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July 27, 2006
Camping in Banff with Kids
Last year, my wife and I decided that we should try camping to see if the kids would like it. Oh, yes - very much so. Confident that we would make good use of a camping trailer, we ended up buying a TravelStar 18SB this spring. Then the question came of where to go camping? We knew we wanted to visit friends of ours in Calgary this summer, so we thought that Banff would be a perfect camping destination, being so close to Calgary....
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We decided to break up our trip by stopping in Drumheller along the way. We camped at the Dinosaur Trailer Park, which was overall a good experience. The mini golf was fun, the staff were friendly, but showers weren't the cleanest... however, the fact that our campsite was directly across from the playground made it a great place for us. We would go back.
Drumheller is FUN for kids! There are a lot of things to do and we weren't able to squeeze them all in, considering that we were only there for one night's stay. We did climb the world's tallest dinosaur, we did visit the wildly famous Royal Tyrell Museum, and we did spend a couple of hours at the free public spray park. But then we had to pack up and take off for what we thought was our ultimate camping destination on this trip, Banff.
A few hours of driving later, and we arrived in Banff. The campsites at the Tunnel Mountain Trailer Park are all very clean and seem well laid out. Certainly, there are more trees in the "Trailer Park" part than in the "Campsite 2" part, so we were happy to have a bit more privacy. We met some neighbours (Bruce and Christine from Wetaskiwin, AB) while setting up, and our kids played together for a bit. I asked Christine what they were going to do while in Banff, and she said not much - they were just there for the night, on their way to further destinations.
After the activity of setup was complete, we all got back into the van to drive around the campsite and locate the playground. That turned out to be impossible... there was no playground. A theatre, yes.... but no playground. Hmm, only in Banff. So we stopped at an info kiosk and grabbed some tourist pamphlets, hoping to find something to do. It was becoming apparent that we didn't think this whole "camping in Banff" concept out enough.
We put the kids to sleep and thumbed through the pamphlets, discovering that there was nothing of interest to us. Not only that, but even if there was, it all seemed to start at $80/person (horseback riding, rafting, guided tours, etc) We turned in for the evening, not quite sure what we would be doing the next day.
It turns out that the funnest thing for our kids in Banff was droppings from deer that they found a little ways from our campsite. Yes, deer poop. They looked at it, poked it with sticks, and generally talked about it for over an hour. Eventually my oldest daughter asked if she could take a picture, so I laughed and handed her the digital camera... she took a picture of her sister posing by the poop.
My wife and I took this as a pretty clear indication that Banff was not for kids. Just to be sure, we did walk through downtown Banff (lots of overpriced stuff that we didn't want to buy) and we also checked out the hot springs (what? no cold water pool? you're kidding, right?) Having our thoughts confirmed, we decided to check out of Banff two days early.
When we got back to the campsite that afternoon, I ran into Bob, a Geography teacher from Oshawa, ON. He was camping just down from us with his wife and three younger kids (the oldest was just in his teens). He was a very nice guy and easy to talk with. I asked him what he was planning on doing in Banff for a week... he replied, "I don't have a clue. I really don't know why we're here for so long - this place is boring for kids!" I laughed and agreed, telling him that we were leaving early. After commiserating, I didn't feel so bad about being turned off of camping in Banff.
After phoning a few campgrounds around Calgary, we ended up at Calgary West Campground. This was a beautiful place with lots for the kids to do... swimming pool, playground, mini-golf and nature hike were all on-site and all very nice, and the general store was well-stocked and reasonably priced. Our campsite was overlooking the playground and only three sites away from the pool. We had more fun in one afternoon at this place than we did a few days in Banff. The shower and laundry facilities were very clean at this campground, and we do plan on staying there if we're ever camping in Calgary again.
With our kids easily forgetting the boring Banff days between and only remembering the good times in Drumheller and Calgary, we can consider this vacation a success... and an experience to learn from, as far as planning our camping trips.
Posted by Hammer at 11:51 PM | Comments (3)
July 06, 2006
A Bent Tire and Dead Battery Day
I try to be a good, contributing member of society. Some days I succeed a little more than others. Last Wednesday was an above average day as far as acts of kindness go...
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Wednesday was a day off of work for me. We were planning on going camping the following weekend, so I decided to head up to the lake that day and secure a spot, since it was going to be a long weekend and there were four couples needing a campsite. We learned the hard way last year that campsites can be very scarce on long weekends, and for those campgrounds that don't take reservations you need to get there plenty early.
The drive from Saskatoon to the campground was fairly uneventful... just over 2.5 hours of surfing between radio stations, unsuccessfully trying to find one that didn't suck. I think Rawlco communications has its head up its ass -- I know what good radio can be like, I used to live in Vancouver! (I'm sure that didn't sound arrogant at all) I am now understanding this movement towards satellite radio, as much as I am against it. Oh well, enough ranting.
After setting up the camper and also securing the three other sites by plunking down tents and paying the fees, I set off to return right back home. About 15 minutes into my return trip I saw a car on the side of the road ahead of me, facing the opposite direction. Although there was already a semi-trailer pulled over on the same side of the road that I was on and the truck driver was getting out to assist, I pulled over as well.
The truck driver and I looked under the hood of "Danny's" car and thought it needed a boost, since the starter wasn't turning over fast enough. I brought my van around, we hooked up the booster cables... and nothing. Still wouldn't start. The truck driver and I talked about possible problems, and we still thought it sounded like an electrical problem. We looked again around the battery and discovered that the main supply line from the battery positive terminal was badly corroded and barely connected. We fixed it up as best we could, and Danny was then able to start the car and drive away.
I waved goodbye to both of them and then got back into my van and headed back home. Although I had a nice, warm feeling inside about stopping to assist a troubled motorist, I also had a strange feeling that I would be helping someone else that day. I'm not kidding! I'm not a huge psychic or paranormal believer, but the feeling was so strong that I actually would have been surprised if I wasn't able to help anyone else.
It turns out that I didn't have to wait long. 30 minutes later, just as I got into Prince Albert and was about to turn into the Tim Horton's for coffee, I saw a girl on a bike run into a car. No, she wasn't struck by the car, she RAN INTO the car. Very strange.
I pulled into Tim Horton's and she was there in the parking lot with her bike. The front tire on her bike was very bent and the bike was no longer rideable. She still looked to be stunned or disoriented, so I rolled down my window and asked if she was OK. She replied that she was. I was pretty sure that she would have been in a state of at least mild shock, so I told her to put the bike into the back of my van and I volunteered to give her a ride to wherever she was going. After little arguement she agreed. Her name was "Carolina" (pronounced like 'car-oh-lean-ah')
I gave her a ride over to a muffler shop, where she was to pick up some parts, and then I dropped her back off to where she worked. As she thanked me for helping her, she said, "well I guess you have done your good duty for the day."
"Actually, this is my second," I replied with a wry smile, "I also helped someone who had car troubles earlier."
"Really? Wow. Busy day for you!"
I didn't bother telling her that I knew I'd be helping two people today - she likely didn't care, and certainly didn't need to think that I was crazy. I drove away with a bigger warm and fuzzy feeling, and this time I didn't have any more premonitions. True enough, I arrived at home without any further incident.
You are what you pretend to be. That day, I was a friend to two strangers.
Posted by Hammer at 11:05 PM | Comments (0)