Lahave River Campground

Vintage Trailer remake

2011-09-22T15:47:00.000-07:00

http://shastapearl.blogspot.com/2011/09/our-canopy-has-arrived.html?showComment=1316731486016#c1737121320698299340

I just have to share this blog. This family is (or has now) rebuilding a 1961 Shasta Trailer. It's super adorable.

It's giving me some ideas for our very own hillbilly hut.

Picture Friday

2011-07-06T07:54:00.001-07:00

I took a picture of this little fella a couple of weeks ago. He's been hanging around for awhile.

There is lots of creatures to see here. Every week there is something new.

2011 Weekend Activities

2011-06-25T05:36:00.001-07:00

LaHave River Campground

Schedule of Events 2011

EVERY Saturday:

Half Take Ticket Sales (Ticket winners chosen

in The Shelter at 8:00 pm.)

EVERY Sunday:

Book Exchange (any time) Shelter

Bring a book, take a book.

Women’s “Stitch & Bitch” (10:00 am to 11.00 am)

Shelter

June 4^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

June 11^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

June 18^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Cribbage Tournament (7:00 pm) Shelter

($1.00 entry fee)

June 25^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Karaoke (9:00 pm) Shelter

July 2^nd, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Dance (9:00-12:00 pm) Shelter -

John Snyder’s Country Rhythms

July 9^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Pot Luck Supper (5:30 pm) Shelter

July 16^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Washer Toss Tournament (10:00am)

($1.00 entry fee)

Karaoke (9:00 pm) Shelter

July 23^rd, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

July 30^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Kettle Boil (7:00 pm) Front of Office

August 6^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Auction 45 Tournament (7:00 pm) Shelter

($1.00 entry fee)

August 13^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Mardi-gra Parade (6:00 pm)

Dance (9:00 pm to 12:00 am) Shelter

Shane’s Mix It Up D.J.

August 20^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

August 27^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

September 2^nd, Friday

Bingo (7:30 pm) Shelter

September 3^rd, Saturday

Note: No Bingo this Saturday

Variety Show (6:00 pm) Stage at Shelter

Fireworks (dusk)

September 4^th, Sunday

Horse Shoe Tournament (10:00 am)

(Registration on Saturday, Sept 3)

BBQ Hot Dogs

Children’s Events

September 10^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Christmas in July

To get a gift, bring a gift – Limit $5. Value (A man brings a gift marked ‘man’, a woman brings a gift marked ‘woman’, a girl brings a gift marked ‘girl and a boy brings a gift marked ‘boy’.)

September 17^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Karaoke (9:00 pm) Shelter

September 24^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Wawhooie Tournament (7:00 pm) Shelter

($1.00 entry fee)

October 1^nd, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Dance (9:00 pm to 12:00 am) Shelter

Shane’s Mix It Up D.J.

October 8^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Closing Supper (5:30 pm) Shelter

Other Events:

Corn Boil (whenever corn is available, usually first/second week in September)

· Breakfast Shelter (date to be announced later)

2011 Weekend Activities

2011-06-25T05:36:00.000-07:00

LaHave River Campground

Schedule of Events 2011

EVERY Saturday:

Half Take Ticket Sales (Ticket winners chosen

in The Shelter at 8:00 pm.)

EVERY Sunday:

Book Exchange (any time) Shelter

Bring a book, take a book.

Women’s “Stitch & Bitch” (10:00 am to 11.00 am)

Shelter

June 4^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

June 11^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

June 18^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Cribbage Tournament (7:00 pm) Shelter

($1.00 entry fee)

June 25^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Karaoke (9:00 pm) Shelter

July 2^nd, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Dance (9:00-12:00 pm) Shelter -

John Snyder’s Country Rhythms

July 9^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Pot Luck Supper (5:30 pm) Shelter

July 16^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Washer Toss Tournament (10:00am)

($1.00 entry fee)

Karaoke (9:00 pm) Shelter

July 23^rd, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

July 30^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Kettle Boil (7:00 pm) Front of Office

August 6^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Auction 45 Tournament (7:00 pm) Shelter

($1.00 entry fee)

August 13^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Mardi-gra Parade (6:00 pm)

Dance (9:00 pm to 12:00 am) Shelter

Shane’s Mix It Up D.J.

August 20^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

August 27^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

September 2^nd, Friday

Bingo (7:30 pm) Shelter

September 3^rd, Saturday

Note: No Bingo this Saturday

Variety Show (6:00 pm) Stage at Shelter

Fireworks (dusk)

September 4^th, Sunday

Horse Shoe Tournament (10:00 am)

(Registration on Saturday, Sept 3)

BBQ Hot Dogs

Children’s Events

September 10^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Christmas in July

September 17^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Karaoke (9:00 pm) Shelter

September 24^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Wawhooie Tournament (7:00 pm) Shelter

($1.00 entry fee)

October 1^nd, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Dance (9:00 pm to 12:00 am) Shelter

Shane’s Mix It Up D.J.

October 8^th, Saturday

Bingo (1:30 pm) Shelter

Closing Supper (5:30 pm) Shelter

Other Events:

Corn Boil (whenever corn is available, usually first/second week in September)

· Breakfast Shelter (date to be announced later)

Camping Season 2011

2011-05-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

Camping season for 2011 has started.

