Hornets, Lakes and Campers

We have just spent a couple of days in Cold Lake, Alberta home to a Canadian Forces base.  Some of you may remember Cold Lake making the news big time in the 80s when Canada gave permission for the US to do cruise missile testing from our base here.  There were lots of loud planes from the air force flying overhead so Mike and I went to an area on the base where you could sit and watch the planes taking off and landing.  By the time we arrived there were no more planes to watch, big disappointment for Mike.

People here are overall extremely friendly but there are exceptions.  Mike and I had parked our RV in a plaza to do some grocery shopping.  When we came out a taxi driver came over to talk with us and tell us that he had seen someone trying to steal our bicycles off the rack on the back of the RV.  He had dropped his passenger off and then come back to let us know in case there was a problem.  We could tell that someone had been trying and not succeeding and we thanked the taxi driver.  A few minutes later a gentleman from the liquor store came over to tell us that he had seen this guy that he knows of, who is no longer allowed in the liquor store, trying to get into all our external storage compartments and get at our bikes.  He had called the RCMP.  They came and we told them that nothing was taken or damaged.  The officer was a woman who had transferred out here in February from Hamilton.  Small world.

Years ago Mum, Dad, Mike and I were travelling in Newfoundland.  I have to say that I have always thought that Newfoundlanders were some of the friendliest and nicest people in all of Canada.  One day Mum and I were standing on a sidewalk in St. John’s trying to decide if we wanted to cross the street or not.  Our decision was taken away from us when all the cars stopped apparently to allow us to cross.  Well didn’t that keep happening to Mike and I in Cold Lake.  Don’t pause too long on the sidewalk to look at scenery or the cars stop assuming that you might want to cross the street.

I think that all the campsites we have stayed at have been on lovely bodies of water and Cold Lake was no exception.  We biked into town in the early evening on Sunday and spent quite a while just watching the recreational boats coming in and being towed out of the water.  Every other house has a camper or a boat in their driveway.  In one area large campers were in a huge number of driveways.  This surprised me because I figured living in those houses was like being at the cottage.  The homes were either on or extremely close to the lake, the trees and the beaches.  Luxury camping must be a lifestyle thing up here.

I have added a picture here of Mike building a desk for us at the front of the RV.  I am typing at it now while Mike is driving.  It can slide forward or back into place and has a big lip to prevent items from sliding down the dashboard.  Mike often uses it early in the morning when I am still in bed to do some office work.  When we are actually camped I prefer to use the table in the living room where I can also watch TV and not have my back to the living room.

Tonight, Tuesday, is the first time that we have ever chosen a campsite ahead of time.  This is because there doesn’t look to be many camping options between here and Fort McMurray.  Depending on how long we stay at the “resort” campsite we should be in Fort Mac in a day or two.  We are enjoying travelling at this speed across the country.

Extra quick note.  You do see strange things when you travel.  We just drove by a couple of fields where each fence post had a single large boot on top of it.  We have no idea why.