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Saturday, May 7, 2016

Spring cleanup is a little easier this year...

It's been a few days since we've given you an update on our activities here at the park. Canada's May long weekend is the typical time of year for most campgrounds to open, and so we're in full "clean up" mode getting the park ready for it's May 20th opening.

And, quite a few things have made our job a little easier so far this year compared to last year!

First of all, there are less leaves on the ground in most areas of the park. We think this is because there was very little snowfall, and the leaves from the fall didn't get packed hard to the ground. And then there were some really windy days in March and April, and a lot of them simply blew away.

But because of the windy days, there are more small branches and twigs than in the past. This means we have to rake them up prior to doing any leaf blowing because they don't move well with the leaf blower. So, we do a rough rake of all the twigs, then use the leaf blower for final cleanup.

We rake the twigs into piles, and then onto a tarp.

Then, we load the tarp onto the back of our old truck, and empty the load into the box.

When the box is full, we take it up to the gulley beside the workshop and dump it.

We've probably done about 25 loads so far!

And, we have a full time employee who started with us on Thursday. Last year, Ruth and I were on our own untilt he end of May, so this is a big help. 

And so far the wind has cooperated. Last year, every time we cleaned one area, the wind would come up from a different direction each day and blow leaves back into the areas we had already cleaned. It was very frustrating. This year, there are less leaves to blow around, and less wind so far.

Thursday was our first day to begin taking reservations. I was on the phone non stop from 8:00am until 11:00am, and then things slowed right down. So far, I think reservations are slightly down from last year, although we have more for May long weekend than we have ever had before.

Lots of leaves in this particular area.

Oh, and good news! We finally got our satellite internet installed yesterday. The last two years we've been on a limited supply of expensive cellular internet, with a poor signal. There are a lot of mixed reviews online regarding satellite internet, but this was our only other option and it came with a 30 day money back guarantee. So it's worth a try. And so far (after less than 24 hours use), we're impressed. Plus it's cheaper, and with a lot more data. And, it will be good for the park because we can use it for our credit card machine authorizations.

So now, we can surf normally along with the rest of the world!

We've been having beautiful weather. Only problem with that is we really need some rain. The ground is so dry and the grass is turning brown already. And, I can't water yet because the lake level is so low that I'm not yet sure how I'm going to set the pump up. But, we'll figure it out over the next couple of days.

Here's another owl pic to finish off with...


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14 comments:

  1. Do they have a fire ban there yet? With all the fires in BC, AB and SK my stepson in the military thinks they might send him to SK to firefight if needed (they don't send the military into the treed areas for ground fighting as too dangerous)

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  2. We all need water especially in northern Alberta. I assume that you will do a post on the satellite system , it would be of interest to many.

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    1. Well we are getting rain now! Sure wish Fort McMurray and that whole area could get some too.

      Yes, we could probably do a post on it. We'll give it a little time first to see how well it works. So far so good!

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  3. The baby owls grow so quickly! Ottawa is also in need of a good rain!

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    1. They sure are, I won't be surprised if they don't leave the nest very shortly. We are getting our rain now, it started last night.

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  4. You are making great progress, the long weekend its getting closer by the day and things will get more busy for you guys.

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    1. The progress is coming along but we still have lots of time. :-)

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  5. Your owl picture from a couple of days ago is amazing. I love it! I sure wish I could take all those leaves off your hands. I love leaves for composting. We live in a small town and the only internet we could get was Hughes satellite It's the first time we've had satellite internet. I will be curious to hear about how you like yours. Not sure if you celebrate Mother's Day in Canada, but wishing you a Happy Mother's Day, Ruth!

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    1. Thanks Lori, we love that picture too!

      It would be great if you could have taken some of these leaves off our hands, we have so many of them and because of the dry weather we can't even burn them so we are running out of room for them all!

      So far we are very happy with the satellite internet. It is nice to know that we don't have to be so careful with our usage, first time in a long time. :-)

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  6. I hope you get some rain in your area too. Love those cute owls.

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  7. Isn't it wonderful to return to a place knowing how well you took care of it last year? I'm certain that's the reason this spring clean up is that much easier. (You worked so hard last year!) Also, have to agree about the internet upgrades. Having spent the past winter travelling here and there, good internet service makes it easy to forgive other faults or lack of services. As for rain...I have a feeling all of Canada is praying for rain. Stay safe. :)

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    1. Yes, it is so nice coming back knowing that everything is ready to go. This is now our second year coming back after we closed up the camp and each year is gets a little bit easier with the clean up.

      We are loving the fact now that we have so many GBs now to use compared to other years and so far we are happy with it. Yes, internet is very important wherever we are.

      We are getting that much needed rain right now. :-)

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