Out on the Lake -- Part 1

So our 4 day trip on Anima-Nip
Didn't go quite as expected.
The day we arrived,
The waves were too high,
We feared that we'd be ejected.


So we went to Finlayson Point Provincial Park the first night, and car-camped there until the next morning. It was a pretty good back-up plan, and we had a great site in the park, quiet and removed from the worst of the park traffic. Alas, it was also a fair way removed from the comfort station, which is a somewhat painful experience when you have to run a 3 year old child to the pot every few hours (an experience which gets worse when you arrive at the pot 5 minutes later, only to find she had a false alarm). Fortunately for me, Melanie bore the worst of that particular task. I got the glamourous job of keeping the fire going. A job that was surprisingly difficult. We didn't bring wood this year (since Finlayson wasn't in the plan) and the stuff they sell at the park is fresh-cut and very green.

The next day, we packed up early and drove out to Anima-Nip again. This time, it looked like we'd be able to load the canoe at the launch without capsizing it, so we loaded up and paddled out. The island wasn't too far from the launch, probably about a 20-30 minute paddle if you go straight out over quiet water. We didn't have quiet water, as the lake was still up, so we had to hug the shore and hang a right at the first point past the fire-tower bay instead of heading straight out.

We got to the site without incident however, and got to work picking out a site (near to the shore, in the wind), setting up a tarp, and getting our shiny new Marmot tent up and covered. This done, we settled in for a relaxing time on the island. Supper consisted of bannock pizza in our new firepit oven, and it was very tasty.  The rest of the evening was fairly bug-free, despite the humidity, thanks to a breeze that went across the island (and the near-gale force winds scouring the far shore of the lake).   The biggest surprise of the night came when Maddie announced that she was going to go to bed, climbed into the tent herself, changed into a Pull-up herself, and went to sleep. On her own. Without coaxing, prodding, or even assistance from either me or Mel. Weird.

(part 2 shall appear after a brief but thoughtful delay)