Two Campsites and Eight Families

I figured I'd  better get my Labour Day Camping story posted soon before I get too engrossed in writing about autumn hikes.  It was our final camping trip of the year and we had gathered all of our best friends we'd been camping with this season for one last trip together.  There were 8 families in total - and yes, we essentially had 2 campsites to share.  I would have made a large group booking had I known how much interest we'd have in this camping trip but by the time I made the reservation early summer there were no group sites left unless we wanted to drive to Northern Alberta.  The best option we found was two double sites backing on to each other.  With few trees and a very open concept at Little Bow Provincial Park's Campground, we would have a small group area to ourselves.  What we didn't realize is that the double sites, designed to accommodate two units plus even a third, were about the size of a single site in most parks.   The saving grace was that we had corner sites with lots of grass surrounding our sites.  We managed to fit 4 trailers and 3 tents on our area.


Being Labour Day weekend, the campground was packed solid without a site to spare and depending on where you were camped it was quite busy.  We seriously lucked out though and heard no generators rumbling or stereos blasting within the immediate vicinity of our sites.  It was a different story if you walked even 30 seconds towards the outhouses though so you really can't count on peace and quiet on a long weekend.

I won't go into great detail writing about the weekend because the photos say it best.  I hope they inspire you to put camping on your calendar next summer if you didn't get out much this summer.  We had a fabulous summer with our friends camping all over the province and I've already got my list started for where I want to camp next summer.

Our Campsites

One of our campsites with 5 families (you can't see the 2 tents)

The other campsite in the distance with 3 more families (we had a large grassy area in between which really helped!)

Fun at Camp

5 Kids in a Hammock (Photo:  Jen Sollid)

Hammock Yoga (Photo:  Jen Sollid)

New Friends

Seriously, the kids spent every free moment in that hammock!

Beach Fun

We chose this campground hoping it would be a hot sunny weekend - yay for high 20's!

Fun with Giant Floaties (Photo:  Cam Schaus)

I brought a Stand up Paddle Board for the weekend and we all had fun trying it out (Photo:  Cam Schaus)

Everybody wanted a turn riding around the swimming area

We had lots of floaties, ducks, boards, boats, and more

Beach Babes

Biking

Balance Bikes Unite!

The Campground roads were great for biking and everybody was super at breaking for the kids and slowing down.

Three and Four Year Olds out for a tour

Paddle Touring

My favourite part of the weekend!  We'd take out the canoes and my board for tours up and down the Travers Reservoir

Canoeing with the kids (Photo:  Cam Schaus)

Our new canoe (Photo:  Jen Sollid)

Just in case you thought a SUP'er wouldn't be able to keep up with other paddlers - I held my own! (Photo:  Jen Sollid)

Morning Paddle and My Nirvana (Photo:  Cam Schaus)

Cows.  Cool. (Photo:  Cam Schaus)

I was very fortunate to have three photographers along to document my first real SUP Touring (Photo:  Cam Schaus)

I'm kind of in love with my new sport!  (Photo:  Jen Sollid)

Thank you for following our camping adventures this summer.  Next year is going to be even more awesome with our new canoe and paddle board.  We added biking to the camp activities this summer too with my first adult bike and my son's new balance bike.  It was a very exciting summer for learning new things. Can't wait to see what next year brings.