What a gorgeous park this is, along the banks of the famed Assiniboine River! Too bad it is a four-day drive from our home because we would love to come back. It is a huge park with a well-equipped campground (Kitchie Manitou). We had a lazy morning – slept in and had a nice breakfast then pack a lunch and spent the afternoon at the 'Spirit Sands' – a desert-like area that has 30m sand dunes. Within the Spirit Sands is the 'Devil's Punch Bowl' – a pond formed by an underground stream. The trail is 3.5 km one way, and we new DD2 would never make it, so we opted for the easy tour – a covered wagon ride pulled by a team of Belgians and driven by a pair of cowboys! What fun! DD2 and DS slept through a lot of the ride, but DD1, DH and I enjoyed the tour immensely. Our guide, Larry, and his ancestors, grew up along the Assiniboine so he was a fountain of knowledge. He pointed out a lot of native plants (different kinds of willows, aspen, and junipers) and aboriginal uses for them (bug repellant, analgesia, laxative)x.
We had beautiful views of the meandering and silty Assiniboine River. Our campground is located in the middle of one of eleven 'oxbow lakes' formed by the Assiniboine thamk are located in the park. After our tour of the Spirit Sands, we had a picnic lunch at the Day Use area – the girls tried out yet another play park and then checked out the Interpretive Centre. The Centre was excellent – the kids got to see a Northern Prairie skink and Western hognose snake that are native to this area. They also had giant puzzles, games and lots of stuff to colour. The girls even got to take away a 'Nature Detective' book that will be great for the car.
Came back to the campsite and had pizza pie irons for supper – yum. The firewood was free, but wet. The only downside of the park is the ferocious mosquitoes. I was afraid they would carry Thomas away! Somehow they are getting in the trailer – maybe through the AC unit? When I woke last night I could here them all buzzing – it was creepy! The kids are covered in bug bites, poor things – good thing we have lots of calamine lotion. The bugs are really too bad to stay outside, so we enjoyed the campfire from the comfort of our bed end – also got to watch the sun go down – very pretty.
Another drive tomorrow, to visit with a good friend in Regina.
It has been raining out west, so that would be a great breeding ground for the mosquitos! I hope you find their entry point to the trailer. I too do not like the sound they make in the middle of the night as I try to sleep.
ReplyDeleteGlad the park was informative. I have never been, but perhaps we should check it out one trip back to the homeland?
Did Larry not tell you which plant was a bug repellent? Make a smudge with juniper?