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.
Wabamun Lake Provincial Park – review
August 8, 2016
After last weekend’s misadventure we were eager to get camping with our new trailer tire and new tailgate hinges. There’s nothing quite like the excitement of repaired vehicles hitting the open road. Well, okay, not really, but we were definitely hopeful of an uneventful trip to our next camping destination, Wabamun Lake Provincial Park, west
Pizza Night in Rowley, Alberta – review
August 2, 2016
If there’s one thing I’d pinpoint as the worst part of being a stay-at-home parent it has to be the fact that long weekends quickly lose their exceptionality. Not only do they become meaningless with regard to my daily life, but they all too regularly become completely forgotten. Such was the case this past August
I Finally Broke Up With An Old Flame
July 25, 2016
Dear Crystal; It’s not you, it’s me. I know. That’s hardly original. Sorry. But it’s true. It is me. This is difficult enough without having to be creative on top of it. I’ve just … changed. And you … haven’t. Not that that’s a bad thing. Hell I wish I was still the same guy
Pigeon Lake Provincial Park Campground – Review
July 13, 2016
We made our way to Pigeon Lake Provincial Park for the Canada Day long weekend and things went awry before we even pulled the trailer out of the backyard, continued throughout our drive there, and failed to cease over the first night there. With reviews in no small part reflecting the mindset of the reviewer
8 Cornerstones of the Teenage Diet
June 29, 2016
Few of us would ever deny that the teenage years are tumultuous. But once we’ve put sufficient years between them and our present, they start to shine in a different light. And that light is mostly couched in awe. Awe derived from a newfound appreciation for the remarkable lifestyle we effortlessly sustained during this brief
Buffets and the Reality of Aging
June 20, 2016
It’s not a buffet if you don’t go back for more. That was the official motto for corporate lunches at a small exploration company where I once worked. Every so often we’d venture from our headquarters to the retail area of a nearby gentrified neighbourhood to enjoy a modest selection all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. When the
Mount Kidd RV Park – Review
June 14, 2016
In our half-decade of family camping, a weekend at Mount Kidd RV Park has quickly become our traditional kickoff to the summer camping season. We’ve made annual pilgrimages for several years now along with a group of two or three other families each June. Relatively close to Calgary, in beautiful Kananaskis Country, Mount Kidd is
I Am Obsolete
April 25, 2016
There is a moment when the last lingering doubt withers away and you are finally forced to accept that you no longer have the skills to resume a former career. An instant when evidence cuffs you upside the head and reality sharpens to pinpoint focus. It is not a pleasant moment but it is surprisingly
Canada’s Appalling Lack of Pride in Restaurant Names
April 18, 2016
This past summer (2015 for future readers) my wife and I packed up the kids and embarked on one of the great lost family rites of passage from the last century; the cross-country road trip. We spent six weeks on the road with our little camper driving from Alberta to Ontario, touring around the childhood
Sault Ste Marie KOA – Review
April 11, 2016
Few things can ruin a camping excursion like bad weather. Near our home in Western Canada, bad camping weather typically takes the form of cold but head to Eastern Canada and its more likely that rain will put a damper on the outdoor adventure. Such was the case when we spent two nights at the