PARADISE FOUND

My husband and I have been camping for a week now.  We wandered north from our urban home in Saskatoon, Sk - and parked our older 35 foot Winnebago in Waskesiu, Prince Albert National Park.  The trailer park here is spectacular.  Large grassy lots nestled in towering pines and trembling aspens provide background music to relax by, and a gentle breeze cools even the hotest day.  Not that there have been too many of those since we got here. 

     We're both into our golden years, so it's nice to have all the amenities of home in our motorhome.  Microwave, convection oven, gas stove and oven, along with a full fridge and freezer all serve the tiny galley kitchen..  A queen bed offers perfect rest in the bedroom, with its own little tv, and a night spent there is gaurenteed to ensure great comfort. Especially for two portly old farts!  And don't forget the bathroom, with shower, toilet and sink.  A comfy living room couch faces the armchair rocker and another tv with satelitte reception makes sure we never miss a Rider Game.

     Its only a few blocks to the best swimming beach in the world.  Golden sands offer awesome tanning afternoons. Clean, pure water fills the horizon for miles and a swim in it refreshes wonderfully on a hot day.  If fishing is your thing, you can cast from shore or take a boat out - either way, you are sure to have pike or pickerel fillets for supper.  Tonight we enjoyed both those species, along with new potatoes and fresh corn on the cob.  My sister and brother-in-low left us a big serving of freshly caught catch of the day and I have to say, fish caught in this cold, clean water has a taste like none other in the world.  Fried in a little butter, some salt and pepper and there is nothing like it. 

     Nights are cool here.  Nine or ten degrees Celsius is just right for sleeping well, and although it is still quite light out at eleven o'clock, you just can't keep those eyes open a minute more.  Soon the Northern Lights, or Auroraborealis will light up the northern skies and dance with the colors of a pastel pallette.  The evenings have been great for snuggling up under a soft blanket and reading a favorite book.  It's so quiet here that I can almost hear the grass growing!  We took a ride out to the Marina tonight and within a kilometer of our campsite, we paused to let a young Elk have her supper right beside us.  Farther on, another young Elk, this one a three point male, stared at us as we slowed down and then deliberately tossed his magnificent head as if to say, " Tourists.  Humff.  What are they lookin at?"  Not much farther up the road, Mr. Reddy Fox sat by the road, hoping we would stop and perhaps give him a little treat.  I'm sure visitors to this park have already done so, and now he's trained to be unafraid of humans.  And even though his mommy likely told him not to take candy from strangers, he just can't resist temptation.  Sad, because once he has lost his fear of man, everything and everyone becomes dangerous to him.  I hope we don't find him with his poor little nose in some plastic pop ties or a can.  Our own selfishness is powerful and we want to watch, maybe even get close enough to touch, offer junk food or otherwise contaminate wildlife.  We need to be observers, not friends with these little fellows.

      Well .tomorrow is another day, so time to close.  My wish is that everyone could come here and spend a summer in this perfect paradise.  Perhaps there will be time to come back and write some more about our adventures.