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.
Whistlers Campground – Jasper National Park – review
December 4, 2017
IMPORTANT: This review was written PRIOR to the massive renovation of Whistlers Campground conducted from 2019 through 2021. A lot has changed and this assessment and the images within most likely no longer reflect the current state of the campround. Brace yourselves, folks, what I’m about to do here may be sacrilege to some of
Wapiti Campground – Jasper National Park – review
November 27, 2017
Rarely does a camping trip peak during the drive to one’s destination, but if you’re heading to Jasper from Calgary this is every bit the possibility. I’ll say this ad nauseam, but Icefields Parkway is a treasure of a highway. Wow! The views are beyond spectacular and last for hundreds of kilometers. Driving along a
Jasper National Park – review & things to do
November 20, 2017
NOTE: The town of Jasper and surrounding area was devastated by a wildfire in the summer of 2024. Some of the information in this blog post is likely obsolete at this time. I sometimes wonder if born and raised Western Canadians truly understand the uniqueness of their situation with regards to the national parks system.
Aspen Beach Provincial Park – review – revisited
October 21, 2017
When last we visited Aspen Beach Provincial Park, back in August of 2014, our camping weekend was severely impacted by abnormally cold weather. If I recall correctly, we awoke to temperatures in the low single digits each morning and our afternoon highs only ventured into the mid-teens. Sunny or not, that is hardly the kind
Wyndham-Carseland Provincial Park – review
July 25, 2017
There’s a first time for everything. This is absolutely true except for when it’s not. Forget things I have no intention of doing like, say, seeing how many ball bearings I can stick up a nostril; the dime scare of 1980 was enough nostril adventure for one lifetime, thank you very much. Forget also the
Writing-on-Stone Provincial Park – review
June 22, 2017
And the wind cries, “who the hell would want to live here?!?!” This is what courses through my mind every time we head to Southern Alberta for camping. If you’re going south of Calgary you just can’t avoid the wind. Places like Lethbridge and Pincher Creek are famous for it and for good reason. Those
Little Bow Provincial Park – Review
May 31, 2017
Victoria Day. The long weekend with the antiquated name, unless you use the more colloquial May Two-Four, marks the unofficial start to summer for Canadians. There are spring cleaning and summer projects, sure, but more importantly BBQs and camping. Unless, of course, you live in Alberta where we’ve become all too familiar with everything from
13 Bits of Advice for Future Stay At Home Dads
February 1, 2017
A few weeks from now I mark my ninth anniversary of being a stay-at-home dad, or SAHD if you’re really into horrible acronyms. That is damn near a decade! I’m also well past those demanding first years of my children’s lives, those years before the glorious respite that is grade school. The ones that society
What If The Dukes of Hazzard Had Been A CBC Show?
December 12, 2016
Imagine, for a moment, an alternate universe where Canada is the dominant entertainment production force on the planet rather than the United States of America. Everything about the two countries is exactly as it is now the only exception is that Hollywood is in Vancouver and the major television networks dominating North American television since
How Geocachers Are Killing Geocaching
December 5, 2016
A few years back, gosh it’s got to be six at least now, a cousin visited and left my family a legacy of sorts, not to mention a valuable lesson regarding first impressions. At the time these visits were fairly commonplace. His work, though mostly conducted from his home, was headquartered here in Calgary and