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.
Eagle Creek Campground – review
August 1, 2020
Ah, sloppy seconds. Long a staple of frat boy delinquency, in the world of first come (snicker), first served camping they’re a necessity. As in, Plan B. Because when you’re hauling a fully loaded SUV and travel trailer to the middle of nowhere, you damn well want to be sure you get a campsite. This
Beaver Mines Lake Campground – Castle Provincial Park – review
July 15, 2020
I’m too smart by half. We planned to do an early-in-the-week camping trip down to Castle Provincial Park back in June and had three campgrounds to choose from; Castle River Bridge, Castle Falls, and Beaver Mines Lake. Almost immediately, I tossed Beaver Mines Lake from the competition. There was no beach. It’s a mountain lake
Castle Falls Campground – Castle Provincial Park – review
July 12, 2020
There exists a universe where we camped at Castle Falls Campground. This is not that universe. It was close, though. For a few lingering minutes I had even placed a Castle Falls campsite in my checkout cart. We’ld spend one night at Castle River Bridge and a second night at Castle Falls. But when it
Castle River Bridge Campground – Castle Provincial Park – review
July 9, 2020
Our inaugural family camping trip coming out of the Covid-19 lockdown felt like a good time to venture south and visit one of Alberta’s newest provincial parks. Considering recent announcements by our current provincial government, it’s likely to be the last new provincial park for quite some time. And that’s assuming it gets to stay
How to Win at Candy Crush
July 5, 2020
Six months ago, to the very day, I went cold turkey. I gave up candy, as in crush. I closed the app on my tablet one final time and haven’t opened it since. A not so easy, or assured, thing, that. As with most newly abandoned bad habits, I was reluctant to boast about this
Sibbald Lake Campground – Sibbald Lake PRA – review
June 24, 2020
Ah, there they are … mosquitoes. I knew we’d run into them sooner or later. Not as bad as the infamous horror show that was Portage La Prairie, mind you, but present in sufficient numbers to be annoying once the sun started to set. Sibbald Lake Provincial Recreation Area for the not so desirable win.
Indian Graves Campround – review
June 21, 2020
Who says growing old is all bad? Sure, it sucks in a lot of ways, but sometimes there are unforeseen benefits to that faltering short-term memory. Unlike with forgetting why you went to the kitchen by the time you get there, a memory while you’re out for a drive can lead to unexpected discoveries. And
Chain Lakes Provincial Park – review
June 5, 2020
Recently, two months of pandemic-induced self-isolation inspired a couple nights of backyard tenting for me and my son, overnight thunderstorm included. It was a delightful experience that had me reminiscing about my childhood summers at Sauble Beach where my sister and I spent our nights in a canvas tent alongside the family travel trailer. Overnight
The Dumbest Thing I Ever Said
May 5, 2020
Perhaps the dumbest thing I ever said, and there have been many (even after discounting the plethora made with the intent of impressing females), slipped from my lips during the fall of 1990. It went something like this, “I don’t care what I do, just as long as I’m not stuck in front of a
How My Oil and Gas Career Began
April 8, 2020
Twenty-five years ago, I embarked on an eight-month adventure that would define my adult life. It was not intended to. In fact, at the time it was more lark than prescience. Okay, maybe lark isn’t the fairest description, but academic value and eyes to my future were certainly not priorities when I chose to spend