We've had a couple of great weekends so far. Even though the sun hasn't come out, the rain has stayed away for the most part on the weekends.

We had a little mishap over the winter and our shelter roof couldn't handle the weight of the snow and collapsed. We took our lemons and made some sweet lemonade. During the "replace the roof" work we were able to add an additional 8 feet to the floor space. It added a whole lot of space for those pot luck suppers and dances. We'd like to thank Jamie and Terry for all of their hard work getting this done for us.

Speaking of dances, Shane rocked the house on the Saturday night of the long weekend. Everyone had a great time as usual.

We will be holding our yearly campers meeting on June 4th at 10am to discuss the activities for the rest of the season. Once we get them geared up, we'll post them for all to see.

Victoria Day Weekend Camping Special

2011-03-05T11:56:00.000-08:00

We are offering a weekend special to get the 2011 camping season off to a great start.

Stay with us Friday, May 20 and Saturday, May 21 and stay Sunday May 22nd for free.

To book your site call (902) 644-2654 or email info@lahaverivercampground.ca

Look forward to seeing you!

www.lahaverivercampground.ca

RV Show 2011

2011-02-07T05:59:00.000-08:00

The RV Show was January 27th to 30th this year. Luc and I had a great time. There were a lot of people that went through that were looking for new places to camp, looking for someplace to go seasonal, and some people came in just to say hello.

We had a draw for a $50 gift certificate to be used for site fees, lot fees or hut rental. Our winner was W. O'Regan from Eastern Passage.

RV Show - Jan 27th to 30th 2011

2010-12-22T18:11:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-21T19:30:00.000-08:00

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

2010-07-07T13:55:00.000-07:00

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.

Fireflies

2010-07-06T06:26:00.001-07:00

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!

2010-06-30T06:13:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-24T08:51:00.000-07:00

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...

2010-06-24T05:28:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

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

2010-03-25T10:01:00.001-07:00

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

2010-02-16T04:54:00.001-08:00

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

2010-02-09T04:55:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-30T18:15:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-11T06:41:00.000-08:00

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.

Happy Holidays

2009-12-25T11:02:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and the very best for 2010.

Campground ratings

2009-12-08T12:18:00.000-08:00

So Luc and I were at the Nova Scotia Quality Visitor Services Society’s AGM on Sunday, November 29th. They are responsible for developing, and rating programs for accommodations and campgrounds in Nova Scotia.

Quality Visitor Services (QVS) is an independent, non-profit society delivering nationally accepted quality programs to assist the traveling and vacationing public.
QVS assists Nova Scotia accommodation operators in developing, maintaining & improving their accommodations in areas that are meaningful to the traveller while improving thier competitive position in the worldwide tourism industry.
QVS offers three national programs; Canada Select for Hotels, Motels, B&B’s etc; Camping Select for Campgrounds; and Access Canada for standards for people with special needs and disabilities.

Our campground is a member of Camping Select. We had a choice of that or the CAA program. I don’t know CAA for accommodations just doesn’t seem right, and I’m not sure how much clout the CAA program has for campgrounds.

Where would you go looking for a recommendation for a campground? CAA or Camping Select?

Our Camping Select ratings are 2.5 for facilities and 2 for recreation. Compared to other campgrounds in the area (South Shore), we are better than average. (Average for facilities is 2.36 and 1.33 for recreation) I think that’s pretty cool.

If you are interested in reading up on the campground standards, here is the link

http://www.qvs.ca/myfiles/Campground%20Criteria.pdf

Leonid Meteor Shower

2009-11-18T09:21:00.000-08:00

Well I'm a little late with this information but maybe you might find something interesting about it anyway.

The Leonid Meteor Shower makes it's appearance every year in November with November 17th and 18th being the busiest. This year the high time was the wee hours of November 17th. Like 3am to 5am. It was predicted that there would be between 3 and 4 hundred meteors an hour. No. I didn't get up to see. But I did however see a meteor last night about 9pm. We may see little straglers for the next couple of nights.

Did you know...

The Leonids are so named because they seem to originate from the constellation Leo.
The actual comet name is Temple-Tuttle
It has an intensity cycle of 33 or 34 years
The meteors from the Leonids actually make a buzzing sound
The shower was so intense in 1833 that people thought the world was ending.
The size of the meteors from the Leonids is the size of a grain of sand.

Some Info

2009-11-10T18:47:00.000-08:00

We just got a call from Kevin Beanland.

They are going to be playing at Farrell Hall in Dartmouth on New Years Eve.

Tickets are $20 per person or $35 per couple.

If anyone is interested let us know and we can hook you up with some tickets.

The end of the season

2009-10-20T09:05:00.000-07:00

Well here it is, the end of our first year as owners of the Lahave River Campground. The campground is all closed up for the season.

We learned a lot. We made a few mistakes. But most of all, we met some fantastic people and we had a blast.

We hope all our campers did too.

See you next May.

How to build your own camper

2009-09-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this website today...

http://www.mybigadventure.com/index.php?action=Build-A-Camper

It's instructions for building your own camper van. With pictures. I like pictures.

