Dad and Kids Weekend

We just returned from the annual Dad and Kids weekend.  I must be getting old, because this one was pretty tame.  In years past we have had better turnout.  This time around it was just me and my girls, and John from the office with his kids.  Frank from Drumheller stopped by in the afternoon to visit for a while, but didn't stay the night.

I remember previous trips when we stayed up all night long... putting a huge dent into the local beer supply... and driving the neighbouring campers crazy with music playing and a fire roaring all night.

Weather conditions were poor and I think we need to consider changing the date.  We have typically planned for the weekend after the May long weekend, and in recent years it has been raining or snowing every time.  Perhaps next year we should choose an alternative weekend in early to mid June.  This year the weather held true to form.  It was so wet and rainy on Friday that we postponed our departure and did not leave until Saturday morning.  Even at that it rained all the way there, and finally began to break up just as we neared the badlands north of Drumheller.  We rolled into the ranch by early afternoon, and I promptly got stuck in the mud with my truck and trailer.  Eventually after gearing down into Four Low I was able to extricate myself and back the rig out of the yard and onto the gravel driveway.  

We decided to head over to the gravel camping pads at the nearby Tolman Bridge Provincial Recreation Area.  I phoned John to let him know that the ranch was out of the question and that he should meet us at Tolman.  The girls and I got the trailer set up and by this time the sky was beginning to break up.  A short time later John and his kids rolled in and set up camp nearby.

We did a little fishing, visited with Frank for a while in the afternoon, had a BBQ and then settled down into the evening.  I packed it in and went to bed around 11:00, though the girls stayed up for quite a while longer in the back bedroom of the trailer.

In the morning we went out and wandered around for a while.  I even managed to get out for an hour or so and do a little shooting with my view camera.  After lunch we packed up and headed back over to the ranch.  By this time it had dried off enough that we were able to get out for a trail ride.  We had to keep it to a relatively short one hour ride as most of the trails were still too muddy.  They had got 1-1/2 inches of rain here in the day prior to our arrival.  No wonder I got stuck in the mud!!

After that trail ride we packed up and headed for home, arriving around 7:00PM.  The girls were sure glad to see their Mom, and after something to eat and some baths, they got sent off to bed...