RV Show - Jan 27th to 30th 2011

We will be at the RV show again this year at Exhibition Park.

Come out and see us.

Here is a $1.00 off coupon for admission too.

We hope to see lots of people out this year.

Happy Holidays

I've been neglectful this year with the blog.

We've been updating our facebook page all the time, so that's probably where you should look to find us.

You don't have to have an account to view our page. But it would be nice if you did.

www.facebook.com/lahaverivercampground

But in any event we want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/ri5hBuaFUx1qQLrZ?cmpid=jj_fb_self_holidays

Keji has been named a night sky preserve

Well, I'm just a posting wizard this week. I have another post. It's about Kejimkujik National Park.

Keji is about and hour and a half from us. In the Caledonia, Maitland Bridge area.

I camped there a couple of times as a kid. One of my favorite memories from those camping trips was going on the sky watch tours. It was spectacular. It is probably where my interest in stars and the night sky started. Our campground has a pretty good sky view up by the playground, but I can honestly say it doesn't come close to Keji.

Anyway, this week The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada has designated part of the park as a night sky preserve. What that means is that the park has to be kept free of artificial light so that astronomy can be promoted.

Here is the cbc.ca article about the new designation.

Kejimkujik National Park in southwestern Nova Scotia is now officially a dark sky preserve where people will be able to observe the heavens without the nuisance of light pollution.

The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada recently approved the park's application — the first such designation in Nova Scotia.

David Chapman, with the Halifax chapter of the astronomical society, said the park didn't have to do much to win the designation.

"In fact, the lighting situation in Keji was very close to ideal when we first visited the park just about a year ago. They just had to basically define a zone in the park that would be kept free of light," he said.

"They've had to make some small adjustments to some of the lights around the park, but the camping experience is practically identical to the way it's been all along."

Traditional light fixtures will be replaced by ones that curb glare in that zone of the park.

According to the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, a dark sky preserve is a site with "very dark skies and virtually no sky glow on the horizon." There are at least 10 such designated sites in Canada, including two in New Brunswick.

Chapman said dark sky preserves must also be places where people are welcome to come and observe the night sky.

The designation won't affect what people can do in the park, he said. Rather, it will enhance their nature experience while camping and canoeing.

"It's important for a couple of reasons. One, it's a way that we can educate people about the night sky and also the importance of proper lighting," he said.

People want to 'experience the sky'

"It's also important because people do want to experience the sky, and they know that they need to get out of the city. This is going to be a welcoming place."

This summer there will be public astronomy programming, light-pollution controls and an interpretation program that will explore the significance of the night sky in Mi'kmaq culture and history.

Chapman said observing the stars and the Milky Way against the inky blackness of the sky at Keji is an "indescribable, wonderful " experience.

"We have now a place that is guaranteed in the future. Regardless of what happens in the cities, there is a place that you can go to see that," he said.

The park will be the site of a party in early August to celebrate the designation.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2010/07/07/ns-dark-sky-preserve-kejimkujik.html#ixzz0t27KdQHg

Fireflies

I was just talking about fireflies and thought it would make a great blog post. What are they? What do they look like? What makes them glow? I don't know, so I thought I'd look it up.

I know the campground has TONS of them. If you look up towards the playground, or around the bowling lane at night you can see them dancing and playing around.

This is what the little fellas look like. (The picture is from sciencecheerleader.com) Now that I see them in the light, I'm pretty sure I've seen them around.

They are extremely harmless. Well to humans anyway. They don't bite, they don't pinch, they aren't poisonous. When they are attacked they do release a "blood" type stuff that doesn't taste very good to their predators.

The fireflies that are flying around blinking are the males. The females blink from a perch, either the ground or a shrub. If the female like the strength and length of the male's blink, she will blink back to let the male know where she is.

There are three different species of firelies, and they each have there own way of flashing. They are different in color, length, the number of blinks and the time of night when they come out to play.

In their belly's there are special cells. These cells combine oxygen and three chemicals to produce the light. Luciferin, ATP and Luciferase.

The chemicals Luciferin and Luciferase are used in medical research to treat cancer, multiple scleroses and heart disease.

And now you know what I know about fireflies.

Happy Canada Day!

I hope everyone has a great Canada Day. There's lots of stuff going on tomorrow in the different communities.

New Germany is holding it's annual Canada Day Parade. They will also have a breakfast, an Ox pull, a bean and salad supper at the Legion Hall and fireworks.