I thought it was cool, so I thought someone else might think it was cool too.

From this, a 15 seat passenger van...

To a camper van with bed, kitchen, table...

Christmas in September

2009-09-21T16:56:00.000-07:00

What a great time. There was singing. And Santa made a visit. We topped the night off with some karaoke.

You can see the rest of the photo's here

http://picasaweb.google.ca/lahaverivercampground/ChristmasInSeptember

Merry Christmas

2009-09-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

HOHOHO

It's Christmas at the campground this weekend.

*Photo taken from http://www.vintagetraveltrailerart.com/

Trailers get decorated. Santa makes a visit.

For kids / adults that would like to participate in the gift exchange, please supply a gift for the category that you fit in. child boy / child girl / adult man / adult woman . There is a $5.00 limit on gifts.

The festivities start in the shelter at 7:00 pm

Labour Day Weekend

2009-09-12T06:41:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend we had. The weather was spectacular. We had a full house of campers. This place was hoppin' hoppin'.

On Saturday night we had the Miss Lahave River Pageant.

Here are all the contestants.

Here is the winner...

And our runner up...

After the pageant there was the variety show.

On Sunday morning we had the horseshoe tournament. Art and Dwayne won first place and Ross and Rodger took second.

We ended the weekend with a fantastic fireworks display.

If you would like to see more pictures from the Labour day weekend, here's the album on the web...

http://picasaweb.google.ca/lahaverivercampground/LabourDay#

Labour Day Weekend

2009-08-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

I had a request to post some information about the long weekend, and had a couple of things to post myself, so here it is. All in one post.

On Sunday there is a Children's Variety show. Apparently in years past this ran concurrently with the horseshoe tournament. This year the variety show will be held after the horseshoe tournament. On Sunday.

Which leads me to my next point. The horseshoe tournament is on Sunday, NOT Saturday as I have previously posted. I'll have to go through my emails and correct the information I sent out. Oops.

Also, we have had a few cancellations and we have also added 7 more unserviced sites. So if you are interested in camping with us next weekend or you know someone who is, then give us a call. (902) 644-2654.

And to recap the activities next weekend.

Friday night - 7:30 pm - Bingo
Saturday - There is no bingo this afternoon.
- 7:00 PM - Adult Variety Show
Sunday - 10:00 am - Horseshoe Tournament
- BBQ Hot Dogs
- Childrens Events
- Fireworks at dusk

And if you are still reading, The Kevin Beanland band is playing tomorrow night (29th) in the Shelter. So come on out and listen to some music.

Hurricane Bill - Power outage

2009-08-23T15:46:00.000-07:00

Just giving everyone a heads up that might read the blog that the power went out at the campground at about 3:45 this afternoon.

A little after 7pm NSP showed up to do an assessment. He told Luc that the maintenance truck would be another couple of hours. That they were currently in Mahone Bay. Had a stop on one of the Crossroads of a downed power line, and that the campground was the next stop.

I'll update this post when I hear anything else.

8:46pm - NB Power is there

9:10pm - We have power. YEA!!!!!

PSA: It's going to get windy

2009-08-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

Regardless of whether Hurricane Bill makes landfall in Nova Scotia or not. There's a good chance it's going to get close enough to give us some really strong winds.

Here are some suggestions to prepare your trailer before you leave on Sunday.

If you have anything important in your trailer, take it with you.
Make sure your awning is rolled up.
Make sure that anything that can be blown away is secured to your deck or put inside.
In case of a power outage, if there is anything in your fridge or freezer that you don't want to lose, take it with you.
If you are here during or shortly after the hurricane, make sure to boil the campground water for one minute before drinking or brushing your teeth.

If anyone has any additional tips they'd like to add, feel free to do so in the comments.

If you would like to share your camping during Juan stories, or any other hurricane, I'd like to read them too.

PSA - Labour Day Weekend

2009-08-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

I'd like to confirm peoples reservation for that weekend. We have a long waiting list, and we'd like to be able to accommodate them if people that are already booked are not going to be able to make it.

So...

If you have a reservation and have not yet confirmed please give us a call. (902) 644-2654
If you know someone that is booked for that weekend, can you either ask them to call us to confirm or provide us with their contact information so that we can call them.
If you are not able to make it, please let us know so that we can fill your spot.

We greatly appreciate your help in this matter.

Angela & Luc

Parade Day

2009-08-15T16:35:00.000-07:00

Lahave River Campground had their annual parade tonight. We didn't have a huge turnout, but the parade watchers sure had a ball watching it.

Here are some pics.

The boys leading the parade with the Lahave River Campground flag

Luc chauffering our mascot, Burnie the Bear.

The ladies from the stitch and bitch showing off their wonderful quilts and afghans. They were even throwing candy to the crowd. No wonder they took first place.

Here are a couple of kids dressed up. One is dressed as a mexican, and I didn't catch what the other kid was dressed up as.

This is Richard and friend. He was a rice picker, and she was a bag of rice. They won third prize.

Some kids joined in the parade once it got under way.

Ah yes. Our second place winner. He was the wild thing. He got a big roar from the crowd.

That was our parade this year.

