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.
Today's entry in a series of Culture Days pieces by local writers is entitled "Memories at Bakers Narrows," written by Nicole Soshycki. * * * My favourite place is Bakers Narrows. I have spent the past 16 summers there since I was born because my mom works there as a park attendant. I have many memories there and have seen how the campground has evolved over the years. I know Bakers Narrows like a map on the back of my hand. Once in a while my mom, dad, little sister and me would have picnics across from the office in the picnic area near the beach on the grass with picnic tables and fire pits. I enjoyed exploring around the office outside when I came to visit my mom when I was four. There is a back door in the kitchen at the back of the office where I would go outside and explore. I would run along the cement path that leads to the front of the office and hide behind the trees. There were lots of flowers planted around the office to pick and there still are. In the front of the office there are two flagpoles with the Manitoba flag and the Canadian flag, which I liked to watch in the wind. Every once in a while I would see rabbits across the road or out the back door which was very exciting, so I would go and get my mom to come look. I would also see lots of squirrels scurry across the gravel and up trees, where the green machine and parks truck were parked. The 'green machine' is one of my favourite things at the office. The employees who work in the office use it to drive around and clean bathrooms and do campground checks. Once in a while my mom would take me for a ride on it. When my mom's friend Tanya worked there she took me for a ride once around the loop across the road from the office. As she was driving, she turned into a small opening of trees to turn around and we saw a rabbit, so we sat there and watched it. The 'green machine' is a John Deere Gator that is green with two yellow seats with a bucket on the back for hauling stuff. If you are camping, you can see the green machine driving around. Ten years ago, the campground office was renovated. The wood panelling was replaced with drywall and tiles instead of carpet. Walls were moved to create a different layout. Before you had to go through the kitchen to use the bathroom or get cleaning supplies from the closet. Now the bathroom is behind the front counter with built in cupboards for cleaning supplies and so employees have their own cupboard. The kitchen received new cupboards as well. The old windows and doors were also replaced. This year, in 2010, new grass is being laid around the office and a few trees are being removed. My parents bought our first camper in 2004. It was a fifth wheel Prowler with bunk beds. We went camping for the first time that summer. We camped for a week in loop A. My sister and I drove out to Bakers with our dad pulling the camper and our mom met us at the site. Alyshia and I stood a few feet away and watched my mom direct Dad where to park. We were very excited. Once the camper was parked and unhooked from the truck Alyshia and I were able to go inside. We played on our bunk beds and watched out the windows to see what was going on. We saw the green parks truck pull up. It was Tess, one of the employees at the time. See 'Told' on pg. Continued from pg. While Mom and Dad were outside setting things up, Tess came into the camper to see what it looked like and met us. She was really nice and told us some interesting stories about her. We saw a spider on the floor which led to her telling us about how she doesn't like spiders and how she held a tarantula once. After my parents were done getting the camper set up, my mom went back to work with Tess. My dad took my sister and I in the truck to the woodpile to get wood for a fire, which was just down the road near the boat launch. We also went fishing and for rides in the boat while Mom was at work. Every morning Mom would make breakfast for us and then during most of the day Alyshia and I would bike around the campground and see all the different sites and stop and see Mom, Tess and Lindsay at the office if it wasn't busy. I found out one of my best friends was camping at the same time as us from Tess and Lindsay because they are cousins with her. I was able to spend a full week with Makaella before she moved away, which was a lot of fun. At the end of that week I went with my dad to empty the sewage from the camper at the dumping station, the first turn to the right as you enter the campground, and it smelled really bad. In the month of August we went camping for another week in site 61. We only had to walk down the road to take a shower. The bathrooms and showers are very clean, now you have to pay to have a shower because people would leave the shower running with no one in there. In our campsite there was a tree stump, so we put a handful of sunflower seeds on it and sat at the picnic table and watched a squirrel come and eat them with our dad. Throughout the day my sister and I would play volleyball and badminton when we got bored. During this week my little sister slammed the truck door on her finger. Once in a while bears are spotted in the campground within the trees. Campers let the office know if they see or hear a bear near the site, then park patrol comes and sometimes shoot in the air to scare it off or if they have to kill