, and generally had a good time.

We met a fellow bum who was travelling with two dogs: one big, one small. The big one was old, soft, and gentle. The little one was young, content, and just wanted a warm lap to sleep on. We exchanged words with him a few times, and on the third day we ended up drinking cider and whiskey in the green space near the visitors’ centre. The little dog fell asleep on my lap very promptly. I fell asleep not long afterward, and much talk of trainhopping, listening to Days n Daze, and more drinking commenced while I was taking a nap. A good night was had by all.

The next morning we woke up under our cozy blanket on the porch of the visitors’ centre, nudged by an employee telling us we had to move. I roused Martin and we transferred ourselves to another spot where we slept for another couple of hours (it was a bit wet so we got out the tarp). It was about there we realized the difference between “chilling in the park” and “being tragically homeless” is whether you have legitimate looking sleeping gear out or not. Blanket and backpacks: A-OK. Tarp and fluffy sleeping quilt: Doesn’t matter how much that ultralight shit cost you, you look homeless as hell fam.

We charged up all our shit in Jasper then headed up the Saturday Night Lake Loop to a backcountry campground on Minnow Lake.

Poorly named, it ended up; the lake had very limited fishing opportunity, almost none from the shore. We were at the reeds’ behest, which caused us to give up in frustration after no more than ten casts.

The weather was subpar the entire time (overcast, cold), I came down with a not-great cough (it hurt), and the trail/campground wasn’t very scenic (especially with the smoke pollution from the fires in BC; the air smelled like smoke if you sniffed, and the mountains weren’t even visible above the lake’s immediate treeline for days).

We met a Dutch guy who was very enthusiastic about going barefoot and plastic liquor bottles (he apparently had pretended to be Scottish while he was in Quebec) and a couple who had never backpacked to a campsite before who worked at an Apple store in Edmonton. They advised us that AlpineAire (a brand of dehydrated camping food) is likely to taste like cleaning chemicals. I’m honestly not surprised, and it makes me feel even better about our continually honed camping menu (instant mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, Knorr sides, fresh parmesan or other cheeses, semi-dried meat sticks, etc etc...) on both price point and flavor point.

We hiked back to Jasper after staying at Minnow awhile and, while it was all downhill, didn’t really spare our legs. Ends up prolonged downhill can also take a toll on calves. Who knew.

Once we got back to Jasper we stayed a night, to restock (re-drink), re-food, recharge (electronically and otherwise), then our last night in our precious homeless-camping spot to hit the road.

We hiked to the highway, West, or Ouest (French) as it told us, and attempted to position ourselves in a strategic spot for hitchhiking. I was afraid it was going to take awhile, since there wasn’t too much traffic going west in the first place and people were mostly either dayhiking or in campers.

Maybe just shy of a half an hour elapsed and a couple in a crossover stopped to pick us up; Martin asked if they were French “No”, then French-Canadian “No...” honestly, after so long listening to people in Canada speak French, most foreign languages that roll off the tongue sound French. It ended up the couple was Polish, and we were able to stick our packs in their “trunk”, and they were super, super, SUPER fucking nice.

And they were going to Vancouver!

We ended up hitchhiking with them the entire way from Jasper to Vancouver, AND they dropped us off at our Airbnb. Regardless of that, though, they were really great people. I’ll omit their names here, but the guy was a developer (living in Canada a couple of years) and the girl was ex-IT (she definitely knew some sort of programming and had quit her job in Poland to come to Canada). When we told them our story of not really being able to be in the same country and quitting our jobs to be together, they definitely had a bit of a chuckle. I just hope we entertained them enough. I really liked them and I hope I can repay them in the future somehow because the drive was...8...9? hours and that’s really incredible, honestly. And after all that, they dropped us off at our airbnb. The airbnb was an in-flight decision and reservation; the couple offered they could put us up if we didn’t find anywhere to sleep but they’d done so much already I couldn’t imagine asking that of them. We found a room we could hang out and shower and cook dinner (woo more Kraft(tm) Dinner(tm) as is Canadian ritual) for a reasonable price, so we went for it.

I guess that concludes this segment of our trip; we exchanged emails and numbers with the couple who gave us a lift, and I really hope to repay them (somehow!) in the future, if not before we leave the country in two weeks. From here it’ll be exploring the city and finding our way to Vancouver Island -- from there to hippie mecca Tofino, which I think should be easily enough found and unfound, based on the miles of dreadlocks we’ve encountered telling us how great Tofino is.