Lightning care

2009-08-13T09:49:00.000-07:00

I know I'm behind in my posts, but I wanted to post this really quickly. As campers we really need to be aware of the danger of lightning, and what to do about it.

This article is posted in the Chronicle Herald today.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/1137149.html

BRAMPTON, Ont. — Two young boys were rushed to hospital in critical
condition Wednesday after seemingly harmless overcast skies flared abruptly and
sent a lightning bolt crashing into a Toronto-area soccer field.
The mother of one of the boys, ages 4 and 6, was in stable condition following the
lightning strike in Brampton, Ont., some 45 kilometres northwest of
Toronto.

As part of that article there is some information and facts.

Here they are:

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

•Lightning is attracted to tall, isolated objects like trees.

•Metal does not attract lightning, but is a prime conductor, as is water.

•Two-thirds of all lightning strikes occur in June, July and August; most occur in the afternoon.

•The average lightning flash packs enough power to light a 100-watt light bulb for more than three months.

•A large proportion of lightning deaths occur in, on or near open water. Many people also die sheltering under trees.

•Nowhere outside is safe from lightning.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO

•Heed the warning: "When thunder roars, go indoors!"
•Take shelter in a substantial building or fully enclosed, metal-topped vehicle. Avoid small structures such as beach cabanas or tents.

•When inside your home or other building, avoid using a corded telephone, except for emergencies. Cordless phones are safe.

•Avoid electrical appliances and plumbing. Don’t wash dishes or take a bath or shower.

•Practise the 30-30 Rule: When you see lightning, count until you hear thunder. If it’s 30 seconds or less, the storm is within 10 kilometres and dangerous. Seek immediate shelter. Wait 30 minutes after the lightning has stopped before going outside.

The band was awesome

2009-07-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I have to say that a good time was had by all. The weather held out, and the evening was a smash.

The band was Running on Empty

Here are some pics.

Check out this green thumbs handy work

2009-07-13T15:08:00.000-07:00

Lovely garden Sherman

Buzz Buzz Buzz

2009-07-12T06:44:00.001-07:00

The campground was buzzing with activity this weekend. With the first sunny weekend in a long long time. Campers were taking full advantage of the activities that are available.

Saturday night was the yearly wahooey tournament. It's played with a board and marbles and a deck of cards. It sort of reminds me of the game Sorry. You have a starting position, and move around the board to get all of your marbles to your own finish position. Meanwhile the other players are trying to knock you back to your starting position. It looked like it was fun and everyone enjoyed themselves. Richard and Josh won the tournament this year. Congrats guys.

Our outdoor bowling lane got to see some action too over the weekend. It's a 10 candlepin lane.

The 9 hole minigolf was busy this weekend. Young and old love it.

The shuffleboard even got some use this weekend. It doesn't get used a whole lot, but when it does, people sure do have fun.

The kids love these. Stilts. There are 4 or 5 different sets of varying heights. These ones are the highest, and not for the faint of heart.

We don't break guitars at Lahave River Campground

2009-07-09T09:41:00.000-07:00

HA HA. Have you guys seen this yet?

Dave Carroll from The Sons of Maxwell, was travelling with United Airlines last year and watched the baggage handlers throw his $3500 Taylor guitar around. Which of course broke it. He spent a year trying to get United to pay for the repairs and they refused.

He finally used what he knows best and wrote a song and posted the video to http://www.youtube.com/.

Last I checked there was 466,000 hits on the video and had gone up 30,000 hits just in the ten minutes we watched the video a couple of times.

It's a catchy tune, and the video is a riot and is bringing Sons of Maxwell lots and lots of publicity. Good for them, because they are a great band.

Anyway, for your listening and viewing pleasure, here's the video.

Weekend weather update

2009-07-08T06:46:00.000-07:00

It could be some sick joke the meteorologists are playing on us, but it looks like we have some sun in our future. OK, I'll wait 'til you pick yourself up off the floor before I continue.

Are you ok now?

Here it is...

The farmers almanac says the 6th to the 11th is supposed to be sunny and warm. meh. It's the 8th already and it is neither sunny nor warm. I had to turn the heat on in the car today. brrr.

Neptune and Jupiter will be hanging around the moon on Friday night. Pluto and Saturn will also be in the sky Friday night as well.

Ellen makes the news again

2009-07-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

http://www.southshorenow.ca/archives/2009/063009/news/index008.php

INDIAN POINT - Ellen Hunt used her body to protect a lighter's flame to set a sacred herb on fire. As soon as the smouldering sweetgrass bellowed smoke from the small receptacle she held in her hand the smudging ceremony began.
In an effort to bless and remove negativity from everyone who gathered at Indian Point, Ms Hunt used an eagle feather attempting to waft smoke onto each person.
The smudging ceremony took place on a special occasion on the morning of June 21. Not only was it National Aboriginal Day, this day also marked the culmination of five years of work by the Mi'kmaq Burial Grounds Research and Restoration Association. Its goal is to permanently recognize Mi'kmaq ancestors who are buried throughout Lunenburg County, including at Indian Point.
"It's for the community. It is for us," said Ms Hunt about the erected stone. "Bless our monument that represents our Mi'kmaq people who are buried at the point."
Through records it was discovered that members of the Cope and Pennal families are known to have been buried at Indian Point. Many of those buried died in LaHave and other settlements in Lunenburg County.
The stone panel at the site includes not only the names of the deceased interred at the burial ground, but also a survey map completed in 1786 by Charles Morris showing the site.

