The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Camping is one of the more popular things to do in the summer aside from going to the beach or fishing. Of the three, my favourite is going to he beach, but I'm a beach snob who only likes the ones in Europe. That comes from family vacations to Portugal as that is where my parents are from. They came to Canada in the early '60s on a boat.(I kid. They flew.) However, I do enjoy camping even though I haven't done it a lot. If you don't go with your friends, or with an organization you may be part of, chances are you're camping with family. I didn't grow up in a family big on camping. My first trip didn't come until my final year of high school. I'm trying hard to avoid aging myself in this column because I'm still very much young. Anyways, myself and three friends went to Champion Lake just outside of Trail, B.C. The other option was Christina Lake, which is just over an hour from Castlegar. We chose the other simply because we didn't feel like straying too far from home. This trip stands out for two reasons: the first being because it rained practically the entire time, and second, I had never seen so much alcohol. It was the first time I got drunk. My behaviour eventually led to me sleeping in my Toyota pickup one evening. Apparently I was too annoying for my female friend to handle. The icing on the cake may have been when I asked if Christina Lake was on the map. That would be like someone here asking the same thing about Lake Athapap. The great weather forced us to be in our tent so we played drinking games. The weather also made it challenging to barbecue. That was the most frustrating thing. Six or seven years later came the next trip when I lived in Wainwright, Alberta. I was a volunteer with the Big Brothers and Big Sisters organization. At the time, I was matched up with a 14-year-old. That experience was fun, and so was the camping trip. The executive director had different activities and games planned for the kids. In the evening, we did the usual marshmallow roasting and read what were supposed to be scary stories from a book I had brought. I shared a tent with two boys who decided to pull the pin on the girls' tents as they were fooling around and did something I didn't like, though I can't actually remember now what it was. I had nothing to do with the idea, but didn't object to it or stop them. Let's just say the executive director, who will remain nameless, wasn't thrilled. Camping is about having fun with friends, having a few drinks (though not necessary) and enjoying the environment surrounding you.