Lunenburg will be holding it's Canada Day celebrations at the Community Centre.

Baker Settlement will be holding a Strawberry Supper.

I thought there was a big do in Bridgewater, but I can't find a single speck of information on the net about it.

The weather is supposed to be awesome, no matter what you have planned so enjoy your day.

On Saturday night the campground will be holding a potluck supper. There's some pretty good cooks in the campground so bring a dish and come and join us. Everyone is welcome.

Weekend Preview June 25, 2010

The weather is looking good for this coming weekend. After last weekend, I think I can honestly say, don't let the coastal forecast be an indication of what it's going to be like that the campground. We had to be at least 10 degrees warmer and a whole lot sunnier inland.

We are expecting Sunny and a high of 26 for Friday. A mix of sun and cloud for both Saturday and Sunday with a high of 21. It's going to be a great weekend for camping. Maybe some star gazing too if we're lucky.

The activities for the weekend include bingo on Saturday afternoon. Saturday evening there will be a dance. Shane's Mix it Up DJ will be hosting the music. Sunday there is the book exchange and the Stitch and Bitch club will be stitchin' and bitchin' in the shelter on Sunday afternoon.

We look forward to seeing everybody out.

Our awesome ladies...

There is an article in today's Chronicle Herald about the Stitch and Bitch club. Thought I would post it for posterity. (The online articles go away after awhile)

LUNENBURG — Elmer Beck wants to know what’s going on.
He’s sitting in his wheelchair in the veterans unit of Fishermen’s Memorial Hospital in Lunenburg waiting for a game of bowling to begin when he notices a couple of ladies chatting off to the side.
"We’ve brought afghans," Ellen Hunt said as she walks over.
He thinks they’re attractive.
"My wife’s upstairs," Beck
said, referring to the alternate level of care unit on the floor above where he lives.
He would like to pick an afghan out for his wife. It is a sweet gesture.
"This one here would be nice," he said, lifting open a striped
pink, blue, white, green and burgundy afghan.
"What’s the price?" he asks.
But Hunt assures him there is no price and she will make sure his wife, Nita, gets the afghan.
The afghans are made by a group of women who get together at a local campground every Sunday morning. The LaHave River Campground Stitch and Bitch group has grown to 13 members in the two years since Verna Lowe started it.
Lowe, a 73-year-old widow, has always enjoyed crocheting and
knitting. There were times she had bits of yarn left over that weren’t enough to
be useful, so she started bringing them to the campground, where she has spent
her summer weekends for the past 10 years.
She had a close group of friends and asked the women if they could bring along some odds and ends, too, so that could pool their resources to make afghans for the sick and elderly in homes and hospitals.
Lowe all but blushes at the name the ladies picked for their club, saying she is almost too embarrassed to say it out loud.
"You know what gets done the most," she giggles.
They "get together every Sunday morning at 10 o’clock" and natter about anything that comes to mind, except politics and religion, as they work away on their squares of yarn.
They’ve become so well known among their circle of friends and family that people drop off donations at the campground’s office.
So far, the group has distributed 97 afghans. The ladies, ranging in ages from their late 20s to 70s, have enough squares for another three afghans, so they’ll hit the 100 mark soon.
"We want people in the community to know not to throw their yarn out in the garbage but to give it to us; no matter how tiny the balls are we can use them," Hunt
said.
"They’re all so beautiful," said Paul Falt, 89, a resident of the veterans unit.
Hunt gives him first pick of the afghans and tucks it around his lap. Moments later, they’re chatting about Falt’s home community of Petite Riviere, Lunenburg County.
Hunt promises she will be back to listen to memories of the people and places so sharp in his mind. He is looking forward to that, the thought warming him as much as the colourful blanket on his lap.

Welcome to 2010

I'm quite a bit late with this post. We've been open for a month now. Compared to last year the weather has been incredible so far. Hopefully it is a portent of things to come. I definitely don't want any hurricane forecasts for weekends this year. And certainly not two in a row.

We've made a few changes to the place as well since last year. The pond is gone. The buildings that were next to the pond are gone. We are in the process of turning that land into pull through sites. It's going to look great when it's all done. I'll post some pictures once I pick out some good ones.

The seasonals got together and decided on their entertainment for the year. Here's the line up.

