I wrote the following for my own blog in celebration of Canada's 150th. And it is perfect for the topic this month:
We camped.
That’s what we did every summer when I was
growing up.
My birthday is at the end of July and I
don’t remember many birthdays at home. Our temporary home was a used tent
trailer.
I didn’t know it at the time, but my
parents were giving my brothers and me a priceless treasure. We traveled from
coast to coast. And as I look back on it now, I understand where my love of
this great country – Canada – comes from. It comes from those summers of
traveling with my family.
Every year, Dad would plot our trips. He
usually started a month in advance. I remember him at the kitchen table with
maps in front of him, and that camping reference book – I think it was from
CAA. It listed campgrounds, how many
sites they had, how much they charged, whether or not they had flush toilets
and showers, etc.
Back in those days we couldn’t go online to
check it out or to register. We didn’t call ahead. We just showed up, expecting a good spot. And
we usually got it. I remember only one time when we arrived to a completely
full campground, and we set up in a gravel pit instead. I also remember many
times that Dad would leave our cash payment (anywhere from $6 - $12 over the
years) in an unlocked wooden box when we left. I doubt if you could do that
nowadays.
(Mom tells me that our first year of
camping we bought a National Park sticker for $7 and the total camping fee we
had all summer was $20.)
Mom didn’t relish getting ready for
camping. When we got older, my brothers and I had to pack our own clothing, and
entertainment for car travel, but she had her same lists from year to year …
everybody’s clothing, toiletries, kitchen gadgets, linens, bedding, pots and pans,
games, first aid, food. And she spent about a week shopping, gathering, and
packing. But she did enjoy the camping once all of that was taken care of.
I am so grateful they took the time for
this because as I look back now, I understand. I understand it was a great
undertaking, but also a great privilege to experience my country. I understand
now that not everybody had this chance. When you’re a kid you just assume
everybody does what you do. But I’ve learned that not everyone grew up with the
amazing opportunity I had to absorb my own vast country. Thanks, Mom & Dad.
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| Barkerville, BC |
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| Drumheller, AB |
What wonderful memories we made:
Panning for gold in Barkerville, BC
Riding a dinosaur in Drumheller, AB
Visiting the RCMP training grounds in
Regina, SK
Touring the International Peace Gardens in
Boissevain, MB
Feeling the spray of Niagara Falls, ON
Roaming the halls of the Parliament
Buildings in Ottawa, ON
 |
| International Peace Gardens |
Exploring in Old Quebec City and the Plains
of Abraham, QE
Climbing up Citadel Hill in Halifax, NS
Marching at the Fortress of Louisbourg on
Cape Breton Island, NS
Pretending at Green Gables, PEI
These were fun tourist attractions full of
history and fascination. But more than that, I learned to appreciate the
geography of this wonder-inspiring country.
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| Columbia Ice Fields, AB/BC |
I’ve clambered over the smooth stoned Pacific
coast and listened to waves lapping the shore. I’ve wandered the red sand
beaches of Prince Edward Island and breathed in the healing salty air. I’ve
played in cool lakes that were so clear I could see the bottom through four
feet of water. I’ve run screaming through long grassy fields scaring up grasshoppers,
squinted across sun-skimmed ice fields, and splashed in hot springs surrounded
by mountains whose crowns disappeared into clouds.
All before I grew up and left home.
What a gift!
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| Rushing River Provincial Park, ON |
And what a treasure, this country.
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Joylene remembers childhood summers from her home in Edmonton where she lives with her Cowboy, Babe, and a cat named Calvin. Find more of her writing on her blog, Scraps of Joy.