Taco Salad

2009-06-29T19:10:00.000-07:00

This was soooo yummy. And so easy to make.

I had a taco salad at Wendy's last week and it was so yummy that I thought I'd give it a try camping. It is one of those meals that doesn't take long to cook. It takes minimal ingredients, and kids love it because they get to dig in with their hands. And really. Who doesn't love nachos and dip.

First step is to make chilli. Or if you are prepared, you made it at home and froze it, to keep other food in your cooler cold.

1 lb of ground beef
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of crushed tomatos
1 pkg of chilli seasoning.

Brown the ground beef. add the kidney beans (drained), the tomatos and the seasoning. Heat it up, and you have chilli.

I also added onions when I cooked the beef. You could add chopped green peppers too, if you are so inclined.

For the rest of the salad, you will need

1 head of lettuce, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
shredded cheese (chedder or nacho blend)
1 jar of salsa
1 container of sour cream.

To put it all together

Put down a layer of lettuce, tomato on top of that, then a handful of the cheese.
Put a couple of spoonfuls of chilli on top of that.
Top with a spoonful of sour cream and salsa.

Eat it up with the nacho chips. Well, ok, you can use a fork, but where's the fun in that.

The Golden Girls

2009-06-29T18:49:00.000-07:00

Yes. We do. We have our very own Golden Girls.

These ladies get together on Saturday night and have a little party with their hats.

A different hat and a different trailer each Saturday night.

Wait a minute.

That's not a Golden Girl.

In other news....

We have our new road signs up. Campers shouldn't miss them now.

The Big Dipper

2009-06-26T22:35:00.000-07:00

Everybody loves looking at the stars. I'm sure we all will enjoy it more once we actually get to see them, instead of clouds. I thought I'd start a series on constellations and other celestial bodies. What they are, what they look like, where they are, and some folklore that surrounds them.

There are 88 common constellations in the night sky. The first constellation I'll talk about is the Big Dipper. It's the most recognizable constellation in the sky. Where other constellations are only seen during different seasons, in the Northern Hemispere, the Big Dipper can be seen all year round.

The Big Dipper is known as different names in different countries. Ursa Major is latin for Great Bear. It's also known as The Plough, The Butcher's Cleaver, The Great Bear and Carl's Wagon.

The Big Dipper is made of 7 stars. Three make the handle of the dipper and 4 for the pot. By following a line from Merak and Dubhe, the outside stars of the pot, you can find the North Star. If you are standing facing the North Star, you are facing North. Ship Navigators have been using the North Star to guide them for centuries.

In Greek mythology, it is said that Zeus swept Kallisto, who had been turned into a bear by Zeus' jealous wife Hera, and her son Arcus into the sky. Kallisto is the Great Bear, and Arcus is the Little Bear (Ursa Minor)

In Native American folklore, three brothers were hunting the Great Bear. After the kill, and they were preparing their meal, the brothers looked to the sky and saw that the Great Bear had used it's magical abilities and rose to the sky, and so the three brothers gave chase again. The handle of the dipper are three brother hunters, chasing a bear, the pot.

Using the Big Dipper as a starting point we are able to find most of the other constellations.

Call the POOOO-lice

2009-06-26T08:04:00.000-07:00

The golf cart's been stolen.

The suspect is about 5'8", blonde hair. Last seen driving a green golf cart, and driving around Lahave River Campground.

If you see the suspect make sure to approach him.

REWARD: A good time to be had by all.

Just a little shout out

2009-06-18T04:25:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to send out a congratulations to John Snyder.

John is one of the top ten finalists in the CMT Karaoke star for Halifax. The competition took place on June 16th and 17th at the Rodeo Lounge.

If you were hanging out at the shelter on the Saturday night that we had the company campout. John brought his guitar, joined the rest of the gang and sang along and entertained us for awhile.

Congrats John, and good luck with the rest of the competition.

If you are interested in following the competition and online voting, log on to http://www.cmt.ca/kstar

Foil packets

2009-06-17T17:43:00.000-07:00

aka bacon makes everything taste better. HA.

I've always had problems with foil packets. Especially with potatos. They always, always, always stick to the foil and you end up either eating foil (so gross) or wasting half of the potatos. It doesn't matter how much I prepared the foil with butter or oil or precooked the potatos, they always stick.

The cure, is bacon. I still get a few stuck, but nowhere near wasting half of them. I just chop up a few slices of bacon and put some down before I put the potatos and whatever else I'm putting in the packets, and then put some on top. And the bacon flavour really does well mixed with the veggies too.

In my foil packets I usually put potatos, onions, bacon and cheese. mm mm good.

Other suggestions for foil packets are;

mushrooms and onions
chicken and corn
meatballs, peppers and onions
peaches and maple syrup
apples and brown sugar
ham and pineapple rings
Sausage patty, frozen hash browns and egg
salmon, ranch dressing, veg
salmon, maple syrup and veg

Let me know how your foil packets turn out.

