Week One...Spray Lake 2015

Well, after a wonderful winter down south, a stop in Abbotsford then Castlegar to see friends and family, we find ourselves managing the campground at Spray Lake, Alberta, once again.  We had an opportunity to look after another campground south of here where there are a few more accessible facilities (such as showers) but there’s something about this place that draws us back each year.  It might be the spectacular beauty of the area; perhaps it’s the animal sightings; maybe the fresh mountain air; or maybe it’s the quiet, peacefulness of the mountains.  Whatever it is, it seems to have a grip on us.

 

 

We arrived on Sunday the 10^th of May and opened on Wednesday the 13^th.  That meant we really had to hustle to get the campground ready for our first guests.  Luckily this year there was no snow so no need to plow.  I say “luckily” but perhaps that will backfire on us.  They say there is only 25% of the annual snow-pack this year.  Unless it rains steady for the month of June, we may not see the lake come up as much as it usually does.  Right now it is very, very low and mountain run-off is relied upon to fill it up…no snow in the mountains means very little run-off.  Also we’d likely have a fire ban if it doesn’t rain enough every now and then to soak things really well.  Guess we’ll just have to see how things go.  Never thought I’d be hoping for rain.

 
 

We had a few glitches getting ourselves settled here.  The generator wouldn’t work very well so Tom had to take it to town to be fixed.  We rented another one for a week and it seems to keep us going pretty well.  Our propane delivery was late so we had to get propane from town too.  As well, we’re having trouble with our phone.  The booster that we rely upon to provide us with service simply doesn’t seem to work.  Our boss is working to solve the problem but till he does we are limited in locations we can call from.  Right now I have to drive to the middle of the dam and watch for service bars to appear on the phone…normally I’m able to get one bar so make calls from that spot.  Guess we just have to make the best of what we have till our phone is fixed. 

The boss gave us a new truck this year...it's a Ford...hope the handwarmers on the tailgate work for when we need to push it!!!

Last night, Friday the 15^th, we had 33 of our 50 campsites taken.  That is a little unusual for a long weekend, but I think people were scared off by the weather.  It’s still cold and today it’s rainy…at least it keeps things quiet for the most part.  We did have a couple of rowdy sites last night, but nothing that we couldn’t handle and people seemed anxious to get into their warm beds rather than stay out in the cold.

We saw a few animals on our travels back and forth to town or to Boulton Creek for campground supplies.  Three nice moose just south of us on the road near Mt. Engadine and then sheep on the road into town.  They like to hang around at the top of the Canmore hill.  They are not as shaggy looking as they usually are this time of year…wonder if it’s because of the warmer than usual winter.  Aside from that, the eagles keep us entertained and there are lots of little animals and birds to watch.  We did have a visit from something that got into some soda pop we had stored outside.  I’m not sure if it was a bear or a racoon but they bit right through a couple of the cans and licked up all the pop that leaked out.  Tom has a motion activated animal camera that we are going to mount near our site so we can see what comes and goes at night.  Should be interesting.  This afternoon we had campers come to tell us there was a bear in the campground.  We didn’t see it until it had swum across the lake and was walking up the other side.  My super-duper camera got some good shots of it even though it was quite a distance away.  He was actually quite a big bear…hard to tell from the distance I took this picture from.

Oso seems to like being back at the campground.  He’s got his chair and blanket and spends a lot of time just lying there watching what comes and goes around here.  There are a pair of chipmunks that like to tease him.  They live in the rocks of the patio just outside our fifth-wheel.  Sometimes Oso will be sleeping in his chair and the chipmunks run right across the patio in front of him…if he wakes up, he leaps from the chair and chases them till they disappear into the rocks or he runs out of rope.  He’s pretty determined to get them but I don’t think he’s fast enough!

We cleaned up this little area behind a shed on our site.  We found some old plywood that had washed up on the beach (probably from the outhouse races they have on the lake in winter…this one must have sunk!!)  Anyway, we created walls out of the plywood and put a tarp up for a roof.  It will be a good spot to keep things dry and organized. 

We had to take down about 7 dead trees that were just too close to the fifth wheel.  We sure could have used Nick and Jake, our helpers from last summer to cut the wood and pile it for us.  They were sure hard working kids.  They’d enjoy keeping the fire going too since we’ve now got about a cord of wood to burn up this year!!

We are set up pretty nicely here and are really comfortable and looking forward to the summer.  Will keep you posted as often as I can.