Unfortunately, but skillfully, our Canadian leg of 2017 is drawing to a close.

- E

#text #blog #canada17 #hitching

1 note · View note

edmontontouris · 5 years

Text

It was -1C and my first thought was, “I should go for a walk in the woods with Cap”. My second thought was, “Stop looking at Facebook memories.” In 2017 the overnight low was -42C with a windchill of -50C. The house was warm-ish… but the walls and floors were cold. Closing curtains add that extra insulation barrier. This memory sealed the deal. I was going to a provincial park with my boy. I checked the weather at Wabamum and at Miquelon, Wabamum won by 2 degrees.

I hadn’t been to Wabamun Lake Provincial Park since my son was 5 maybe 6. We came to the beach and he loved the train trestle that crossed the water. As a train enthusiast, this was his favourite beach.

I hung out at this lake from the age of 18 to 26. My ex-husband’s family had a cottage at Seba Beach, the west side of the lake and I was a camp counsellor at YoWochAs near Fallis, the Northside of the lake. The provincial park is located on the east side. I learned to paddle and sail on this lake. I also learned to water ski and tried scuba diving. I prefer paddling in the canoe and exploring the freshwater creeks that feed into this lake. I remember listening to a friend telling me he was going to sail to the provincial park and step the mast so he could camp. I had no idea why he needed to do that until he explained about the train trestle. Since that day, every time I see the trestle, I think fondly of him.

Cap and I arrived to find everything closed. The campground was barricaded, the beach access was closed. The only place open was Group Camp D, or at least the parking lot to group D was open. I parked there along with three other vehicles.

There was more snow here than I anticipated. If I am going to continue to do these types of explorations, I think I need to invest in a pair of snowshoes. The last time I wore snowshoes they looked like this:

The snow was deep and I think I could benefit from the stability. My sled dog would appreciate them because then going off-trail wouldn’t be such a big deal for me. Alternatively, perhaps a sled would be better! He pulls me up slippery slopes as it is.

From the parking lot, we discovered an ungroomed trail. People had used it for snowshoeing and skiing. Lots of dog tracks so Cap had a lot of investigating to do.

The trail took us along the northwest shore of the lake. We found lots of animal trails, moose, hare and coyote. The coyote makes Cap skittish and reluctant to go first. He wasn’t as confident as the other trips we take.

We had to stop a lot, sniff the air and snow and listen for predators. Waiting patiently for him, I noticed the smell of coal. I had forgotten the area smelled like this. They still strip mine south of the lake and Keephills and Sundance plants are still in operation – as a general FYI, Edmonton still gets its electricity from coal. It isn’t as clean as you think. Do any of you remember the smell of coal and straw burning to thaw the ground for construction crews? That is was it smelled like. It was a familiar smell of my youth.

We kept walking thinking I would find beach access, but no luck.

I also expected to see ice fishing on the lake. When I came out here in the late ’80s, the lake was covered in fishing tents. Side note: I went into Wabamun and found all the ice fishing tents off the main pier. They just don’t do it the bay because of limited access to the water.

The sun is still low in the sky for a mid-afternoon day, it casts long shadows and sparkles up the snow.

We walked about 1.5km before Cap stopped and would not go further. Obviously, there were coyotes ahead. So we turned around and he just about pulled my arm off trying to get to the car.

This is a park that is slammed with campers and beachgoers during the summer season. But if you are a cross-country skier or snowshoe enthusiast, I recommend the quiet peaceful winter to visit. I didn’t come across any picnic sites, but I know there is some closer to the day-use area. Wabamun is about an hour west of Edmonton on hwy 16. It’s also worth checking out Canada’s largest dragonfly located in town because how often can you see big things like this?

Get out and explore!

Edmonton Tourist: Wabamun Lake Provincial Park It was -1C and my first thought was, "I should go for a walk in the woods with Cap".

#Alberta Parks #Explore Canada #travel #Travel Alberta #Travel Photography #Wabamun Lake Provincial Park

0 notes

haenschenklein · 5 years

Text

Days 11 to 16 or whatever it is

I‘ve completely lost track of time, so I guess that is a good sign. So after recovering from that wrecked tire, I slept at Devon Lions Campground to be close to the airport for the following day, when Tiziana would arrive.

