August 23

Another Tuesday morning and I’m doing laundry in Canmore, then will run a few errands. We’re low on several things and I think I’ll treat Tom to something extra good for supper. He’s got a cold and is a little on the “grumpy, feeling sorry for himself” side. He did though come for a walk with me and Oso last night but slept late this morning. I’ll pick him up some sort of medicine that will help clear it up too.

Oso and I went for a walk this morning and the little brat caught a mouse and ate it before I could stop him. God, we feed that dog well enough, he doesn’t have to heat mice. I guess it’s bred into him though to find and kill small rodents …but really, does he have to eat them???

It was a pretty quiet weekend all round. We did have one noisy group…they were celebrating Gramma’s birthday and were drunk by 10:00 in the morning (even Gramma was staggering). I called Conservation and Donna, the CO, came and talked to them. They left within half an hour so she must have scared them pretty well…or maybe they just got mad and left. Anyway, it was a much nicer, quieter campground without them. We don’t often get too many groups like that, but once in a while they show up and we need to deal with them asap so the other campers aren’t bothered.

There was another black bear in the campground this week, but I didn’t get to see him. He poked his head into the overflow area and then took off once he saw people. One couple that was camping said that they never sleep in their tents and always sleep in their mini van even though they set up a tent. …they use it for storing clothes and stuff. Seems odd they would camp if they don’t like to sleep outside…too many scary critters out there I guess.

I got to talk with my good friend Ruby this morning. It was sure good to hear from her and I really appreciate that she’s helping look after things with my condo downtown. Renters moving in and out while we’re not there is a little difficult to handle from a distance, so she’s a really good friend to go out of her way to help as much as she has.

Last night on our walk some dumb kids in a pick-up truck drove half way across the dam then turned and drove down the bank and into the field…that was not only dumb but really dangerous as it’s a pretty steep climb back up. They managed to grind their tires into the soil and leave a nasty mess on the hillside so I’m sending pictures of them to Conservation. I don’t go far without my camera so got some pictures of them…I was even able to get the license plate number since I had my long distance lens on the camera. Dumb kids!

A young couple from Scotland drove their bikes through the campground this week. They had started their trek in Argentina and had followed the Great Divide trail all the way up this far. They did say they flew over Columbia, though as it was simply too dangerous to ride through, but rode their bikes the whole rest of the way. It had taken them over a year to do…I really admire their determination…I know I couldn’t do anything like that…I’m too used to the creature comforts of my home away from home. They said they were finishing their ride in Banff and were going to find the fanciest restaurant/bar in town and have a celebratory drink…and they deserve it!

August 18, 2011

This morning, Oso and I went for a walk up around our overflow camping area. It is a big bite of the forest is scraped out of the mountain and has a ridge all the way around it. It climbs quite high and is heavily forested on one side. This is where we walked and Oso was so excited to have new ground to sniff. That dog does need to sniff every rock, stick and bush he sees! We went out into the forest a little bit…there are lots of deer that seem to live on top of this area so thought we might see one. What we did see was moss…it was so thick and rich and deep. As you walked you were ankle deep in it and it was as soft as a down comforter….so beautiful.

The dam is made up of huge rocks all piled up and is a wonderful place for small animals to hide. Lots of ground squirrels seem to have made their home on the dam, but we've also seen this little guy. He is a Pica, and is normally found way up high in the mountains, much higher than we are here. It's very rare to see them down this low and so I was quite excited to get a picture of him. Since I've taken the picture, I know where to look for him and have seen him almost every morning on our walk. He's a very cute little guy.

We had a bit of excitement last night. A car stopped in about 6:30 and told us there was a grizzly across the road. Well, the first thing I did was grab my camera and head over there to see if I could see it. Sure enough, there he was…a massive, cinnamon coloured grizzly walking just above the road on the hillside. What a thrill to see him! He didn’t seem very bothered by the three or four cars stopped to look at him and just kept walking south feeding on berries if he found them. The buffalo berries are starting to ripen now and that’s what they are feeding on (so says the Conservation Officer). I followed him in the truck for couple of miles and he finally came down from the mountain side of the road and crossed over to the lake side. The bush is much thicker there and he was soon lost from sight in it.

There have been grizzlies that have swum the lake and when I called in to the CO to report the sighting, they said to warn the campers just as a precaution…I did that. The bear was heading toward some day-use areas and so they were coming to keep an eye on him and make sure he passed through them without causing a problem. You'll see black spots on his back that look like his fur has been damaged...it's possible that this is a paintball stain. When a bear gets a little bit too close to people, sometimes the CO's will come out and shoot them with clear liquid paintballs to scare them away. This is the first grizzly I’ve seen in the wild, so was very excited about it…when I got back to the trailer I found I’d taken 78 pictures of him. Now I’ll sort through them a save a half dozen or so that turned out the best.

