Choosing a park for summer camping
Grandpa BG’s grandson and family were coming from Alberta to camp with him for one week in late August so we headed out to look for a suitable site. His needs: tenting, swimming, boating, fishing, hiking, proximity to washrooms for Grandpa’s nocturnal wanderings and ease of travel for family from Saskatoon. Buffalo Pound Provincial Park was the first of four places we hit. The vista of hills and lake, as you drop off the flat Prairie is stunning; the views spectacular. Grandpa was impressed by the swimming pool, boat launch, and the many neat sites both shaded and sunny at the same time. Craik Regional Park was next. The little oasis along the Arm River impressed, even though the teenage attendant would not let us drive in to check it out unless we paid. (As seniors provincial park entry was free.) The dam and fishing potential caught Grandpa’s fancy and the site of an endangered loggerhead shrike perched on a bush was another attraction. Crossing the grid roads from Craik to Elbow, we saw a huge Swainson’s hawk on a telephone pole. The hawk was unafraid, letting me take numerous photos on this cloudy day. At Elbow, we drove towards Tufts Bay where BG used to camp in a wilderness spot, years ago. He was amazed at all the condo and cottage development in the area. We found a nice campground with large marina and swimming inside the rectangular marina. Douglas Provincial Park impressed both of us for size and nearly hidden camping spots. The abundance of washrooms was a bonus. The boat launches and the swimming spot on Diefenbaker Lake promised loads of fun BG noted this was going to be a tough decision. As we approached Central Butte, I suggested thinking about the matter over a slice of home-made pie. Karen’s had saskatoon, coconut cream and flapper pie. He had the berry, I the coconut cream. How tasty. We talked with Karen, who told us a local woman older than her bakes the pies. “She offered to teach me,” said Karen. “You should learn,” I suggested. “Making pies is becoming a lost art.” That suggestion was made, of course, out of my concern about preserving our heritage. Last I heard, Grandpa BG was hoping to camp a few days at Craik and at Douglas Park.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net