We took our first camping trip to
Ol' MacDonalds Resort out in Erskine this weekend, and it was lots of fun. Normally, we camp in Drumheller, but we've been looking for a place that's closer to Edmonton, and had heard good things about it, so we booked ourselves a spot. It did not disappoint.
We left as soon as the kids were done school Friday afternoon. When we arrived, we were a bit overwhelmed, as it's a much bigger campground than the one we're used to in Drumheller (I've never needed an actual road map to get around a campground before). Our camping spot was nice - shaded, and spacious enough for two tents with lots of room left over.
Friday night was basically setting up and building a fire. We quickly learned that the kids will eat anything as long as it's cooked in a pie iron over the fire.
We woke up Saturday to a very cool and cloudy morning. I wasn't planning to build another fire in the a.m., but it was so freaking cold out that it didn't take much convincing. That, of course, gave the kids another chance to make grilled cheese sandwiches in the pie iron, to go along with the eggs and bacon (cooked in a pan over the camping stove).
When it was still cool and blustery, we walked over to Buffalo Lake, and the kids played mini-golf in the little museum that's onsite.
Most of the much warmer afternoon was spent split between hanging around our campsite and going to the petting zoo. Nicole, being the big animal lover and zoo volunteer, was in her glory- particularly when she got Dusty, the old retired horse, to come across the field to her and get petted. Michelle, Char and I were amused by the zany antics of the piglets (I named them Chop, Bacon and Ribs) who chased each other around the pen, as well as the goats and sheep, which we fed a steady diet of leaves and grass we picked off the ground.
We capped of Saturday with a fireworks display on the beach that ended close to midnight (and resulted in me sleeping until 7:30 this morning, which is literally the latest I've slept in since I moved to the Premier's office in October).
Today was spent mainly hanging around camp - enjoying the campfire, making stuff in the pie iron - before cleaning up and heading home. Oh, and we visited the coffee shop to buy lattes. (Yes, we're addicted.)
It was a really good time. In fact, we've already booked the exact same camping site for next year.
Labels: camping, vacation