We had a pretty uneventful weekend even though it was busy and we were at capacity. The weather was absolutely perfect and everyone was fishing or boating or hiking. We watched hikers climb the mountain across the dam…still amazes me that they get to the top and stand on the ridge and can be seen from here looking like little ants on the mountaintop. One of the sites was occupied by fishermen who come up a couple times during the summer. We got to know them a bit last time they were here and this time I joked with them that if they caught too many fish, they would know where to drop some off. Well, darned if one of the fellows didn’t come by with three nice big lake trout. We had planned on bbq-ing steaks but quickly put them away and had fresh lake trout instead…it had a wonderful delicate flavour and we managed to each eat one whole fish. (Oso loved the bits of scraps I saved for him too!)

I saw a moose on the way home from town the other day...at least I saw a moose's head...darn thing wouldn't move out of the brush so I could get a decent picture...oh, well, the picture shows her in her natural surroundings.

We did have a bunch of guys, 18 of them, try to camp here and have a stag party for one of the guys. We told them no parties and no fires in overflow so they decided to leave. Half of them were already drunk and they went and sat across the lake and got their coolers out and proceeded to party some more. I called the CO (the last thing we need on these mountain roads are 7 car-loads of drunks driving around) and let them know but before they arrived the guys took off south toward Boulton Creek. I expect they found some place in the bush for their party as the CO never did find them. The CO’s have the same authority as Police in this area. They stop people for traffic violations, take care of any problems involving violence or security, as well as take care of the great outdoors. They are really good with us and seem to appreciate any tips we can forward to them about things like the party boys or bear sightings.

Tom went for a dip in the lake on Saturday…it was mighty cold, but he braved it. He even took Oso out to see if he would swim back and he swam like a pro. I don’t know if he could keep up with Alyssa’s pugs when they swim with the big dogs, but I’m sure he’d try.

I’ve been doing a lot of sketching and drawing lately. Seems my preference is for coloured pencil drawing, even though I did bring my paints with me. The weather has a lot to do with this though as once I get set up and the weather change, I can quite quickly and easily gather my pencils and put them away. Paints would be another story. The dust and wind also present a problem with painting, though today it’s rainy and there is definitely no dust on the road.

It was a sunny weekend with temperatures in the 70’s and on Monday, when I wrote this, it was 44 degrees and stormy outside. Nice day to snuggle in with a good book. Since then we've had warm days and stormy days...the weather can't quite seem to decide what to do. It's been cold in the mornings and milder by afternoon, but last night we lost a tarp to the wind. Oh well, I'd be complaining if it were too hot I suppose. There is a kind of beauty and freshness to the mountains and the weather here...I really do love it.

August 11, 2011

Soooo….Oso got a haircut! He doesn’t really like it though cuz he thinks it makes him look like a poodle…and a girl poodle at that! His feelings were confirmed when Max, a big golden lab tried to hump him the other evening. Oh well…his hair will grow back and as far as his dignity goes, he’s already forgotten the incident with Max.

Had a wonderful surprise last night…Heather and Barry showed up for a quick visit along with Barry’s sister and her husband. It was wonderful to see them again though they weren’t able to stay too long. I came down to Canmore this morning and we met at the Farmer’s Market that they have here every Thursday morning…it was fun to wander and spend some time with them. They were on their way to visit Heather’s relatives in other parts of Alberta….hope they have a wonderful time!

The weather has been really nice for the last week or so. It is sunny and warm (not hot) during the day and at night it cools down quite a bit. This morning was beautiful and clear, then a few clouds came in and a few raindrops fell and pretty soon we had a dandy of a storm on our hands. Thunder, lightning, rain, hail….the works! It’s been going on for a couple hours now and it still booming out there. Our poor campers are mostly in tents and were scrambling to put up tarps and build fires to keep warm and dry when Tom went out for his last run through the campsite.

We watched a black bear across the lake last night as he made his way north along the road. He was just a little ways off the road and passing cars couldn’t see him for the brush and trees in the way. We had a good view though. He was a nice big black bear and was fun to watch turning rocks and searching for grubs. This afternoon a camper said she saw a black bear in the campsite, so perhaps it was the same one. He was heading out of the south end of the campground so we didn’t bother reporting him. Another camper said he saw a wolf…I’d be surprised if it was a wolf though…more likely a coyote since there are lots of them around here.

I had to kick some kids out of their campsite last weekend. They rolled after midnight and proceeded to set up camp in one of the double campsites. They partied and drank till 6:00 a.m. and their neighbours finally came down and complained. It was about 8:30 so they had only had about two hours sleep, but I went and woke them up, told them they had to clean up the site, pack up and leave or I was calling the Conservation Officer and he’d come and give them a big fine. They hadn’t paid for their night’s stay either and when I asked for the money, they said they didn’t have any. Their “plan” was to come camping, then go downtown to Canmore the next day to get money and supplies. I told them their plan sucked and that they still had to pay. I’d taken their license plate number and had their name and phone number and told them if they didn’t come back and pay, I’d send the info to the CO. The young fellow whose name was on the registration came back that afternoon with the money. Poor kid…the rest of them abandoned him, I guess. It shows you really need to pick and choose your friends.