Of course the drive to the airport only took like 20 minutes and she only arrived at 15.30, so I had a lot of time to spare. After making pancakes in the morning and taking my sweet time, I eventually mosied over to the airport, thinking that Edmonton International Airport surely had something to offer. Well, it doesn‘t, as I had to find out soon after arriving. There‘s a Tim Horton‘s there and that‘s about it. So I spent about 4 hours in the observation deck, mostly researching stuff about gas torches. Yes, I was inspired by Al Bakke‘s little one brick gas forge, so I will have to imitate that at home. Of course all the fittings for propane are vastly different here than then ones at home, so that will need some adapting. Hence the research. Fascinating stuff, innit?

Tizi‘s plane arrived on time and it sure was nice to see her again after being apart for two weeks. I had reserved a hotel in downtown Edmonton so we drove there and despite the cold weather and the jetlag, decided to stroll through town to find a place to eat. Bad idea. It may have been a Thursday, but half the restaurants were closed and the others didn‘t seem particularly appealing. Eventually we opted for a Korean one no 100m from the hotel. It was good, but someones was very tired by now:).

The next day, after a good long sleep, we headed for the Royal Albert Museum to see an exhibition on the Vikings, including a fascinating collection of artefacts from that time. The forgework was interesting, especially because in some pieces you could tell that they really wanted to save material wherever they could. The tongs were particularly interesting, as they forged the boss very differently to how we normally forge it today, at least in one of the examples. I will have to experiment for myself.

After the museum, we met Kevin again for a round of drinks and a whole lot of good tips on where we should go. He‘s such a friendly chap and I‘m almost glad I had that tire blow up, for I would have never made his acquaintance without it.

After talking for quite some time, we eventually headed west towards Jasper. By now the weather was dreadful, cold and rainy and it was getting really late. We just so managed to get one of the last spots at the KOA near Hinton and cooked some pasta. Tizi was not too happy, it was definitely no mediterrainean weather. Luckily we had enough blankets to be warm at night.

The next day we had a nice breakfast, but the weather was still bad, so we drove directly to Miette Hotsprings to warm up. It took some convincing to get my better half to expose herself to the cold, with promise of lovely 36°C water. But we both enjoyed it a lot until they closed the pool because apparently, someone had had some kind of accident in the water. Eww.

We headed into Jasper to do some grocery shopping and finally, the sun poked through and it actually got warm. We headed further south, but eventually decided to turn around and check-in with a little chalet just outside jasper, as it was cold and rainy, still and the outlook to find an empty campspot was dim.

The next morning, the weather was supposed to be even worse, but instead it was actually quite friendly. We drove up to Lake Edith Cavell to see the glacier and the lake. The forests around Jasper have been heavily hit by some kind of pine beetle and half or more of it is dead or dying. But other than that, the landscape is gorgeous. As it cleared up further, we came into Athabasca Falls and back onto Highway 93 and did a lot of stops along the way. We had a superb icecream at Saskatchewan River Crossing and headed further south still, in the hope of finding a camp spot near Lake Louise. Turns out half the campgrounds are closed for renovation though, so all the other are super packed. We drove until after 9 pm, saw a bunch of black bears but couldn‘t find a single available campsite. So eventually, we gave up and stayed in a hotel in Banff, after travelling through Bow Valley in search of a campsite in vain. To make up for yet another non-camping night, we had a nice dinner at Earl‘s.

The next day, the gas station was closed in Banff, so we needed to find another one before heading back to Lake Louise in the absurd hope of getting to Lake Moraine. Well, Lake Louise was always a busy tourist hotspot, but now, it‘s like a suburb of Beijing. So. Many. Chinese. Tourists. Needless to say the parkings lots were all full and Lake Moraine was closed because of the onslaught. So we headed on towards Golden to try Emerald Lake. We found it and even got a parking spot right at the end of the road and thus had a great start for our little hike around the lake. It was a bit drizzly at first, but warm and the sun eventually came through. A beautiful lake. Also a lot of tourists, but at least the less trodden shadowy side of the lake is beautiful.

We spent several hours exploring the place and eventually headed on towards Golden. The well-known municipal campground will be our base for the night, before we head on towards Revelstoke and then south again.

0 notes

edmontontouris · 5 years

Text

When I woke up this morning (Saturday, October 12) it was sunny and lovely out. It isn’t going to be this way for long because the nights are getting colder. I anticipate snow sooner than later. With this in mind, I figured The Captian and I needed to head west to see what we could see. I googled Provincial Parks thinking I would go to Wabamum but Pembina River popped up.