The bathrooms have great acoustics :-P

2009-06-13T13:41:00.000-07:00

You know what they say about singing in the shower. Well the women's bathroom was just a ringing with the tunes last night. HA. Barb, Debbie and Melanie decided to regale us with their rendition of Delta Dawn. Great job ladies. Grand Ole Opry here you come.

Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on
Could it be a faded rose from days gone by
And did I hear you say he was a-meeting you here today
To take you to his mansion in the sky

She's forty-one and her daddy still calls her "baby"
All the folks around Brownsville say she's crazy
'Cause she walks around town with a suitcase in her hand
Looking for a mysterious dark-haired man

In her younger days they called her Delta Dawn
Prettiest woman you ever laid eyes on
Then a man of low degree stood by her side
And promised her he'd take her for his bride

Delta Dawn, what's that flower you have on
Could it be a faded rose from days gone by
And did I hear you say he was a-meeting you here today
To take you to his mansion in the sky

Campfire guitar songs

2009-06-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

I thought I would put together a list of songs to sing around a campfire and play guitar too.

The requisites are that the songs have to be songs that most people would know.

Here's what I have so far. Add your own in the comments, I'd love to hear what you like to play and sing.

1. The Gambler - Kenny Rogers
2. American Pie
3. Cats in the Cradle - Cat Stevens
4. Margaritaville
5. Country Roads
6. Hotel California
7. Sweet Home Alabama
8. Brown Eyed Girl
9. Here Comes the Sun
10. King of the Road
11. Bobby Magee
12. It's Hard to be Humble
13. Blowing in the Wind
14. If I had a Hammer
15. Sloop John B

Lots of happenings this past weekend.

2009-06-07T16:50:00.000-07:00

The weather sure did cooperate for Neocon this weekend. It rained Friday night overnight, but Saturday was rain free. And today was beautiful. A sun shiny bright day.

There was campfires and guitar playing and lots of great conversation. And the food. There was so much great food. If memory serves me correctly, Mike got the only yellow card of Friday evening. LOL.

Saturday had the adults playing horseshoes, and the kids playing mini-golf.

Even the shelter was hopping busy with guitar playing and singing on Saturday night.

On Sunday mornings, a group of the seasonal camping ladies get together for their Stitch and Bitch club. They make afghans and blankets and donate them to different organizations.

I'm sure I forgot a few things, but that's the jist of it, I guess.

Company Camping Night.

2009-06-05T09:21:00.001-07:00

Neocon from Dartmouth, is having a social committee camping night on Saturday night at our campground. Barbecue. Roasted marshmallows. And I hear there might even be some guitar playing.

I hope they have a great time and that the weather is accommodating.

2009 Activities

2009-06-01T09:16:00.001-07:00

Well the campers had their meeting to discuss the entertainment for this year. Here are the details.

* 50 / 50 tickets will be sold each week.
* Bingo in the shelter every Saturday at 1:30
* Book exchange will be held every Sunday from 10:00 am to 11:00 am
* The Stitch and Bitch club will also be stitching at bitching between 10:00 am and 11:00 am each Sunday morning.

June 6th -

June 13th -

June 20th - Crib Tournament - 7:00 pm

June 27th -

July 4th - Pot luck supper - 5:30 pm

July 11th - Wahooie tournament - 7:00 pm

July 18th - Yard Sale - 9:00 am to 12:00 pm

July 25th - Dance - Running on Empty 8:00 pm to 12:00 am

August 1st - Washer Toss Tournament - 10:00 am

August 8th - Auction 45 Tournament - 7:00 pm

August 15th - Parade 7:00 pm

August 22nd - Pot Luck - 5:30 pm

August 29th - Kevin Beanland Band 8pm

September 4th - Bingo 7:00 pm Friday instead of Saturday

September 5th - Horseshow Tournament - 10:00 am
- Variety show - 7:00 pm
- Children's Activities throughout the day

September 6th - Fireworks

September 12th - Kettle Boil 7:00 pm

September 19th - Christmas activities

September 26th -

October 3rd -

October 10th - Closing supper - 5:30 pm

***********************************************************

We are also trying to book a couple more dances throughout the summer. Maybe a Blazin' Barbecue and a game show night.

***********************************************************

We are also going to try a lot draw this year as well. If it works well, we will continue to do it. The jist of it is, that you buy tickets for $10.00. The winner will win their lot fee for next year. That's a minimum $1100 + tax prize. We will get that set up once we find out what is required through the gaming commission.

************************************************************

Check back to this list. I will be keeping it updated. You can find it on the left side under "2009 Activity List"

We will also have any changes posted on the bulletin boards through out the campground.

What's this?

2009-05-31T18:01:00.000-07:00

OH OH!! OH OH!!

Wives beat husbands

2 games to 0

Frank, Harold and Freeman Don't want to talk about it.

Shame Shame.

Easy Pasta Salad

2009-05-31T12:12:00.000-07:00

I'm all about quick and easy when it comes to camping and cooking. It really sucks to have to spend an hour cooking or barbecueing when you have guests or great weather or just plain old stuff to do.

Here's a really easy pasta salad recipe that doesn't take a lot of time, doesn't take a lot of ingredients, and if you are in the vacinity of a veggie stand, you get to contribute to the local economy by buying local produce.