Did I mention in my last posting that Tom found a tent in the trash? It seems we had a pretty impatient camper…when he had trouble putting his tent up and blew a few of the support rods apart, he got frustrated and threw the tent in the trash and though he’d paid for three nights, he left. Tom pulled the tent out and brought it home. It looked almost brand new and was one of those big two room tents…about 9’x16’. We picked up a couple new rods for it, put it back together and this past weekend we put it up on the site next to us with a “for sale” sign on it. We sold it within a couple hours for $100 bucks! And who says dumpster diving doesn’t pay!!

It’s been so stormy today that I can’t believe climbers are still on the mountain across the dam. They went up early this a.m., and all we’ve seen the rest of the day are their cars parked by the road below. I’m sure they are hunkered down taking shelter just like bear and deer and the rest of us. Glad we are cozy, warm and dry in our fifth wheel.

August 2, 2011

August 2, 2011

I’m downtown in Canmore today doing laundry and getting a few groceries. Tom has taken our weekly deposit down to the administration offices in Kananaskis. It’s a beautiful sunny day, though the temperature is only in the mid 70’s. That feels just about perfect to me though. As long as the sun shines I’m happy. The picture of the head is a piece of artwork that is downtown in Canmore. The sign below it says that in a Celtic or Gaelic language "Canmore" means "big head"...interesting name for a town.

Saw some little mountain sheep and a couple of mule deer on the way down this morning. Both were bucks with little antlers starting. They weren’t afraid at all and continued eating by the side of the road while I inched closer to them. I snapped a few pictures and then someone in a little black car came boiling up behind me and scared them away. It’s so amazing to see the wildlife around here…I can’t imagine being in such a hurry that I’d miss that pleasure.

It was another interesting weekend. We were full up by Thursday night which is pretty normal when we’re heading into a long weekend. All was quiet and we seemed to have a good bunch of campers for the weekend. The CO stopped on Friday night to see how things were and we told him we thought they were fine, though if he wanted to take a run through and check things out, he was welcome to do that. We were just about to take a run through selling wood anyway. Off he went and we followed shortly afterwards. All was okay until we got to the very end of the campsite. We noticed the CO was stopped and talking with someone. We made our way to that area and found he was evicting someone who had been wandering around the campsites with his booze in his hand and bothering other campers. He was really drunk and everything he said just seemed to dig a bigger hole for himself. Finally one of his friends came and said he’d drive him home. While the CO was dealing with this, we heard some loud bangs, like a gun or firecrackers going off. I told the CO I’d go and check it out so walked up to the end of the campsite. There was a couple families camping together and they were down at the lake with their drinks, setting off fireworks. It was after quiet time, and besides that, I’m sure it’s illegal to shoot fireworks off in a provincial park. Not only would it disturb the other campers, but would scare the animals and possibly be a fire hazard. The CO was driving by trying to figure out where the fireworks were coming from so I flagged him down. He went and dealt with them by giving them a $360 fine. As well, he gave them hell for having booze outside of their campsite.

At about 8:00 a.m. on Saturday morning we had several people knocking on our door wanting to register for campsites. Some people just don’t get this self-registration thing. I think the campground could be laid out better however as the first registration booth is half way up the road, so if you camp in the first 11 sites, you don’t know where it is. There should be one right as you enter the campground. We need more recycling bins and more strategically placed dumpsters as well. Oh well, guess I’m not at the College any longer where I can try to make these kinds of things happen. Our boss, Ian, said he’d really like us to come back next year and work here again for the summer. Guess we’ll see how things go and what we’re up to next summer before we commit to anything.

The flowers around here are really starting to be beautiful. There are tall purple spikes of blooms along with white daisies and even some little purple daisies. Delicate lavender bells are beginning to show themselves and the cream coloured blossoms of another plant hang in little ruffles off the spears. There are lots of yellow daisy-like flowers blooming and of course the trilliums and Indian Paintbrush are everywhere. I can’t convey with mere words to you how beautiful it is here.

Oso and I take walks across the dam and then back on a side road every morning and we always find something new blossoming. The lake is calm in the mornings and the sun comes out over the mountain so that as we walk the shade is moving away from our path. This morning Oso saw our shadows in the field down below the dam and couldn’t for the life of him figure out what it was moving along there. He ended up barking at them for a few minutes then something else caught his attention and off were went to investigate it. He’s a pretty funny little guy…attention span of about 2 minutes! Guess that’s average for a six month old.

Looks like my clothes are dry, so I’d best get them folded and packed up so I can go to the Library and post this to the blog. After that I’m going to get some Chinese food to take to Tom…he said the other night he was dreaming about it, so this is one little dream I can make come true for him!