Welcome to A Crock of Schmidt. Here you will find campground reviews from all my camping adventures over the years. I also share cool attractions and destinations we’ve been to, great hikes we’ve done, and some insights on our hobbies. Once in awhile, I toss in some ramblings on whatever nonsense moves me at the moment. Thanks for coming by and I hope you find something that helps and/or entertains. If you do, kindly tell a friend about this place.
Paddy’s Flat Campground – review
September 21, 2021
One can be forgiven for assuming Paddy’s Flat is a pub. Or maybe a St. Patrick’s Day festival. Heck, it could simply be how you refer to your British friend’s place of residence. Whatever the case, it’s unlikely your first thought upon hearing the name would be “campground”, yet that’s exactly what it is. Paddy’s
Chinook Provincial Recreation Area – review
September 13, 2021
Today, my blog comes full circle. I’m reviewing a campground I went to because readers on another of my reviews commented that I should go. That struck me as milestone-ish and I figured I’d better listen up. Turns out my readers are a smart bunch. Now, odds are I would have ended up going Chinook
Ram Falls Provincial Park – review
August 2, 2021
In high school, I fell in love with a new girl every year. And not always just one! Hormones are fun that way. Also, annoying. Now that I’m all grown up and the testosterone has thankfully subsided, not to mention married, I’ve had to focus my annual infatuations on less controversial subjects, like campgrounds. Last
Retraining: A False Hope
July 20, 2021
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Now that’s an idiom I’ve not experienced in a long time. Until I did. Twice in the past three months, in fact. I guess I was due. Hey, we all need a little humbling every now and again. The first recalibration of my self-importance came
Lake Louise Campground – Banff National Park – review
July 13, 2021
If you found it odd that I’d never been to Waterton Lakes National Park before May 2021 despite living in Alberta for over twenty years, then brace yourself for another shock. I’d also never seen Moraine Lake until June of 2021. And Moraine Lake is a lot closer to my house than Waterton. Arguably more
Little Elbow Campground – Little Elbow Provincial Recreation Area – review
July 5, 2021
One summer. That’s all it took. One. Summer. 2020 was a perfect storm of Zen-like camping with our combined unemployment allowing for camping during the week rather than weekends coupled with pandemic protocols leaving campgrounds at half capacity. I capitalized on this with gusto, venturing out to never-before visited first-come-first-served campgrounds with the whole family
St Mary Lower Campground – St Mary Reservoir PRA – review
June 16, 2021
You think you’re a pretty good judge of character, good or bad, and then somebody comes along and blows that hypothesis all to hell. St. Mary Lower campground … YOU … are that somebody. I had little desire to ever visit this campground, let alone spend a weekend at it. Tucked into the inside bend
Waterton Townsite Campground – Waterton Lakes National Park – review
June 11, 2021
Umm. Yeah. So, I … well … I booked a campsite for the May long weekend. In Alberta. In a mountain park, no less. Yeah … … I know. In fact, I haven’t gone camping on May’s legendary long weekend in several years precisely because I know! But the last few May long weekends have
Horseshoe Canyon Campground – review
June 2, 2021
Ah, the venerable campground host. Walmart greeters of the RV world. Rewarded with a free campsite in a conspicuous location in exchange for unpaid labour including the selling of overpriced firewood, ensuring drunken strangers obey rules, and cleaning public toilets. What’s not to love? Not much, it would seem. So popular is this barter that
My New Sticker Collection
February 16, 2021
That there above? That’s my new sticker collection. I just started it in November and already I have seven stickers. Seven dull, rather unimaginative, digital stickers, though I must admit the pseudo-teardrop of the Microsoft stickers is at least pretending to try. Hey, it’s better than IBM’s square! Although, come to think of it, a