Prepare your favorite pasta for as much as you need. A 900g box will do a large salad to feed probably 6 or 8 people. I like using penne or shells. Rotini would be good too.

Once it's cooked and drained toss in some grape tomatos and english cucumber chunks to your preference. Top with Sundried Tomato and Oregano dressing. Chill and you are good to go.

Testing again

2009-05-28T07:03:00.001-07:00

Sending another test pic. I was having issues with thius function on my other blog.
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Testing blogger email.

2009-05-28T06:55:00.001-07:00

Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

A little mid week update

2009-05-28T06:23:00.000-07:00

Luc’s been busy this week. Besides regular maintenance and upkeep stuff, the minigolf greens needed to be replaced, so Luc, Warren and Iris replaced them. They look good, yes? I’m looking forward to trying them out.

Luc had a mid week visitor. I think he was either lost or just passing through. Cute little thing though, isn’t he?

I’m sure we’ll be seeing lots of critters throughout the season. Luc and I took a walk through the walking path a couple of weeks ago and came across deer tracks. Deer roaming through our campground. That’s pretty exciting for a city girl like me. Speaking of critters, I think I mentioned this in my last post, but I saw a hummingbird up close for the first time ever last weekend. It was about two feet away from me through a window. They are awfully graceful aren’t they? I might have to put out a couple of hummingbird feeders around the office.

So now a blurb about the weather. The Farmer’s Almanac is calling for scattered showers from the 27th to the 31st. Well it sure is chilly and showery at the moment. Environment Canada is calling for cloudy and showers for Friday and Saturday, and a Sunny Sunday. So it looks like everyone is going to have to gather round their campfires or hang out in the Shelter for some guitar playing. I know there HAS to be some nice weekend weather coming soon. Maybe Mother Nature will decide to let us have a little sun earlier than Sunday this weekend.

Well that’s my midweek update. See you tomorrow night.

Friday was HOT

2009-05-24T05:55:00.000-07:00

Friday was soooo hot. How hot was it? I think we hit 30 degrees here on the Lahave River. Not that I'm complaining. But we just aren't used to that sort of temperature this early in the season. Our poor old winter beaten bodies just can't adjust that fast to such a drastic temperature change. But now that we got a dose, I'm sure we'll all be fine. The hot weather did absolutely nothing for the black flies. Those little buggers would outlast a nuclear bomb, I'm sure.

Speaking of which, when you are coming to stay with us, make sure you bring your fly dope. The downside of a wooded campground is for sure the bugs. But the upside to a wooded campground far outweigh the bad. 10 fold. The wooded campsites along the river are spectacular. If I do say so myself. :-)

The weekends fly by so fast. Here it is Sunday morning all ready. I'll be heading back to the city this afternoon, and it seems like I just got here. We had a good weekend. It was quiet. We had a couple stay here last night that just bought their first trailer. A hard top they bought at Bluenose RV in Bridgewater and of course they had to come and try it out.

The campers have the stove on in the shelter. They must be getting ready for their book exchange. The book exchange is every Sunday morning from 9am to 10am.

If you are in the Lunenburg area today (May 24th) Ellen Hunt, one of our seasonals is reading one of her stories at the Tin Fish Restaurant, on Pelham Street in Lunenburg. It's for the Gallows Hill Writers Read and it's from 2pm to 3pm.

There will be a campers meeting next Saturday night (May 30th) at 7:00pm, to discuss the activities for the upcoming season. Come and join us and have your say on what activities you would like to see. If you can't make the meeting we'd still like to hear from you. If there is an activity you'd like to see, just leave a comment here and we will bring it up at the meeting.

I think that's all I have to report for today.

Happy Camping

So you want to go camping...

2009-05-20T11:26:00.000-07:00

The first question people ask is what do you need to take with you camping. The second thing to know is how do you not forget anything. The answer is simple. You make a list, and you check it twice. (Santa Claus is coming to town). Sorry. I couldn’t resist.

Once you make your list, it’s really handy to print it out and then laminate it. Then you can reuse it with a dry erase or water soluble marker. If you are really, really keen, get two thin pieces of plexi-glass, place your list between them, duct tape the edges (If you want a good chuckle, google images of duct tape), and you now have a makeshift clip board that you can reuse again and again. It can even be double sided if your list is long enough. Duct tape your marker to string and then to your plexi-glass clip board and you are really keening it up.

Now I guess you want to know what to take with you when you go camping. I make my lists in sections. Bedding / Equipment. Clothing. Toiletries / First Aid. Kitchen. Menu. Entertainment. If you have space to carry Rubbermaid totes, they make excellent makeshift tables while camping. And storage for your equipment when you get home, making your next trip planning that much easier.

Here is a starter list for you. There is a lot on the list, but it doesn't actually take up a lot of room. You will also have to tailor it to your own needs.

