July 15

Some of the campers like to stack the rocks on the beach or in the campsites into inukshuks or make words out of them like the one on the left. One had initials and a heart around it, and another that we found laid out on a white sheet said "Lisa, will you marry me?" Kind of cute!

We had a bear in the campground yesterday. We didn’t see it but two different groups of campers reported it. It was first sighted down at the trailhead to the Goat Creek Glacier hike and then again about half an hour later at the Overflow camping area. It was a big black bear and seemed quite shy. I reported it to the Conservation Officer and answered a few questions they had about it. They like to track all bears near people just in case there’s a problem with it. I’m glad this guy moved along as the last thing we need is a problem bear around here. When I phoned Ian, our boss, this morning, I told him about the bear too. He said the grizzlies should be out soon and to keep an eye open for them. He said it would likely be mama’s and cubs…hope we get to see them…not too close of course!

We went fishing the other day and caught a couple of nice lake trout. They were about 16-18” long and tasted really good bbq’ed over our campfire. They are biting on smelt and seem to love it. One camper stopped in yesterday to say he had caught a nine pound lake trout. I don’t doubt what he says but would like to have seen the fish.

The forecast is for thunder showers this afternoon and evening and then a stretch of nice warm sunny weather…yahoo! It’s so much more fun when the weather is nice…more things to do too. I’ve read nineteen books since we’ve been here…that tells you what the weather has been like. The books are mostly mystery type novels that I’ve picked up at the thrift store. A few historical editions and a book containing bear stories. It was kind of cute and makes you think about encounters with those animals.

We went into Canmore yesterday and did some shopping. I was glad to get back home…though Canmore is a fun little town, I think I’m getting quite used to the peace and quiet of the mountains and lake. Funny how even a three person line-up at Safeway wares on the patience when you’re used to being alone with only the sounds of the birds singing and water lapping on the shore of the lake. Maybe I’m becoming a hermit.

The weekend is coming and some people have already registered and set up their campsites then left to finish off their work week. They will arrive later today or tomorrow and stay for the weekend. It's funny how we used to look forward to weekends and now it just means a busier time for us. We both like it during the week when it's quieter and the campers are fishermen and not party people.

This heron and his buddy have taken up residence just below our campsite. They are out every morning walking along the water's edge picking up whatever they can to eat. There seems to be a lot of little fish for them to catch...we often see them in their beaks. I tried to get a picture of them in flight but all I got was the tail end of one of them and their reflection on the water. Guess they are just too fast for me.

We took our recycling to town the other day and got a lot more money for it than we thought we would. There are three recycle bins in the campground and normally on $250 plus change. Not bad for a couple weeks of cans and bottles. Guess it's worth the extra work!

Time to take a run now and clean some sites...will write more later.