June 19th - Crib Tournament
June 26th - Dance - Shane's Mix it Up DJ
July 3rd - Pot Luck Supper
July 10th - Wawhooie tournament
July 17th - Washer Toss tournament
- Dance - Southern Comfort Band
July 24th - Yard Sale
July 31st - Christmas in July
- Karaoke
August 7th - Auction 45 tournament
August 14th - Mardi Gras Parade
- Dance - Crazy Craig Martin Band
August 21st - Pot luck Breakfast
August 28th - Karaoke
September 4th - Variety Show
- Miss Lahave River Pageant
- Fireworks
September 5th - Horseshoe Tournament
- Childrens events
- BBQ hot dogs
September 11th - Kettle boil
September 18th - Karaoke
October 9th - Closing Supper

There will also be a corn boil during the first or second week of September depending on when corn is available.

And don't forget there is Bingo every Saturday afternoon.

Orion Constellation

It will soon be time to say goodbye to Orion for another season, so I thought I'd share a bit about him.

Orion consists of seven stars, Betelgeuse (bright redish star in the top left corner), Rigel (bright blueish star on his left hip), Bellatrix, Mintaka, Alnilam, Alnitak, and Saiph. For us in the Northern Hemisphere, we can only see Orion in the winter months. It is probably most recognizable because of his belt, the three stars arranged in a straight line.


They story of Orion is that he was a great hunter, who had fallen in love with the Goddess Artemis. Artemis' brother Apollo considered this relationship inappropriate and created a giant scorpion. This scorpions armour was so strong that Orion couldn't pierce it and he was in turn stung by the scorpion and killed. Artemis was so devastated by the loss of her lover that she had him imortilized in the stars. After Apollo heard this he sent the scorpion to the stars to chase Orion for eternity.

Hopefully the sky is clear tonight so you can take a look.

Nifty camping gadgets

I thought I'd take a stroll through gadget land and see what's new for camping.


This is a portable oven that reaches 300 degrees. Enough to roast a chicken or bake cookies.

I haven't been able to find any information on it other than it's a prototype from Taiwan Textile Research Institute. But it's still pretty nifty.

How about these...

They are bottle opener sandals. You can't leave home without a bottle opener. Right?

Look what else I found... Now that's a power roaster.

This one's pretty cool. It's a solar powered cooler. But it will charge your cell phone. It also has speakers so you can plug in your ipod and listen while you walk. Or drink.

And last but not least everybody needs one of these to sit around a campfire on those cool evenings.

Look, I found this one too...

OK. That's enough fun for now. See y'all in a couple of months.

Halifax RV Show 2010

Well the RV Show was this past weekend. What a blast we had. It was so very tiring, but oh so much fun.





And the rigs... Oh the rigs... RV's sure have come along way. It seemed like the new thing for this year was the outside kitchens. Yup. You lift up a door on the outside of the RV and it reveals a kitchen complete with stove, sink, fridge, cupboards and drawers. Silly me, I forgot to take a picture of one, but here is what they look like.

We met some of the other campground owners from Nova Scotia. And lots and lots of campers looking for new places to go camping. Hopefully they'll hit our little spot this year. It was also nice to see some of our seasonal and regular campers again.

RV Show - Feb 4 to 7th

If you camp with us or you want to you should go to the RV Show

Luc and I have been brainstorming for the RV show, and trying to come up with ideas for people to come and see us. Other than our charming personalities of course.

The RV Show is February 4th to 7th. If you are in the market for a new camper or RV, you can't miss the deals. Or if you are like me, just come out and drool over the new rigs. Just don't drool on the floors. ;-)

Here's what we are offering for people that stop by our table:

• A draw for a free weekend in one of our huts
• A second draw for a Lahave River Campground T-shirt
• If you come by and book a weekend for camping or a hut, we will give you a coupon for 20% off that weekend. One weekend per family only. No substitutions.
• For our seasonals new and old, because we can't forget about them. If you stop by our table, and say hi, we will put your name into a draw to save $50 off your seasonal lot fee for 2010. This draw will be done in May once one of the payment options has been made.

We are looking forward to seeing lots of people.

Look back a couple of posts and I've posted at $1.00 off coupon for the show. It looks like crap in the post because I'm still trying to figure out how to fix the template for the blog, but if you click on it, it should open up in a new window where you can print it off.

Look forward to seeing everybody.

Halifax RV Show 2010

The Halifax RV show will be at Exhibition Park February 4th to 7th 2010.

We will have a campground booth this year.

Come on out and take a look at what's new in RV's. Stop by our booth and say Hi.

Here is a $1.00 off admission coupon too.