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 […]
Two Jack Lakeside Campground – Banff National Park – review
Remember 1999? Amidst the anticipation of the coming new millennium and the growing Y2K panic, George Lucas gave millions of now-grown-up Star Wars fans the first of three prequels to his legendary space opera. The hype was unsurprisingly intense and the reviews, perhaps equally unsurprising, were mixed. I landed firmly in the disappointed camp and […]
Two Jack Main Campground – Banff National Park – review
So, this is … umm … well, this is embarrassing. Prior this past summer, I … uhh … I’d never been to Lake Minnewanka. Truth be told, I’d never heard of Lake Minnewanka. Seriously. I had no clue. None. And if I ever did hear of it, that knowledge certainly never took up any semblance […]
Another Failed Contest Entry
Back in the spring, as I flailed more aimlessly than usual in a world ground to a halt by COVID, I stumbled upon a writing contest purely by accident. It was run by a nature biodiversity organization in Alberta that I’d never heard of and the only barrier to entry was the purchase of a […]
Woolford Provincial Park – review
As my catalogue of campground reviews has grown, I’ve started to question my rating system. Oh, sure, the baby dill pickle shtick is cute and all, but it’s hardly rigorous. My judgments rely more on my whims at the moment of writing than anything scientifically valid. The appeal of a campground can change, sometimes dramatically, […]
Police Outpost Provincial Park – review
I thought I’d found heaven, man. Then people showed up and my paradise was lost. Forget the brown acid, self-absorption is the bad drug. And generators. God, how I hate generators. If you need an Instapot for cooking during a two night camping trip, stay home. Seriously. To hell with generators. That, unfortunately, is the […]