Weekend at Summerland in Lacombe Country, AB

This weekend we went camping with friends. Heather is an old friend we met at church 18 years ago in Toronto. She moved away 16 years ago and we hadn’t seen her since. Thanks to Facebook, we reconnected a few years ago. In that 16 years apart, our lives had grown very similar – married with kids (she has three), with the last two (boys) being the very close in age to mine. We are both also avid glampers. Way back in early May, we decided to plan a glamping weekend together – in Lacombe, halfway between Calgary and Edmonton where she lives with her family. Max was really looking forward to finally glamping with boys! It seems we always go with families with girls. Or take one with us – this weekend we also took one of Kira’s best friends.

The weekend was tons of fun and a success in our books. Max declared it “the best camping weekend” he’s ever had. Kira keeps saying that she really enjoyed herself. Heather’s youngest told her that he wants to go out with us again. There were no injuries and no fights, and the weather was great. Our two families shared a meal one night that I have declared the best I’ve ever eaten on a glamping trip. Heather’s husband Chris is a really nice guy who imparted some of his sharpened skills to us. He’s been camping for his entire life. We now know how to properly start a fire! Quickly! So yah – even though I was using my awesome fire starters, paper towel rolls stuffed with dryer lint, and thought we were doing a great job, the truth was, our fires took longer to get started that they should have. I’ll still use my awesome fire starter but now we’ll get up and cooking super fast.

We were in Lacombe Country this weekend, at an RV Resort called Summerland. It was our second visit there. It might not be for everyone – there is little privacy in terms of trees surrounding each site. I usually hate a site if it doesn’t have privacy, but I love Summerland. The neighbours are far enough away from you that you are not disturbed. The park itself is well-kept. There’s mini-golf, a driving range, and a park. All sites are full-service – perfect for the glamper in me! The washrooms and showers are clean and never full, though they do cost a dollar for a 3-minute shower. The owners are nice and they deliver your firewood right to your site. It’s very quiet – we’ve never had problems with drunken neighbours. I may be showing my age, but when I’m trying to sleep, I can’t STAND it when someone’s music is pulsing through my trailer or when I can hear drunken voices through my closed windows. Gull Lake is a short drive away and the beach is nice. The town is cute and there are interesting shops. There’s also a bird farm, a play place, hiking trails, and other attractions close by. We are scheduled to go two more times this summer and we can’t wait. Two thumbs up for Summerland.

A funny story for you to chuckle over. It’s at Dave’s expense, but hey, he knows that whatever happens on a glamping trip is fair game for this blog. First, a disclaimer: I do NOT write this blog because I fancy myself some kind of expert camper. It hasn’t even been two full years for us in this lifestyle, and we are still learning as we go. We make tons of mistakes and we have a lot of fun making them! Sometimes…So, the story. On Saturday, we all went to Gull Lake. Dave got out the towels, I got the water, sunscreen, beach shoes and magazines. We left before Heather and her family because we know the beach gets crowded and we wanted good parking and a nice spot on the beach. We got to the beach and parked in the very first spot. Dave was so happy. We got out of the car. Where’s the towels? Uh oh, we left them back at the trailer. Dave practically pushes us out of the car to race back. He gets back a few minutes later and gets the fourth spot in. Still good, but he’s a bit ticked that he had to go back. So we find a spot on the beach and settle in. 30 mins later, the kids are hungry. We hadn’t brought food because the kids wanted hot dogs from the concession. Since we parked at one end of the park, it’s a long walk to the concession at the other end. The kids and I walk all the way to the concession. They are hot and hungry by the time we get there. We stand in line and wait our turn to get to the front, only to find out that they only take cash. We Giesen’s use debit, we don’t often have cash. So we walk all the way back to Dave and the towels, with no food. I sadly tell Dave that one of us have to go back to the trailer to get some cash. I offer to go. But of course, Dave goes, seething all the way. This time when he comes back, he has to park at the overflow lot, a few mins walk away. 30 mins at the beach and we’ve got from rock star parking to the overflow lot.

And there’s something you might not know about Dave: he hates turning back. He thinks he’s going to turn into a pillar of salt or something like Lot’s wife. He’d rather spend extra time and money at the other end of the trip rather than turn back to get something we forgot.

The lessons we learned: run through a mental checklist in the car before you leave to make sure you have all your beach stuff before you head to the beach. And pack food. And always, always, carry cash.

Heather and Chris packed lunch and brought their towels, and stayed in the first parking spot they parked in. But hey, they had a nice spot on the beach because we got their early and saved it for them! :D

After all that, we made sure to enjoy our time at the beach! And we did. It was a great day.

Thanks Heather, Chris and kids and Summerland, for a great weekend!

Some pics.

The kids enjoying the very short ride to Summerland.