July 11, 2005

July 11, 2005

West Hawk Lake day 55 of 113

YEAR 2 DAY 24

 

Today was cloudy, humid, and hot.

This morning there was a knock on the door at 8:30 A.M. just as I was about to leave the trailer to go shower. Another camper with a tripped breaker. I'm embarrassed that all I'm able to do is "pass the buck", and send him to the office when it opens, and have them deal with the problem, because I don't have a key to the breaker panel padlocks. By the time I walked the dog, then headed to the shower building, the Dickinson's car was gone from their campsite. They were going to Winnipeg today for a day trip. I had picked up a Winnipeg tourist guide for them at the Border Information Centre the other day. They were eager to see Bears On Broadway, one of this summer's tourist highlights. Bears On Broadway is a cancer fund raising project. Over 50 large, concrete bears painted / decorated by local artists, sponsored by local businesses, spread out along Broadway starting at the Manitoba Legislature Building.

As I sit at my desk typing this, the CBC Radio news has just reported that Hurricane Dennis has hit Pensacola, Florida and Gulf Shores, Alabama. The two areas are within 50 miles of one another on the Gulf Of Mexico northern coast. They were hit last year by Hurricane Ivan, and now again by Hurricane Dennis. Gulf Shores, Alabama is where we picked up Bo. Hey, Bo ... aren't you glad you're not living there any more ?

We waited as long as seemed reasonable for the Carlson's to show up for lunch, then we had our lunch. As we were finishing lunch, the Carlson's finally showed up, so we served them a late lunch. The Minister Of Conservation of the Province Of Manitoba was being toured around the West Hawk Lake Campground as we were heading over to Star Lake for an afternoon of playing in the water and on the beach. There was a bit of concern about the swimmer's itch advisory that was posted at Star Lake Beach. When we returned from Star Lake, the Carlson's went to their motel room at Keystone Cabins, and we returned to the campground, and everybody had a shower, as the swimmer's itch advisory poster recommended. When the Carlson's came over to the trailer, we headed out on the West Hawk Lake Campground scenic hiking trail up, around, and back down the granite bluff. It's a difficult, but short, very scenic hike. We found, picked, and ate wild blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries on the hiking trail. The trail ends at the back end of the campground. While Joanne, Lorri, and Bo walked through the campground, back to the trailer, Doug, the girls, and I went to the old playground between sections D and G of the campground. We played on the swings, slides, and merry-go-round for awhile, then returned to the trailer to begin to prepare supper. Madeleine and I took a side trip over to the campground office, where Madeleine visited, and danced, with Samson the bear. Elvira pointed out a secret to us. Samson the bear is mounted on a wheeled platform, and very special guests ( like Madeleine ) are occasionally allowed, by special invitation ( by Elvira ) to dance with Samson.

I barbecued chicken, potatoes, and vegetables for supper. With misunderstanding and misguided good intentions, Bo attacked Doug when he tried to wipe Amelia's runny nose with a paper towel, and she was resisting. I guess all Bo saw was an adult man clamping a paper towel over the face of a squirming, whining child. I lit a campfire about the same time Erbon and Lorraine returned from their day trip to Winnipeg. They joined us around the campfire. Amelia and Madeleine faded quickly, so the Carlson's left to return to their motel room and put the girls to bed. As they were leaving, Madeleine's kindergarten teacher, who is camped beside us, pointed out to them that a doe was grazing behind the picnic shelter. Joanne and I sat around the campfire for awhile longer with Erbon and Lorraine. As I walked to the bathroom around midnight, I looked up and noticed the Aurora Borealis were on display tonight.

DSK