churchill is fabulous and you can quote us on that

A few friends suggested we visit Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park on Lac La Biche. It made us reflect on quotes from Churchill like, “If you’re going through hell, keep going” and of course the classic, “I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly.” With a lead up like that we were so curious to see a campground named for such a quotable leader.
 
We were pretty much ready to hit the road when we got home from work on Friday. After hitching up Phoebe and unplugging from shore power the strong sewer smell that we had observed while camping at Emma Lake had returned. We couldn’t blame it on the campground this time, something was definitely up with the trailer. With no handy uncles around to help us, we had to figure it out. Thanks to Google, we determined it was an issue with the battery. We unhooked the battery in question and carried on. Well, we carried on after we turned around on Whitemud Drive to return home to pick up the campsite tag we forgot to print. Now we are off…

Three hours later we arrived in Lac La Biche and were treated to a stunning sunset as we crossed the causeway to the provincial park, which is actually on an island. It was beautiful but not the best time to arrive. Especially for newbies.

The campsite and trail systems at the park are awesome. A must visit for any kind of camper - there were tents, tent trailers and of course big monster trailers. Next time we will bring our bikes.

On the way home Phoebe wanted a photo with the gigantic sausage in Mundare so we obliged. Then we bought some sausage at the Esso - the only place to buy the Stawnichy's products on Sunday.

Here’s what we learned from the adventure:

• A sizzling battery that is malfunctioning smells like toxic sewer and is in fact hydrogen gas and it is very scary if you are not careful.
• Yes, our battery was fried, and as such killed our ability to use the power jack.
• The detour through Lac La Biche bottomed out our trailer and made us sad.
• Leveling and setting up a trailer in pitch dark using the manual jack is crazy. It’s better to roll in to a site when the sun is still up.
• Ditto for backing in a trailer in the dark. Ok, truthfully we are still trying to figure out backing in whether it’s dark or daylight but we can blame the dark on this one.
• If you are going camping three hours from home, taking an extra day off is advisable.
• An audience watching newbies back up a trailer is not appreciated.
• Purchasing a new sewer hose and not checking out how to use it before you want to connect it at a dump station with other trailers waiting for you to move is frustrating (James)
• Skunks are cute and look like cartoon characters, and they work really hard to get in your garbage late at night, even if the garbage is empty.
• Fantastic fans live up to their name. There was no reason to crank on the air conditioning when the fan did a great job of cooling down the trailer.
  
• Firewood is expensive in provincial parks.
  

Not happy at the dumping station. We brought the grey water back home.

There is a silver lining. Back at home we connected with a very nice couple who are experienced Airstream owners and handy people. We look forward to getting to know them better - they have been on some great adventures with their 23’ Flying Cloud.
 
The “tails”, our dogs Westley and Phin, were thrilled to go on the adventure. They have taken to Phoebe as their second home. Westley sleeps in his bed on the floor with a heated blanket. Phin is the social dude and likes to sleep under the blankets or on your foot or too close to your face.

Which leads us back to Churchill and a final quote: “Kites rise highest against the wind - not with it.” Not sure what that means. But we do like his campground.

Here are more images from our weekend: