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.
River Grove Campground – review
June 1, 2022
When I turned 15, I got my first, non-babysitting job. It was a momentous turning point for me, but also my whole family. From that point forward, I never again spent a weekend camping with my parents and sister at our seasonal campsite in Sauble Beach, something we’d done religiously since I was 4. My
F*ck Fifty
March 1, 2022
Today is my 50th birthday. No! No. Don’t clap. Don’t send me happiness wishes. Don’t click gleeful emojis on my social feeds. Just. Don’t. I have no desire to celebrate this loathsome birthday milestone. Nor shall I feign joy in reaching it. I do not like it, Moe I Go. I do not like the
Mt Kidd RV Park – new review
January 24, 2022
The summer of 2021 marked our ten-year anniversary as a family of campers (or is that RVers?). We’ve owned three different trailers in that time and visited dozens of different campgrounds around the province (and country). In fact, going to a variety of campgrounds has been the hallmark of our (okay, my) camping philosophy. I
Beaver Flat Campground – review
January 7, 2022
Stick with your first choice, or some variation thereof, is a favoured idiom that’s pretty much nonsense. My most recent reminder of its fallibility came this past summer when I chose to camp at Paddy’s Flat rather than Beaver Flat. Or is it Beaver Flats? Even the government doesn’t know if there is one singular
Gooseberry Campground – review
December 16, 2021
I haven’t the slightest clue what a gooseberry is. I’ve certainly never eaten one (assuming one safely can, of course). I’m not even sure I’ve seen one, though I most certainly have since I live and camp in Alberta, a province with not one, but TWO, campgrounds/parks named after this obscure (in a grocery store
Wally’s Campground – review
December 7, 2021
At risk of being repetitive, allow me to repeat the first two paragraphs of my last post. They’re closely related, so it’s technically “okay”. I have no intention of pulling a Creedence Clearwater Revival and suing myself for plagiarism. Way back in the spring, my son and I spent an impromptu weekend camping at St.
Upper St. Mary Campground – review
December 1, 2021
Way back in the spring, my son and I spent an impromptu weekend camping at St. Mary Reservoir along the southeastern boundary of the Blood reservation in southern Alberta. We camped in Lower St. Mary Campground below the dam and had a terrific time which was rather a surprise. Well, the wildlife and setting of
Gooseberry Lake Provincial Park – review
November 18, 2021
I’ve determined that I need a time machine. Once I’ve got this time machine and done the no-brainer stuff (fix past wrongs, witness historic events, kill Hitler, buy Apple stock), I’m taking my family to the late 70s/early 80s to go camping in Alberta’s provincial parks. I want to do this because it’s become evident
Crescent Falls Provincial Recreation Area – review
October 19, 2021
One thing became abundantly clear after our amazing camping trip to Ram Falls in early July. I needed to get to Crescent Falls, stat! And with that realization, summer 2021 became the unofficial year of the Alberta waterfall. Like most people, I’m rather fond of waterfalls. They’re beautiful natural features, of course, but they also
Icefields Tent – Jasper National Park – review
October 7, 2021
The summer of 2021 was poised to be a big one for Jasper National Park. The grand re-opening of Whistlers Campground after a major, multi-year refurbishment was coming and I was itching to see the results. In fact, this had been on my mental camping To Do list since the renovation was announced. I could