In the summer of 2021 Daryl went on a quest to find the perfect private camping spot. Who knows what prompted this search. Maybe it had something to do with the influx of campers during the last two summers. Camping was a great Covid activity, however finding a ‘good’ spot became difficult unless you were quick to look when dates became available online. Thankfully us retirees were able to get a site, in a couple of places that does not require reservations, if we went Sunday or Monday. However, if you waited until Wednesday, your chances decreased dramatically. Wednesday after work you could see a steady stream of people coming to the campground to either leave their trailer, or set up a small tent, effectively ‘reserving’ their weekend site.
Well, Daryl found a spot west of the city that was selling acerages to just a few dozen lucky campers. Apart from your own campsite, each site has access to a large private area, with an even larger adjacent area of crown land. And it is fairly close to the city. Apparently there are five lakes on this property, although as of yet we have only seen two.
So off we go for a couple of days tromping through bush and climbing over fallen trees. With my wonderful sense of direction I was only ever sure of up and down, truly we just seemed to be going around in circles.
This virgin land had just the very beginnings of private road access. The first day was sunny and hot, the next pouring rain. Both days gave totally different perspective on the area, and showed us just how much water can collect in a deeply rutted ‘informal’ road. Total adventure. By the end of day two we had picked out a spot. It’s perfect! Two acres that includes a large grassy area surrounded by tall trees. I stood kind of in the middle of the grassy area and took a picture, first facing west, and then east.
By July all the ownership transactions were completed and it was time to ‘start doing something’. This area seemed to be a previous camping spot. There was a large fire pit with half burned logs, empty bottles and tent poles and pegs…and an old rusted fold up table.
There is an informal road that runs besides the property. Now that a separate private road was accessible to the property (with a truck and 4 wheel drive), it was time to look at privacy. We also needed to make this choice spot less accessible to the casual camper as this was now private property.
A few transplanted trees, some dirt and a lot of hard work sure changed the visibility to the informal road.
I would like to say this first stage of work at el parque went without a hitch, but not so. Daryl carried a container of bear spray attached to his jeans belt loop. Well if you bend over and bang it around enough, it goes off. Most of the bear spray got his leg. This was the day we decided to carry extra water on future trips as all we had to use to dilute the burning was muddy rainwater in the potholes. Yeah! Daryl can dance pretty good.
Next on the agenda was to clear a space where we could eventually park the trailer. There are tons of dead trees and branches that need to be removed. Also means we are going to have enough firewood to last past our lifetime.
This is the first spot we kind of cleared out for the trailer. That step ladder sure came in handy for removing dead limbs. It’s my favourite job. I am sure we will make adjustments as more debris is removed. This much work took about a month and there is oh so much more. Thankfully it is a short enough drive that we can easily go for the day.
Life is truly an adventure.
Cheers
Ruth
ruthkennedysretirementblog 
Truly an adventure Linda
Sent from my iPad
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My kind of life. Have fun:
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Will always be work to do, but always so much fun, and loads of time to relax and enjoy. Working outside is good for the soul
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