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wildwood + wood

7/23/2017

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Phoebe came home for a cleaning and we decided to take her back out to Shadybrook Thursday evening. As we headed west the sky got darker - we thought it was the smoke from the BC forest fires. It wasn't. Lightening and thunder cracked through the sky and we were pelted with heavy rain and hail. For the record, every Airstream owner has nightmares about hail.

We had to pull off the highway and wait until we could see out the windshield before continuing. We finally got Phoebe back in to her spot at Shadybrook amidst the rain, lightening and hungry mosquitoes. However, she is now full of mud. Lesson - get a hose and sprayer for Shadybrook so we can clean her on site!
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We had some things to do around home for part of the weekend so we didn't get out to  Shadybrook until later in the afternoon Saturday. We didn't have time to get groceries before we left home so we decided to dine at the Kokanee Springs RV Pub & Grill and watch the Roughrider game with our Shadybrook neighbor, and fellow Airstream owner, Val.

We also had breakfast Sunday morning at Kokanee Springs. There was a bison and a pelican (named Lilly) watching over us. Parked outside was a truck with testicles. I haven't seen those since Oprah was gifted a pair when she visited Edmonton. I still shake my head at the classless gesture.
Back to our day...
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We decided to make a road trip to Wildwood, AB. We told our waitress at breakfast that we were going and she asked why? To check it out, we replied. She had never been but thought there was an ice cream shop. There is - Jennie's ice Cream Shoppe - but it was closed. There is a lot of property for sale in Wildwood if anyone is interested.

Wildwood is a hamlet with a population of 273. Next census there might be fewer people if all those properties aren't purchased.  Wildwood was originally called Junkins (after an engineer for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway) and was settled by African Americans from Oklahoma and Texas in 1908.  The community understandably changed the name in 1929.

The Lobstick River runs through the hamlet and 20 km north is Chip Lake. We drove to the lake and walked around the campsite. It is very peaceful around the lake.
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We just about missed the turn off to the lake. We were expecting a more "official" looking sign. This one does stand out.
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We can always spot an Airstream. This 16' was sitting in a field on the way to Chip Lake.
In the two weeks we have been away from the site, the arborists have been very busy. There are piles of cut up wood all around our site. We think there is more to come because there are still leaning trees. When the wood cures in a couple years, we'll be set for campfires galore!

After the road trip we re-organized our site and stacked wood to create some ambiance walls. Ned and Fred have a lot more wood to guard now.

Our stag is missing from our forest. We have wondered if the tree cutters may have dropped a tree on it and disposed of the body... So we have inquired at the office about our stag's whereabouts. So far an unsolved mystery.
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Ned & Fred are up for the challenge of watching over more wood.
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Where is our stag?!?
Many of the sites at Shadybrook have elaborate welcome entrances. We went with the flamingo and beach theme.
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We may have to take a trip back to Wildwood for the fair in August. Check out the activities planned. We've never seen a greased pig catching contest. Have you?
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happy 150th

7/3/2017

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Shadybrook opened at 5 pm on Friday after being closed for 10 days because of the storm.

The trees were all cleared from the front of our site. There are still a lot of trees in the forest behind us and beside us that are down or partially down and need tending to. Many people walked by and noted that our site looked like it was one of the hardest hit. We still can't believe that Phoebe seems unscathed. We are going to bring her home next weekend for a thorough cleaning and look at her roof.

On a positive note, with all the fallen trees we now have some new fire wood and lots of starter kindling.

Saturday morning we were up and ready to celebrate Canada's 150th. First stop, the Seba Beach Seniors Centre for the free pancake breakfast. It was fabulous. A sea of red and white enjoying pancakes and ham.

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This nice lady said Happy Dominion Day! when we entered.
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The Seba Beach Farmer's Market is always busy and today the highlight (other than the perogies, fresh cheese buns and rainier cherries) was free Canada 150 birthday cake.
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We grabbed the dogs and headed west to take in the Entwistle parade. The streets of Entwistle were packed with kids (and adults) with their hats or plastic bags out to collect candy. There was a lot of candy and freezies thrown! Kids would run between moving vehicles and horses to gather the sugary treasures. Happy to say no one died in the collection of candy, though we did hold our breath when one kid ran out on the street between horses to get a candy. Small town parades have their own unique excitement.
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Back to Seba Beach, a thunderstorm rolled in but that didn't stop us from standing in line for our free hotdog (and bottled water). When it rains at Seba it means it—big rain drops and lots of them. But we were determined to get our lunch for free, rain or shine.

We heard on the news that the government "invested" $500 million for Canada 150. We sure hope our free pancakes, cake and hotdogs were included in that investment.

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We thought there must be a way to add more sugar/no nutrition to our day so we made the most delicious s'mores. James might have OD'd on them.

There aren't coordinated fireworks at Seba Beach but a lot of people set off their own along the beach. We heard a bunch but we stayed home and went to bed at a reasonable time since we had plans for Sunday morning.

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Sunday morning we laced up our hiking shoes, packed the dogs and headed toward Edson and Sundance Provincial Park. We didn't completely read the website about the park and were surprised when the road became gravel for about 50 km. The scenery was beautiful, so many pretty wildflowers.

We stopped at Emerson Lakes for a bit of a hike. There is a small campground right on one of the lakes. A little further up the road we hiked to the hoodoos which were spectacular. Phin and Westley loved exploring. There were hardly any people in the park - the gravel road might be a deterrent.

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The family photo is impossible

Back at Shadybrook we relaxed and then packed up for home. While the dogs are always up for an adventure, Phin really loves coming home.
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    Author

    Mellissa & James live in Edmonton, Alberta and enjoy exploring. Currently our Airstream is parked at a seasonal site about an hour from our home.

    Thanks for checking out our  site.

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