First of all, I had no idea Pembina was a provincial park. Secondly, I hadn’t been there since 1988 when I would drop off a truck and trailer for the young paddlers upstream learning how to negotiate river eddies and snags while at summer camp. The truck was their ticket back to YoWoChaS, a YWCA camp located at Fallis on the shores of Wabamum Lake, where they would get a meal of fried chicken and bannock as their reward.

All I could think about was the river and how much fun it was at camp. I loved those people and that was a very special time for me. I learned a lifetime of things that stuck with me. Obviously, I needed to share that with Cap. I packed water and checked Waze. I live 109 km away. Totally doable. Had I planned my day better, I could have done two provincial parks, but I will get to Wabamum another day.

The Yellowhead Highway 16, is rough. Full of ruts and bumps until Spruce Grove. After that it was fine. It was the kind of day I thought I would like to keep going until Jasper but I needed to be home so Chatterbox could use my car for her volunteer gig.

I remembered the turnoff to Entwistle and easily found my way down into the river valley. I thought I remembered an old single-lane bridge that spanned the river so you could cross over to Evansburg, but I could be wrong. Maybe it was replaced? At any rate, I remembered the valley and the steep high banks of the river. I found the sign and pulled into the Day-Use area.

There were signs pointing the way to the beach.

Beach?

People who live in Ontario or near the ocean would laugh. The ‘beach’ is the shore with a bit of sand and rock. It’s lovely, but not what one would think of when you say ‘beach’.

Cap and I parked in the vast parking lot, I noticed there is an overflow lot. This is a swimming river because it is slow-moving and shallow. This river is popular with people who bring tubes or rafts and put in upstream and drift along. The perspective for Alberta from any river is amazing. If you get the chance to explore river valleys via the water, do it.

Near where we parked is a playground and picnic shelter. There were signs that gave direction to the beach but you could see it from the parking lot, so it was obvious. There were signs saying no dogs on the beach…but… it isn’t summer and Cap can’t read.

There is a parking lot by Entwistle 3km away and you can hike in if you look at the trails from P to P. It is hilly but I think it would be a great hike in the early summer or early fall. Cap and I parked and took the stairs to the picnic area near the beach.

The hill we drove down was quite high, plus there are stairs and steep hills to get closer to the water. The picnic spots are fantastic, this should be a place I bring my famjam for a picnic.

We kept walking upstream through the trees to get the to river. I didn’t feel steady enough to to take the short cut to the river.

This was an easy gentle slope to the river. The first thing I noticed was the lack of leaves on the trees. The ground was abundant with crunchy leaves. The orange trees are tamaracks, they turn colour in the fall and drop their needles before winter. There are quite a few conifers still holding onto their needles plus the green lodgepole pines are straight and narrow still showing off their green needles that last all year long.

We made it to the river bank and I remembered how easy it was to pull the canoe out from here. I think this must be where the rafters pull out too. The sign is easy to miss though, so first-timers pay attention once you pass under the bridge. The big RIVER EXIT sign isn’t really big enough and is quite far from the water.

Cap and I went further upstream to the park boundary.

It is essentially at the bridge.

Bridges that are accessible by water in Alberta have some sort of stamp or art on the structure below. Most are wild roses or the Alberta crest, but this one had a paddler dude. I love these signs along the waterways. I loved being on the river. I think I was a voyageur in a past life. The Pembina meets up with the Athabasca River which will take you to Lake Athabasca but there were forts along the way, so it was obviously used by voyageurs.

We turned around and headed downstream to the bend where the campground is located. This campground is gorgeous. I highly recommend staying here if for nothing else but the view.

We climbed up the bank instead of heading back to the gently sloping path, Cap pulled me out because he is the best dog ever. Once back in the car, we made our way up the hill to the park entrance and stopped to look at the four monoliths.

Part of the Canadian Northern Railway bridge. Ugly but historic.

I investigated the campground a bit more and learned camp spots are $33 a night and most have hook-ups. They aren’t all treed but they do have great views of the river valley.

Pembina River Provincial Park is about an hour west of Edmonton on Highway 16. Come in the summer for a float and I am sure a lot of people will join you, or come in the fall and be the only one walking on the shores. The choice is yours.

Just get out and explore your neighbourhood.

Edmonton Tourist: Pembina River Provincial Park When I woke up this morning (Saturday, October 12) it was sunny and lovely out. It isn't going to be this way for long because the nights are getting colder.

#Explore Canada #Explore Edmonton #Photography #travel #Travel Alberta #Travel Photography

0 notes