July 26 - Carson-Pegasus Provincial Park

Another hidden gem - Carson Pegasus is located on McLeod Lake, just outside of Whitecourt. While our spot was not as private or as close to the water as the one we had at Ross Lakes, it was still very calming. With two nights of previous camping experience behind us, the fire was much easier to start. This time we also remembered to bring flashlights, just in case. It wasn't until we were setting up camp that we realized we forgot city water, cleaning cloths and a few other items; perhaps next trip we'll have it all organized.

This time we decided to bring our bigger tent; bigger and much harder to set-up. A lot of frustration built caused some very tense moments. We had the tent up, but realized there was only a shell and no floor. This was after playing with the poles and turning the canvas around in various shapes, sizes and directions. We soon discovered the floor piece, which was also attached to the main tent; apparently we had simply built the fly. We pegged that down, figured out what the next tent piece was for and were done; well., with one extra piece to spare. Thankfully, I knew that this piece was meant to be a room divider. What I'd like to know is how small the people are who claim the tents can fit 6 or more people?

The site that we were assigned had no grill over the fire pit. Problem - we were going to be cooking pizza for dinner. We tried building a tinfoil tray over top of the pit - not heavy enough; we tried cooking it on the small ledge and roatating it - the pizza started to drup since it wasn't big enough; we tried putting it in a pan on the ledge - not hot enough. Eventually we just sort of mushed it all up and ate a very gross looking, burnt pizza mush dish. I think even prisoners get better meals. It was a good think we had hot dogs for a back up mean.

I don't recall if it was before or after dinner that we drove around the campgrounds trying to find the beach. Apparently my map reading skills left me when Girl Guides ended years ago. We were on the opposite site of the lake. We found a very nice walking path and took a quick stroll. The kids asking what we'd do if we came across a bear. Being the nervous person that I am, it was time for us to turn around, hop back in the van, and return to the site.

While I read by the fire, the boys had fun playing with their knifes and with the fire. We also met our camping neighbours - a wonderful family from the Grande Prairies area. You see, I had only bought two bundles of fire wood, even though I was told that I would likely need three. At $7 a bundle, I was determined to make two last. Opps, apparently we need a little over two. I did what anyone travelling with two boys out on an adventure would do in this situation; I asked out campgroung neighbours if they had any extra wood that I could buy off them now or simple replace tomorrow night. Okay, so maybe not anyone would do this, but I have learnt that it never hurts to ask in life. Plus, all my years of camping have shown me that most other campers are very friendly people. Plus, their four year old son was so excited to have boys in the site next to theirs. Darkness cam quicker than we realized.

July 7 - How Lac La Biche Became Cold Lake

The next planned stop was Lac La Biche; however I decided to take a detour and drive to Cold Lake. I'd never been before and wanted to see its beauty first hand. My sister-in-law lived there at one point. Plus I’ve had either friends visit and they all had great things to say about it. Plus, it was slightly closer than Lac La Biche and the boys were ready to call it a day.

We drove into the Cold Lake Provincial Park and looked for a spot. While it was a nice campground, the spots seemed smaller than those at Ross Lake and we couldn't find any that were right on the water; although, I am sure that there must be some. Instead we drove to the Cold Lake M.D. campground. We needed to call from my cell phone for directions, but we did eventually find it. We ended up with a lovely spot close to the water. Generally we like sites that are a bit more private, but it worked well for one night.

For $5 we got a huge amount of wood; in fact we even turned some down. Looking back we should have taken it for future camping trips. Due to the rain, the wood lot was very muddy and I almost got stuck backing into the wood pile. Of course I was surrounded by men, so all I could do was joke about being a "women driver". I had a lot of help filling the back of the van, mostly with smaller piece that would require little cutting. With only two young boys to help me this was very important.

Before unloading the van back at the campsite, the boys really wanted to go for a swim. Once again we tied Buzz up to the "no dogs on beach sign" and got ready to play around in the water. I now know why it is called Cold Lake. It was freezing. I was the first one to get my hair wet and eventually did get used to the fridget temperature. The boys became fasinated by these tiny minoes swimming around near the shore, so we decided to try and catch them. I soon discovered that the trick was to disorientate them from their school and was the first one to catch one. However, the boys quickly caught on. I do have to admit that the occasional fish didn't make it through the boy's accidental pinching.

Now extremely wet and cold, it was time to light a fire. We did it in under 15 minutes and sat back to watch our camping neighbour try to start theirs. We could certainly sympathize with the frustration in not being able to start one. As the night went one, I did need one of the neighbours to chop some of the wood for us. Laughing at our small hatchet, he brought over his own axe. In return, I gave him some extra paper to see if that helped to get his fire started. I believe that all it did was create extra smoke.

With a park close by, the boys went off to play. As with many of their escapades this one didn't last long. They quickly returned asking to show me a rock. Reluctantly I followed them to three rocks that had been graffitied to say "the penis rock", which as it turned out was very fitting. Unfortunately now when people ask my boys what their favourite "big thing" has been so small they chuckle and answers, "the rock".