it. They also set bear traps. Another friend was camping at the time, Dale. We played badminton together and got the birdie stuck in a tree, so her dad borrowed the neighbour's extendable stick for washing their motorhome to get down. We also found frogs under rocks around the seasonals and one we dissected on a rock with a tab off a can. We also biked to Bakers Narrows Lodge with her dad, brother and a few other people to get candy. In the campground there were three different playgrounds, now there are only two. The playground they tore down was by the picnic area beach near the tower. It had a double slide and a rope ladder to climb. At this beach you shouldn't swim too close to the edges where it is black because there are leaches there. You can also see ducks there. The second playground is by the campground beach and the third playground is located near the seasonals with a bathroom a few feet away. Five years ago, Bakers Narrows got a new addition. These new additions are called yurts. Yurts are part cabin, part tent or a large fabric-sided dome. They built six yurts along the south side of the campground with a view of the lake. Yurts are a great alternative if you don't want to sleep in a tent or don't own a camper. Each yurt is supplied with windows and a skylight that you can open which is nice for when it is hot outside. They also have electricity, a heater and rustic log furniture including a bunk bed, futon, table, chairs, and a small storage cabinet. The beach is just down the road and there are showers and a bathroom within walking distance. Every year since the yurts have been built, my grandma has made it a tradition to rent one for two to four days and alternate each year which grandkids stay overnight. Our grandma wouldn't let us take our bikes, so we had to hang around with her all day, which wasn't so bad. We stayed in the yurts last summer with her for four days. In the morning we would help her make breakfast, which was usually pancakes, fruit and bacon. An hour later, once the food settled in our stomachs, we walked to the beach to go swimming. When we arrived there were eight ducks sleeping on the sand. We waded into the water until we were brave enough to go right under. My sister and I raced each other out to the ropes and by the time we got there we were both tired and out of breath. Afterwards Alyshia was showing our 66-year-old grandma how to do tricks in the water like handstands and flips. It was funny to watch my grandma do those types of things at her age. Throughout the day we went swimming multiple times to cool off from the heat. While my sister went to the beach with her friends, my grandma and I sat in the shade at the campsite and talked. I also read my book, My Sister's Keeper, and played Brain Age for Nintendo DS while my grandma drew and took a nap in her chair. There was a chipmunk we could hear rustling in the leaves, so we were really quiet and made no movements and it came closer towards us. The quiet was very relaxing with the sound of birds and the ripple of waves splashing against the rocks from boats going by. For supper we usually ate hot dogs. We also went for walks and up the tower. One time we locked the key inside after a walk, so we had to get maintenance to open the door. Every night before we went to bed we would play a game of Scrabble. Since all the yurts have a view of the lake, at night I can see the reflection of the moon in the water and the stars in the sky through the skylight. Bakers Narrows is a popular place to camp and if you don't make reservations in advance al the sites will be reserved. Three years ago Natural Resources started clear cutting trees to make room for an addition of 15 new sites. The following year the sites were open for reservations. All these new sites have limestone spread across the ground and include a fire pit and picnic table. Last, but not least my ultimate favourite thing about Bakers Narrows Provincial Park is the tower. There are a lot of stairs to climb, but the 360 view of the lake, forest and rock is spectacular. Sometimes while climbing to the top I'll count the stairs, but I always lose count. As you climb the stairs you can see many carvings in the wood from people who visited Bakers Narrows and the scenic tower over the years. The top of the tower is also great for getting a connection to make calls on your cell phone. The freshness of the air and the view make me want to stay up there for hours. This area is rich in the history of the fur trade era. At the top of the tower there are five interpretive signs that tell the history of the area. Lake Athapapuskow (Cree for rocks all around) is one of Manitoba's top trophy fishing lakes. Every time I go to the campground, climbing the tower has been one of my favourite things to do since I was little. Bakers Narrows Provincial Park is my favourite place. The park is hidden in the vast and mixed forest of coniferous and deciduous trees of the Canadian Shield. The 145-hectare park has three beaches, a campground, playgrounds, a number of boat launches and a scenic lookout tower. Over the past 16 summers the campground has grown and so have I. Bakers Narrows is a safe campground to come camp with your family and the people are friendly. My favourite things at Bakers are the green machine, the tower and being surrounded by nature. Over the years I have developed many memories here.