(If I figure out how to create a table, I'll put this in a table format for easy reading)

Bedding / Equipment

Tent
Tarp
Rope
Mat
Hammer / Mallet
Axe
Extra rope / stakes
Blow up mattress / air pump
Repair kit for mattress
Sleeping bag
Extra Blanket
Pillow
Screen Room
Folding Chairs
Barbecue / Stove
Charcoal
Propane Tank
Marshmallow roasters
Pie irons
Slow Cooker
Lantern
Flashlights / Batteries
Tool box
Swiss Army Knife
Cooler
Fire Starter
Work gloves
Firewood

Clothing

Socks
Underwear
Pants
Shorts
T-shirts
Sweatshirts
Jacket
PJ’s
Rain Coat
Rain Boots
Swim Suit
Sneakers
Sandals
Hat

Toiletries / First Aid

Soap
Shampoo
Wash cloth
Towel
Brush
Tooth Brush
Tooth Paste
Mouth wash
Razors / Shaving Cream
Toilet Paper
Feminine products
Deoderant
Sunscreen
Bug spray
After bite
Band Aids
Polysporin
Tylenol
Prescription meds
Pepto Bismol
Tweezers
Benedryl

Kitchen

Salt Pepper
Sugar
Flour
Spices
Cooking oil
Tinfoil
Forks, knives, spoons
Potato peeler
Plates, bowls, mugs, glasses
Salad bowl
Cutting board
Zip lock bags
Paper towel
Pot Holders
Pots / Pans
Garbage Bags
Recycling Bags
Spatula / Tongs
Table cloth / table clips
Lighter
Can opener
Ice

Cleaning

Dish cloths
Dish pan
Dish towel
Dish soap
Broom / Dust pan
Laundry Soap
Clothes pins
Rope for clothes line

Entertainment

Cards
Crib board
GPS
Radio
Camera
Compass
Fishing Gear
Frisbee
Washer Toss
Books / magazines / puzzle books
Guitar / Songbook

The next thing I do is make a menu list. Don’t forget to take it with you or you may forget you intended that pound of hamburger for meatloaf instead of hamburgers, like I did last weekend.

Here is my list from last weekend. (I tried to keep our prep time down because we were actually working and not camping.)

Friday supper: Hot dogs
Snacks: Chips, Grapes, carrots, celery, marshmallows
Saturday Breakfast: Cereal, Pop tarts, toast, milk, juice, coffee
Saturday lunch: Ham sandwiches
Saturday supper: Slow cooker meatloaf
Snacks: Cheese, pepperoni, marshmallows
Sunday Breakfast: Bacon, eggs, bbq potatos, toast
Snacks: Fruit, veggies

Make a list of everything you need to pack or buy from your menu.

Put gas in your car. Don’t forget the beer. And you are off camping for the weekend. If you do end up forgetting something, stop by the camp store. We try and have a few things that people tend to forget on hand.

Our first weekend down

2009-05-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

How much fun was that? We had the greatest time. The seasonal campers are an awesome group of people. We couldn't ask for better seasonals. Yay, you guys. We even had a great turnout of weekenders too. Even though the weather wasn't great.

The heavy rain did manage to stay away until Sunday night.

The kids were a great help in the office, and they hosted a kids mini golf tournament on Sunday afternoon. We even had prizes.

There were card games and crafting going on in the rec hall. The campers even managed to get in some guitar playing between rain drops. I guess I'll have to practice lots so I can join them. And I mean LOTS.

Looking forward to more of the same next weekend. But hopefully with some sunshine.

Forgot to mention. I think there is going to be a meeting for the seasonal campers on May 31st. It will be held on Saturday night. Details will be posted on the bulletin boards.

Victoria Day Weekend

2009-05-14T18:46:00.000-07:00

The campground is coming along nicely. Everything should be spickety span clean for the first long weekend of the season. Warren and Iris, the old owners, have worked really hard getting everything ready for us, and answering all of our questions.

Luc and I were out and about on Tuesday and got the chance to meet and talk to a few of the seasonal campers yesterday.

I love the Farmers Almanac, so I will be quoting from it regularly. Here is some May information. For Atlantic Canada, May 10 - 16th will have scattered showers and be cool. For the 17th to the 20th, it says there will be sprinkles and be warm. Warm is good right?

From the Almanac, here is the weather rhyme for May

Misty and mild,
then showers in batches;
batten down the
hatches!
Thunder rumbling,
but no more grumbling:
It's too fine to
whine!
A little gloomier,
but every orchard
is looking gloomier

Here's a website I use a lot in the summer while camping.

http://www.fourmilab.ch/yoursky/

I really enjoy looking at the stars and planets in the sky around a campfire. And I look up Halifax for a specific time, print it off and then when the time comes, I can point out the different objects in the sky.

Here is what you will see in our sky Saturday evening, about 10:30pm.

Well, that's all for now I guess, I gotta go pack and pack up the car and get ready to hit the road in the morning. Looking forward to a great weekend, and I hope to get to meet lots of people.

Welcome to our blog

2009-05-05T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the blog for Lahave River Campground in Newburne, Nova Scotia. 26 km from Exit 11 on Highway 103.

We are Angela and Luc Doiron, and we are the new owners of the campground.

We are going to use this blog to update our campers on upcoming weekend events; recaps of past events; camping tips; and any other information that our campers might find interesting.

You can contact us via our website http://www.lahaverivercampground.ca/ or our email, info@lahaverivercampground.ca.

Angela is also twittering @angd