Anything But Ordinary: The Rest of the Story

Well, by now you have all read about our adventures with Mr. Bear while camping (if not, see the previous post). After his second venture into our campsite, we decided to pack up and go elsewhere for the rest of the trip. We meandered down from the park across various gravel roads - we had a small map, but not a very detailed one. We had a general idea of where we were going, but the kids were sleeping and we were in no rush, so we knew we'd find our way eventually. After about an hour of driving, we figured out where we were and another half an hour later we were in the river valley near Russel, MB. We checked into the campground at Assessippi Provincial Park for two more nights of adventure. We got set up and ate supper and then went for a drive to the beach/playground area. It was too cool to swim that night, but we had high hopes of having a beach day on Friday.

The rest of the night proved uneventful and after a good night's sleep, we awoke to cloudy skies and 15 degrees. It was a bit rainy, so instead of cooking breakfast in the rain, we decided to venture into Russell for food. After we ate, we stopped and took pictures with Arthur the Bull and then took a drive to the Inglis Elevators - a row of 5 grain elevators that are in the process of being restored. It was really cool to see inside of them and learn about how they were built and how they operated. It's one of those local touristy things that you never really take the time to do - but since it was too cold to swim, it was a really fun way to kill the early afternoon. After a short nap back at the campsite, we took the kids back to the playground. We walked along the beach and played in the sand, but a quick dip of our feet in the water was the only swimming we got in. By that evening (this was now Friday - we had left on Wednesday), the kids were all beat. Cohen, especially, was sick of being outside and was ready to go home. After a family discussion, we decided to pack up our stuff after supper, then eat smores and hot dogs around the fire and head home later that night.

The older two kids really enjoyed the fire, as did Jared and I. Cohen was not a happy camper at this point, so it was a bit of a challenge to keep him occupied. We managed and by 9 pm, we were ready to take off. We put the kids in their jammies and they slept the whole way home. It definitely wasn't the sunny, beach-filled, relaxing camping trip we were envisioning when we left, but it was still a great experience and one we will definitely not forget anytime soon!

And, as always - some pictures of our adventures!